Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Brownfields are properties whose re-use may be hindered by the threat of contamination. Cleaning up and redeveloping these properties can protect human health and the environment, and provide economic benefits. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides grants to state and local governments and others for site assessments, job training, revolving loans, cleanups, and for assisting state efforts. This testimony is based on GAO's report, Brownfield Redevelopment: Stakeholders Report That EPA's Program Helps to Redevelop Sites, but Additional Measures Could Complement Agency Efforts (GAO- 05-94, December 2, 2004). GAO (1) obtained stakeholders' views on EPA's contribution to brownfield cleanup and redevelopment, (2) determined the extent to which EPA measures program accomplishments, and (3) obtained views on options to improve or complement EPA's program. Stakeholders GAO surveyed included grant recipients, state program officials, interest groups, real estate developers, and others."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In September and October 2001, letters laced with Bacillus anthracis (anthrax) spores were sent through the mail to two U.S. senators and to members of the media. These letters led to the first U.S. cases of anthrax disease related to bioterrorism. In all, 22 individuals, in four states and Washington, D.C., contracted anthrax disease; 5 died. These cases prompted the Subcommittee to ask GAO to describe and assess federal agencies' activities to detect anthrax in postal facilities, assess the results of agencies' testing, and assess whether agencies' detection activities were validated."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2004, the Congress appropriated $6.8 billion to serve 919,000 poor children through 1,680 Head Start grantees nationwide. Recent reports of financial improprieties at a number of Head Start programs around the country raised questions about the effectiveness of the oversight provided by the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in identifying and resolving financial management weaknesses in Head Start grantees. This testimony discusses (1) the processes ACF uses to assess the programs' risks, (2) whether those processes could be improved to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information ACF collects on its Head Start grantees, and (3) whether ACF ensures that grantees with financial management weaknesses correct those problems in a timely manner."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2004, the Congress appropriated $6.8 billion to serve 919,000 poor children through 1,680 Head Start grantees nationwide. Recent reports of financial improprieties at a number of Head Start programs around the country raised questions about the effectiveness of the oversight provided by the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in identifying and resolving financial management weaknesses in Head Start grantees. This testimony discusses (1) the processes ACF uses to assess the programs' risks, (2) whether those processes could be improved to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information ACF collects on its Head Start grantees, and (3) whether ACF ensures that grantees with financial management weaknesses correct those problems in a timely manner."

Free weekly newspaper that includes business and classified advertising.

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 a junior college district's statutorily defined service area is extended when the district provides services outside that area.

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 municipality that limits fees for police-initiated nonconsent tows must comply with Transportation Code section 643.204 (RQ-0281-GA)

None

This report addresses the adoption of a "broadcast flag" system by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to protect digital division (DTV) broadcasts from unauthorization redistribution.

None

The deep-sea gorgonian octocoral Primnoa resedaeformis is distributed throughout the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans at depths of 65-3200 m. It has a two-part skeleton of calcite and gorgonin. Towards the inside of the axial skeleton gorgonin and calcite are deposited in concentric growth rings, similar to tree rings. Colonies were collected from the Northeast Channel (northwest Atlantic Ocean, southwest of Nova Scotia, Canada) from depths of 250-475 m. Radiocarbon was measured in individual rings isolated from sections of each colony, after dissolution of calcite. Each {Delta}{sup 14}C measurement was paired with a ring age determined by three amateur ring counters. The precision of ring counts averaged better than {+-} 2 years. Accurate reconstruction of 20th century bomb-radiocarbon shows that (1) the growth rings are formed annually, (2) the gorgonin is derived from surface particulate organic matter (POM) and (3) useful environmental data are recorded in the organic endoskeletons of deep-sea octocorals. These results support the use of Primnoa resedaeformis as a long-term, high resolution monitor of surface ocean conditions, particularly in temperate and boreal environments where proxy data are lacking.

None

The present state-of-art Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) technology is based on platinum (Pt) as a catalyst for both the fuel (anode) and air (cathode) electrodes. This catalyst is highly active but susceptible to poisoning by CO, which may be present in the H{sub 2}-fuel used or may be introduced during the fuel processing. Presence of trace amount of CO and H{sub 2}S in the H{sub 2}-fuel poisons the anode irreversibly and decreases the performance of the PEMFCs. In an effort to reduce the Pt-loading and improve the PEMFC performance, we propose to synthesize a number of Pt-based binary, ternary, and quaternary electrocatalysts using Ru, Mo, Ir, Ni, and Co as a substitute for Pt. By fine-tuning the metal loadings and compositions of candidate electrocatalysts, we plan to minimize the cost and optimize the catalyst activity and performance in PEMFC. The feasibility of the novel electrocatalysts will be demonstrated in the proposed effort with gas phase CO and H{sub 2}S concentrations typical of those found in reformed fuel gas with coal/natural gas/methanol feedstocks. During this reporting period several tri-metallic electrocatalysts were synthesized using both ultra-sonication and conventional method. These catalysts (Pt/Ru/Mo, Pt/Ru/Ir, Pt/Ru/W, Ptr/Ru/Co, and Pt/Ru/Se on carbon) were …

A pump-probe scheme measures the rise time of ultrafast x-ray pulses. Conventional high speed x-ray diagnostics (x-ray streak cameras, PIN diodes, diamond PCD devices) do not provide sufficient time resolution to resolve rise times of x-ray pulses on the order of 50 fs or less as they are being produced by modern fast x-ray sources. Here, we are describing a pump-probe technique that can be employed to measure events where detector resolution is insufficient to resolve the event. The scheme utilizes a diamond plate as an x-ray transducer and a p-polarized probe beam.

This analysis report is one of a series of technical reports that document the Environmental Radiation Model for Yucca Mountain, Nevada (ERMYN), a biosphere model supporting the total system performance assessment (TSPA) for the geologic repository at Yucca Mountain. This report is one of the five biosphere reports that develop input parameter values for the biosphere model. The ''Biosphere Model Report'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 169460]) describes the conceptual model, as well as the mathematical model and its input parameters. Figure 1-1 is a graphical representation of the documentation hierarchy for the ERMYN. This figure shows relationships among the products (i.e., scientific analyses and model reports) developed for biosphere modeling and biosphere abstraction products for TSPA, as identified in the ''Technical Work Plan for Biosphere Modeling and Expert Support'' (BSC 2005 [DIRS 172782]). The purpose of this analysis report is to define values for biosphere model parameters that are related to the dietary, lifestyle, and dosimetric characteristics of the receptor. The biosphere model, consistent with the licensing rule at 10 CFR Part 63 [DIRS 173164], uses a hypothetical person called the reasonably maximally exposed individual (RMEI) to represent the potentially exposed population. The parameters that define the RMEI are based on …

Yucca Mountain, Nevada, was designated in 2002 to be the site for the nation's first permanent geological repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. The process of selecting a site for the repository began nearly 25 years ago with passage of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act in 1982. The Department of Energy (DOE) is responsible for submitting a license application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for constructing and operating the repository, and DOE's Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) is charged with carrying out this action. The use of multiple natural and engineered barriers in the current repository design are considered by OCRWM to be sufficiently robust to warrant license approval; however, potential design enhancements and increased understanding of both natural and engineered barriers, especially over the long time frames during which the waste is to remain isolated from human contact continue to be examined. The Office of Science and Technology and International (OST&I) was created within OCRWM to help explore novel technologies that might lower overall costs and to develop a greater understanding of processes relevant to the long-term performance of the repository. A brief overview of Yucca Mountain, and the role that OST&I has in …

The purpose of this system description document (SDD) is to establish requirements that drive the design of the surface industrial heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system and its bases to allow the design effort to proceed to license application. This SDD will be revised at strategic points as the design matures. This SDD identifies the requirements and describes the system design, as it currently exists, with emphasis on attributes of the design provided to meet the requirements. This SDD is an engineering tool for design control; accordingly, the primary audience and users are design engineers. This SDD is part of an iterative design process. It leads the design process with regard to the flowdown of upper tier requirements onto the system. Knowledge of these requirements is essential to performing the design process. The SDD follows the design with regard to the description of the system. The description that provided in this SDD reflects the current results of the design process.

Conventional and high resolution electron microscopy havebeen applied for studying lattice defects in nonpolar a-plane GaN grownon a 4H-SiC substrate with an AlN buffer layer. Samples in plan-view andcross-section configurations have been investigated. Basal and prismaticstacking faults together with Frank and Shockley partial dislocationswere found to be the main defects in the GaN layers. High resolutionelectron microscopy in combination with image simulation supported Drum smodel for the prismatic stacking faults. The density of basal stackingfaults was measured to be ~;1.6_106cm-1. The densities of partialdislocations terminating I1 and I2 types of intrinsic basal stackingfaults were ~;4.0_1010cm-2 and ~;0.4_1010cm-2, respectively. The energyof the I2 stacking fault in GaN was estimated to be (40+-4) erg/cm2 basedon the separation of Shockley partial dislocations. To the best of ourknowledge, the theoretically predicted I3 basal stacking fault in GaN wasobserved experimentally for the first time.

Daily newspaper from Baytown, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Photograph of Johnnie Zaiontz walking past a house surrounded by trees on the Tom Callaway Ranch in La Vernia, Texas.

Dr. Roberto Calderon, professor of history at the University of North Texas, motions with his hand in office.

Fotografía del Dr. Roberto Calderón, profesor de historia de la Universidad del Norte de Texas, en una oficina. El Dr. Calderón coloca un libro en una estantería. La habitación está llena de estantes con libros alineados con papeles. Una computadora y una impresora están encima del escritorio.

Dr. Roberto Calderon, professor of history at the University of North Texas, browses through books at the library.

Dr. Roberto Calderon, professor of history at the University of North Texas, browses for books at the library.