There have been impressive improvements in the performance of small-animal positron emission tomography (PET) systems since their first development in the mid 1990s, both in terms of spatial resolution and sensitivity, which have directly contributed to the increasing adoption of this technology for a wide range of biomedical applications. Nonetheless, current systems still are largely dominated by the size of the scintillator elements used in the detector. Our research predicts that developing scintillator arrays with an element size of 250 {micro}m or smaller will lead to an image resolution of 500 {micro}m when using 18F- or 64Cu-labeled radiotracers, giving a factor of 4-8 improvement in volumetric resolution over the highest resolution research systems currently in existence. This proposal had two main objectives: (i) To develop and evaluate much higher resolution and efficiency scintillator arrays that can be used in the future as the basis for detectors in a small-animal PET scanner where the spatial resolution is dominated by decay and interaction physics rather than detector size. (ii) To optimize one such high resolution, high sensitivity detector and adaptively integrate it into the existing microPET II small animal PET scanner as a 'zoom-in' detector that provides higher spatial resolution and sensitivity …

The question of how the United States should respond to China's military modernization effort, including its naval modernization effort, has emerged as a key issue in U.S. defense planning. The question is of particular importance to the U.S. Navy, because many U.S. military programs for countering improved Chinese military forces would fall within the Navy's budget. Potential oversight issues for Congress include the following: whether the U.S. Navy in coming years will be large enough to adequately counter improved Chinese maritime anti-access forces while also adequately performing other missions of interest to U.S. policymakers around the world; the Navy's ability to counter Chinese ASBMs and submarines; and whether the Navy, in response to China's maritime anti-access capabilities, should shift over time to a more distributed fleet architecture.

General Motors, LLC and energy partner Shell Hydrogen, LLC, deployed a system of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles integrated with a hydrogen fueling station infrastructure to operate under real world conditions as part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Controlled Hydrogen Fleet and Infrastructure Validation and Demonstration Project. This technical report documents the performance and describes the learnings from progressive generations of vehicle fuel cell system technology and multiple approaches to hydrogen generation and delivery for vehicle fueling.

This report provides a brief overview of the transition underway and information on U.S. foreign aid to Egypt. U.S. policy toward Egypt has long been framed as an investment in regional stability, built primarily on long-running military cooperation and sustaining the March 1979 Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty. Successive U.S. Administrations have viewed Egypt's government as a moderating influence in the Middle East. U.S. policy makers are now grappling with complex questions about the future of U.S.-Egypt relations, and these debates are likely to influence consideration of appropriations and authorization legislation in the 112th Congress.

Numerous issues affecting federal land management are before Congress. They include the extent of federal ownership, and whether to decrease, maintain, or increase the amount of federal holdings; the condition of currently owned federal infrastructure and lands, and the priority of their maintenance versus new acquisitions; the optimal balance between land use and protection, and whether federal lands should be managed primarily to produce national or local benefits; and border control on federal lands along the southwest border.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense’s (DOD) management of its key humanitarian assistance programs reflects both positive practices and weaknesses:"

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This report provides a brief overview on the current political state of Kuwait, which has been pivotal to nearly two decades of U.S. involvement in Iraq and the Middle East. This report also discusses relations between Kuwait and the U.S., and the continuing domestic unrest in Kuwait, an issue separate from the unrest currently sweeping the rest of the Middle East.

A study has been conducted on the material demand and life-cycle energy and emissions performance of power-generating technologies in addition to those reported in Part I of this series. The additional technologies included concentrated solar power, integrated gasification combined cycle, and a fossil/renewable (termed hybrid) geothermal technology, more specifically, co-produced gas and electric power plants from geo-pressured gas and electric (GPGE) sites. For the latter, two cases were considered: gas and electricity export and electricity-only export. Also modeled were cement, steel and diesel fuel requirements for drilling geothermal wells as a function of well depth. The impact of the construction activities in the building of plants was also estimated. The results of this study are consistent with previously reported trends found in Part I of this series. Among all the technologies considered, fossil combustion-based power plants have the lowest material demand for their construction and composition. On the other hand, conventional fossil-based power technologies have the highest greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, followed by the hybrid and then two of the renewable power systems, namely hydrothermal flash power and biomass-based combustion power. GHG emissions from U.S. geothermal flash plants were also discussed, estimates provided, and data needs identified. Of the GPGE …

The overall project goal is to reduce the cost of home and neighborhood photovoltaic storage systems by reducing the single largest cost component – the energy storage cells. Solar power is accepted as an environmentally advantaged renewable power source. Its deployment in small communities and integrated into the grid, requires a safe, reliable and low cost energy storage system. The incumbent technology of lead acid cells is large, toxic to produce and dispose of, and offer limited life even with significant maintenance. The ideal PV storage battery would have the safety and low cost of lead acid but the performance of lithium ion chemistry. Present lithium ion batteries have the desired performance but cost and safety remain the two key implementation barriers. The purpose of this project is to develop new lithium ion cells that can meet PVES cost and safety requirements using A123Systems phosphate-based cathode chemistries in commercial PHEV cell formats. The cost target is a cell design for a home or neighborhood scale at <$25/kWh. This DOE program is the continuation and expansion of an initial MPSC (Michigan Public Service Commission) program towards this goal. This program further pushes the initial limits of some aspects of the original …

This is an overview of the elements of federal criminal money laundering statutes and the sanctions imposed for their violation.

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A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For the 52 NNSA identified limitations for all weapons in the U.S. nuclear stockpile, 86 percent fall into six types: detonation safety under abnormal conditions, weapon reliability, weapon delivery, more frequent replacement of limited life components, nuclear yield, and worker safety. Some DOD officials expressed concern over the impact that certain weapon limitations have on weapon operation, maintenance, and war planning. According to DOD officials, current DOD mitigation actions, as well as the successful completion of ongoing and planned NNSA efforts, should address most limitations for which the officials raised concerns. DOD officials stated that the current stockpile allows sufficient flexibility to mitigate limitations. However, they told GAO that there may be less flexibility in the future as the stockpile continues to age and decreases in size. For each weapon system, NNSA provides DOD with guidance containing additional information on nuclear weapon limitations. However, GAO found that this guidance does not cover all limitations and some DOD officials said that it may not provide them with relevant information for some limitations. Specifically, the guidance addresses approximately 60 percent of all limitations but does not include limitations …

This report discusses the Project BioShield Act (P.L. 108-276), In 2004, passed by Congress to encourage the private sector to develop medical countermeasures against chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) terrorism agents and to provide a novel mechanism for federal acquisition of those newly developed countermeasures. This law provides three main authorities: (1) relaxing regulatory requirements for some CBRN terrorism-related spending, including hiring personnel and awarding research grants; (2) guaranteeing a federal market for new CBRN medical countermeasures; and (3) permitting emergency use of unapproved countermeasures.

Undetected microcracks in solar cells are a principal cause of failure in service due to subsequent weather exposure, mechanical flexing or diurnal temperature cycles. Existing methods have not been able to detect cracks early enough in the production cycle to prevent inadvertent shipment to customers. This program, sponsored under the DOE Photovoltaic Supply Chain and Cross-Cutting Technologies program, studied the feasibility of quantifying surface micro-discontinuities by use of a novel technique, thermoreflectance imaging, to detect surface temperature gradients with very high spatial resolution, in combination with a suite of conventional imaging methods such as electroluminescence. The project carried out laboratory tests together with computational image analyses using sample solar cells with known defects supplied by industry sources or DOE National Labs. Quantitative comparisons between the effectiveness of the new technique and conventional methods were determined in terms of the smallest detectable crack. Also the robustness of the new technique for reliable microcrack detection was determined at various stages of processing such as before and after antireflectance treatments. An overall assessment is that the new technique compares favorably with existing methods such as lock-in thermography or ultrasonics. The project was 100% completed in Sept, 2010. A detailed report of key findings …

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The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a proposed regional free trade agreement (FTA) currently under negotiation between Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States, and Vietnam. The negotiating partners have expressed an interest in allowing this proposed “living agreement” to cover new trade topics and to include new members that are willing to adopt the proposed agreement's high standards. This report provides a comparative economic analysis of the TPP countries and their economic relations with the United States. It suggests that the TPP negotiating partners encompass great diversity in population, economic development, and trade and investment patterns with the United States. This economic diversity and inclusion of fast-growing emerging markets presents both opportunities and challenges for the United States in achieving a comprehensive and high standard regional FTA among TPP countries.

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This report covers concerns and issues relating to governance, elections, election fraud/nepotism, human rights, and Afghan culture in Afghanistan. It discusses the pros and cons of U.S.A. intervention in the shaping of these endeavors.

An archaeological survey report of the proposed site of the Marine Creek Corridor Linear Park Improvements Project in Fort Worth, Texas to determine whether there were any cultural resources in the area.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since enactment of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007, 49 project studies have undergone peer review but it is unclear how many were performed in response to section 2034 requirements because the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) does not make specific determinations or track if a peer review is being conducted under section 2034. In February 2011, in response to section 2034, the Corps submitted its initial report to Congress summarizing its implementation of the peer review process. In its report, however, the Corps did not distinguish which studies had been selected for peer review in accordance with section 2034 and therefore, did not provide Congress information that would help decision makers evaluate the requirements of section 2034 at the end of the trial period."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "While repayments, dividends, and interest from institutions participating in the Capital Purchase Program (CPP) have exceeded the program’s original investment disbursements, the number of missed payments has increased over the life of the program. As of January 31, 2012, the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) had received $211.5 billion from its CPP investments, exceeding the $204.9 billion it had disbursed. Of that amount, $16.7 billion remains outstanding, and most of these investments were concentrated in a relatively small number of institutions. In particular, as of January 31, 2012, 25 institutions accounted for $11.2 billion, or 67 percent, of outstanding investments. As of November 30, 2011, Treasury estimated that CPP would have a lifetime income of $13.5 billion after all institutions exited the program. As of January 31, 2012, 341 institutions had exited CPP, almost half by repaying CPP with funds from other federal programs. Institutions continue to exit CPP, but the number of institutions missing scheduled dividend or interest payments has increased. For example, as of November 30, 2011, the number of institutions that had missed their quarterly payments rose to 158, a marked increase from …

Saltstone Disposal Unit 2 contains a sheet drain fabric intended to separate solids from drain water to be returned to the Salt Feed Tank. A similar system installed in Vault 4 appears to be ineffective in keeping solids out of the drain water return lines. Waste Solidification Engineering is considering installation of an additional fabric membrane to supplement the existing sheet drain in SDU 2. Amerdrain 200 is the product currently installed in SDU 2. This product is no longer available, so Sitedrain 94 was used as the replacement product in this testing. Fabrics with apparent opening sizes of 10, 25, 50 and 100 microns were evaluated. These fabrics were evaluated under three separate test conditions, a water flow test, a solids retention test and a grout pour test. A flow test with water showed that installation of an additional filter layer will predictably reduce the theoretical flux through the sheet drain. The manufacturer reports the flux for Sitedrain 94 as 150 gpm/ft{sup 2} by ASTM D-4491. This compares reasonably well with the 117 gpm/ft{sup 2} obtained in this testing. A combination of the 10 micron fabric with Sitedrain 94 could be expected to decrease flux by about 10 times …

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