A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Justice (DOJ) reports from the latest available data that from 1992 to 2001 American Indians experienced violent crimes at more than twice the national rate. The Department of the Interior (DOI) and DOJ provide support to federally recognized tribes to address tribal justice issues. Upon request, GAO analyzed (1) the challenges facing tribes in adjudicating Indian country crimes and what federal efforts exist to help address these challenges and (2) the extent to which DOI and DOJ have collaborated with each other to support tribal justice systems. To do so, GAO interviewed tribal justice officials at 12 tribes in four states and reviewed laws, including the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010, to identify federal efforts to assist tribes. GAO selected these tribes based on court structure, among other factors. Although the results cannot be generalized, they provided useful perspectives about the challenges various tribes face in adjudicating crime in Indian country. GAO also compared DOI and DOJ's efforts against practices that can help enhance and sustain collaboration among federal agencies and standards for internal control in the federal government."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The United States intends to invest about $80 billion to maintain and modernize its nuclear weapons capabilities and infrastructure over the next decade. The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a semi-autonomous agency within the Department of Energy (DOE), maintains the nation's nuclear weapons through its Stockpile Stewardship Program (SSP). NNSA uses contractors to manage and operate eight separate sites, referred to as the nuclear security enterprise, to achieve the SSP's mission. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 directed GAO to review the SSP. This report focuses on the extent to which NNSA has the data necessary to make informed, enterprisewide decisions, particularly data on the condition of infrastructure, capital improvement projects, shared use of facilities, and critical human capital skills. GAO analyzed agency infrastructure data; reviewed agency directives and guidance; and interviewed DOE, NNSA, and contractor officials."

The U.S. economy has grown increasingly interconnected with other economies around the world, a phenomenon often referred to as globalization. Over the past 20 years, multinational corporations and nations have adopted voluntary, legally enforceable, and industry-specific codes of conduct to address concerns over the economic, social, and political impact of this phenomenon. Congress will continue to play a pivotal role in addressing the large number of issues regarding internationally applied corporate codes of conduct that remain to be negotiated.

As global economic competition heightens, many firms and workers face difficult adjustment problems. Congress has responded to these adjustment costs by authorizing four trade adjustment assistance (TAA) programs to assist trade-impacted workers, firms, farmers, and communities. This report discusses the TAA program for firms (TAAF). The TAAF program provides technical assistance to trade-affected firms to help them develop strategies and make other adjustments to remain competitive in the changing international economy.

Photograph of NoiseFold performing "NoiseFold 2.0" at the University of North Texas' Merrill Ellis Intermedia Theater. Member David Stout is standing at a laptop as three screens display abstract graphics behind him.

Photograph of NoiseFold performing "NoiseFold 2.0" at the University of North Texas' Merrill Ellis Intermedia Theater. Member David Stout is standing at a laptop as two screens display abstract graphics behind him.

This report discusses how the Obama Administration differs from the Bush Administration regarding strategy in Iran relations; it also discusses the current political state of Iran, including incidents of violence and unrest. Much of the debate over U.S. policy toward Iran has centered on the nature of the current regime; some believe that Iran, a country of about 70 million people, is a threat to U.S. interests because hardliners in Iran's regime dominate and set a policy direction intended to challenge U.S. influence and allies in the region.

The process of recovering and processing High Level Waste (HLW) the waste in storage tanks at the Savannah River Site (SRS) typically requires mixing the contents of the tank with one to four mixers (pumps) located within the tank. The typical criteria to establish a mixed condition in a tank are based on the number of pumps in operation and the time duration of operation. To ensure that a mixed condition is achieved, operating times are typically set conservatively long. This approach results in high operational costs because of the long mixing times and high maintenance and repair costs for the same reason. A significant reduction in both of these costs might be realized by reducing the required mixing time based on calculating a reliable indicator of mixing with a suitably validated computer code. The focus of the present work is to establish mixing criteria applicable to miscible fluids, with an ultimate goal of addressing waste processing in HLW tanks at SRS and quantifying the mixing time required to suspend sludge particles with the submersible jet pump. A single-phase computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach was taken for the analysis of jet flow patterns with an emphasis on the velocity decay …

UOP LLC, a Honeywell Company, Ford Motor Company, and Striatus, Inc., collaborated with Professor Craig Jensen of the University of Hawaii and Professor Vidvuds Ozolins of University of California, Los Angeles on a multi-year cost-shared program to discover novel complex metal hydrides for hydrogen storage. This innovative program combined sophisticated molecular modeling with high throughput combinatorial experiments to maximize the probability of identifying commercially relevant, economical hydrogen storage materials with broad application. A set of tools was developed to pursue the medium throughput (MT) and high throughput (HT) combinatorial exploratory investigation of novel complex metal hydrides for hydrogen storage. The assay programs consisted of monitoring hydrogen evolution as a function of temperature. This project also incorporated theoretical methods to help select candidate materials families for testing. The Virtual High Throughput Screening served as a virtual laboratory, calculating structures and their properties. First Principles calculations were applied to various systems to examine hydrogen storage reaction pathways and the associated thermodynamics. The experimental program began with the validation of the MT assay tool with NaAlH4/0.02 mole Ti, the state of the art hydrogen storage system given by decomposition of sodium alanate to sodium hydride, aluminum metal, and hydrogen. Once certified, a combinatorial …

This report focuses on the impact of curing temperature on the performance properties of simulated Saltstone mixes. The key performance property of interest is saturated liquid permeability (measured as hydraulic conductivity), an input to the Performance Assessment (PA) modeling for the Saltstone Disposal Facility (SDF). Therefore, the current study was performed to measure the dependence of saturated hydraulic conductivity on curing temperature of Saltstone mixes, to correlate these results with measurements of Young's moduli on the same samples and to compare the Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images of the microstructure at each curing temperature in an effort to associate this significant changes in permeability with changes in microstructure. This work demonstrated that the saturated liquid permeability of Saltstone mixes depends significantly on the curing temperature. As the curing temperature increases, the hydraulic conductivity can increase over three orders of magnitude from roughly 10{sup -9} cm/sec to 10{sup -6} cm/sec over the temperature range of 20 C to 80 C. Although an increased aluminate concentration (at 0.22 M) in the ARP/MCU waste stream improves (decreases) saturated permeability for samples cured at lower temperatures, the permeabilities for samples cured at 60 C to 80 C are the same as the permeabilities measured …

Surplus plutonium bearing materials in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) complex are stored in the 3013 containers that are designed to meet the requirements of the DOE standard DOE-STD-3013. The 3013 containers are in turn packaged inside 9975 packages that are designed to meet the NRC 10 CFR Part 71 regulatory requirements for transporting the Type B fissile materials across the DOE complex. The design requirements for the hypothetical accident conditions (HAC) involving a fire are given in 10 CFR 71.73. The 9975 packages are stored at the DOE Savannah River Site in the K-Area Material Storage (KAMS) facility for long term of up to 50 years. The design requirements for safe storage in KAMS facility containing multiple sources of combustible materials are far more challenging than the HAC requirements in 10 CFR 71.73. While the 10 CFR 71.73 postulates an HAC fire of 1475 F and 30 minutes duration, the facility fire calls for a fire of 1500 F and 86 duration. This paper describes a methodology and the analysis results that meet the design limits of the 9975 component and demonstrate the robustness of the 9975 package.

The EP-61 primary containment vessel of the 5320 shipping package has been used for storage and transportation of Pu-238 plutonium oxide heat source material. For storage, the material in its convenience canister called EP-60 is placed in the EP-61 and sealed by two threaded caps with elastomer O-ring seals. When the package is shipped, the outer cap is seal welded to the body. While stored, the EP-61s are placed in a cooling water bath. In preparation for welding, several containers are removed from storage and staged to the welding booth. The significant heat generation of the contents, and resulting rapid rise in component temperature necessitates special handling practices. The test described here was performed to determine the temperature rise with time and peak temperature attained for an EP-61 with 203 watts of internal heat generation, upon its removal from the cooling water bath.

Precise electronic structure calculations of ions in plasmas benefit from optimized numerical radial meshes. A new closed form expression for obtaining non-linear parameters for the efficient generation of analytic log-linear radial meshes is presented. In conjunction with the (very simple) algorithm for the rapid high precision evaluation of Lambert's W-function, the above identity allows the precise construction of generalized log-linear radial meshes adapted to various constraints.

A Surface Energy Balance System (SEBS) has been installed collocated with each deployed ECOR system at the Southern Great Plains (SGP), North Slope of Alaska (NSA), Tropical Western Pacific (TWP), ARM Mobile Facility 1 (AMF1), and ARM Mobile Facility 2 (AMF2). The surface energy balance system consists of upwelling and downwelling solar and infrared radiometers within one net radiometer, a wetness sensor, and soil measurements. The SEBS measurements allow the comparison of ECOR sensible and latent heat fluxes with the energy balance determined from the SEBS and provide information on wetting of the sensors for data quality purposes.

Nanoparticles have long been recognized a hazardous substances by personnel working in the field. They are not, however, listed as a separate, distinct category of dangerous goods at present. As dangerous goods or hazardous substances, they require packaging and transportation practices which parallel the established practices for hazardous materials transport. Pending establishment of a distinct category for such materials by the Department of Transportation, existing consensus or industrial protocols must be followed. Action by DOT to establish appropriate packaging and transport requirements is recommended.

Energy consumption in datacenters has recently become a major concern due to the rising operational costs andscalability issues. Recent solutions to this problem propose the principle of energy proportionality, i.e., the amount of energy consumedby the server nodes must be proportional to the amount of work performed. For data parallelism and fault tolerancepurposes, most common file systems used in MapReduce-type clusters maintain a set of replicas for each data block. A coveringset is a group of nodes that together contain at least one replica of the data blocks needed for performing computing tasks. In thiswork, we develop and analyze algorithms to maintain energy proportionality by discovering a covering set that minimizesenergy consumption while placing the remaining nodes in lowpower standby mode. Our algorithms can also discover coveringsets in heterogeneous computing environments. In order to allow more data parallelism, we generalize our algorithms so that itcan discover k-covering sets, i.e., a set of nodes that contain at least k replicas of the data blocks. Our experimental results showthat we can achieve substantial energy saving without significant performance loss in diverse cluster configurations and workingenvironments.

TCF funding of a CRADA between LBNL and RSLE leveraged RSLE's original $1M investment in LBNL research and led to development of a solar cell fabrication process that will bring the high efficiency, high voltage hybrid tandem solar cell closer to commercialization. RSLE has already built a pilot line at its Phoenix, Arizona site.

We show for the first time that the quenching of electronic excitation from nuclear recoils in liquid xenon is well-described by Lindhard theory, if the nuclear recoil energy is reconstructed using the combined (scintillation and ionization) energy scale proposed by Shutt et al.. We argue for the adoption of this perspective in favor of the existing preference for reconstructing nuclear recoil energy solely from primary scintillation. We show that signal partitioning into scintillation and ionization is well-described by the Thomas-Imel box model. We discuss the implications for liquid xenon detectors aimed at the direct detection of dark matter.

At its most basic level, the injection of CO{sub 2} into geologic CO{sub 2} storage sites involves a system comprising the wellbore and the target reservoir. The wellbore is the only conduit available to emplace CO{sub 2} into reservoirs for long-term storage. At the same time, wellbores in general have been identified as the most likely conduit for CO{sub 2} and brine leakage from geologic carbon sequestration (GCS) sites, especially those in sedimentary basins with historical hydrocarbon production. We have developed a coupled wellbore and reservoir model for simulating the dynamics of CO{sub 2} injection and leakage through wellbores. The model describes the following processes: (1) upward or downward wellbore flow of CO{sub 2} and variable salinity water with transition from supercritical to gaseous CO{sub 2} including Joule-Thomson cooling, (2) exsolution of CO{sub 2} from the aqueous phase as pressure drops, and (3) cross flow into or interaction with layers of surrounding rock (reservoirs). We use the Drift-Flux Model and related conservation equations for describing transient two-phase non-isothermal wellbore flow of CO{sub 2}-water mixtures under different flow regimes and interacting with surrounding rock. The mass and thermal energy balance equations are solved numerically by a finite difference scheme with wellbore …

A modular, transportable evaporator system, using thin film evaporative technology, is planned for deployment at the Hanford radioactive waste storage tank complex. This technology, herein referred to as a wiped film evaporator (WFE), will be located at grade level above an underground storage tank to receive pumped liquids, concentrate the liquid stream from 1.1 specific gravity to approximately 1.4 and then return the concentrated solution back into the tank. Water is removed by evaporation at an internal heated drum surface exposed to high vacuum. The condensed water stream will be shipped to the site effluent treatment facility for final disposal. This operation provides significant risk mitigation to failure of the aging 242-A Evaporator facility; the only operating evaporative system at Hanford maximizing waste storage. This technology is being implemented through a development and deployment project by the tank farm operating contractor, Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS), for the Office of River Protection/Department of Energy (ORPIDOE), through Columbia Energy and Environmental Services, Inc. (Columbia Energy). The project will finalize technology maturity and install a system at one of the double-shell tank farms. This paper summarizes results of a pilot-scale test program conducted during calendar year 2010 as part of the ongoing …

Concurrent resolution introduced by the Texas House of Representatives and Senate recognizing February 1, 2011, as Texas Tech University System Day.

Concurrent resolution introduced by the Texas House of Representatives and Senate commemorating the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Texas Silver-Haired Legislature.

Concurrent resolution introduced by the Texas House of Representatives and Senate recognizing January 31, 2011, as Bosque County Day at the State Capitol.

The proposed neutron capture measurement for {sup 238}Pu was carried out in Nov-Dec, 2010, using the DANCE array at LANSCE, LANL. The total beam-on-target time is about 14 days plus additional 5 days for the background measurement. The target was prepared at LLNL with the new electrplating cell capable of plating the {sup 238}Pu isotope simultaneously on both sides of the 3-{micro}m thick Ti backing foil. A total mass of 395 {micro}g with an activity of 6.8 mCi was deposited onto the area of 7 mm in diameter. The {sup 238}Pu sample was enriched to 99.35%. The target was covered by 1.4 {micro}m double-side aluminized mylar and then inserted into a specially designed vacuum-tight container, shown in Fig. 1, for the {sup 238}Pu containment. The container was tested for leaks in the vacuum chamber at LLNL. An identical container without {sup 238}Pu was made as well and used as a blank for the background measurement.