A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Amid heightened awareness that many patients with cancer and other chronic diseases suffer from undertreated pain, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Purdue Pharma's controlled-release pain reliever OxyContin in 1995. Sales grew rapidly, and by 2001 OxyContin had become the most prescribed brandname narcotic medication for treating moderate-to-severe pain. In early 2000, reports began to surface about abuse and diversion for illicit use of OxyContin, which contains the opioid oxycodone. GAO was asked to examine concerns about these issues. Specifically, GAO reviewed (1) how OxyContin was marketed and promoted, (2) what factors contributed to the abuse and diversion of OxyContin, and (3) what actions have been taken to address OxyContin abuse and diversion."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Over 15 million acres in the United States are suspected of being, or known to be, contaminated with military munitions. These sites include ranges on closing military installations, closed ranges on active installations, and formerly used defense sites. Under the Defense Environmental Restoration Program, established in 1986, the Department of Defense (DOD) must identify, assess, and clean up military munitions contamination at these sites. DOD estimates these activities will cost from $8 billion to $35 billion. Because of the magnitude of DOD's cleanup effort, both in terms of cost and affected acreage, as well as the significant public safety, health, and environmental risks that military munitions may pose, The Ranking Minority Member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce asked us to evaluate (1) DOD's progress in implementing its program to identify, assess, and clean up military munitions sites and (2) DOD's plans to clean up remaining sites in the future."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO was asked to assess the condition of key equipment items and to determine if the services have adequate plans for sustaining, modernizing, or replacing them. To address these questions, we selected 25 major equipment items, and determined (1) their current condition, (2) whether the services have mapped out a program strategy for these items, (3) whether current and projected funding is consistent with these strategies, and (4) whether these equipment items are capable of fulfilling their wartime missions."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The strong productivity gains in the U.S. economy have hinged in part on transportation networks working more efficiently. The nation's ports, which handle 95 percent of overseas freight tonnage, are a key link in this network, and efficient intermodal links between ship, rail, and highways are vital to continued productivity gains. GAO was asked to address (1) the challenges to freight mobility, (2) the limitations key stakeholders have encountered in addressing these challenges, and (3) strategies that may aid decision makers in enhancing freight mobility. GAO's work was based on a synthesis of previous studies and a review of conditions at 10 ports and surrounding areas that handle almost two-thirds of all containers moving in and out of the country."

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This report discusses the Supreme Court's decision in McConnell v. FEC. The court upheld against facial constitutional challenges key portions of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA), (P.L. 107-155, commonly known as the McCain-Feingold or Shays-Meehan campaign finance reform law).

I provide a review of observations in the optical, UV (HST), and EUV (EUVE and Chandra LETG) of the rapid periodic oscillations of nonmagnetic, disk-accreting, high mass-accretion rate cataclysmic variables (CVs), with particular emphasis on the dwarf nova SS Cyg in outburst. In addition, I drawn attention to a correlation, valid over nearly six orders of magnitude in frequency, between the frequencies of the quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) of white dwarf, neutron star, and black hole binaries. This correlation identifies the high frequency quasi-coherent oscillations (so-called ''dwarf nova oscillations'') of CVs with the kilohertz QPOs of low mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs), and the low frequency and low coherence QPOs of CVs with the horizontal branch oscillations (or the broad noise component identified as such) of LMXBs. Assuming that the same mechanisms produce the QPOs of white dwarf, neutron star, and black hole binaries, this correlation has important implications for QPO models.

Chemical inhibition of laminar propane flames by organophosphorus compounds has been studied experimentally, using a laboratory Mache Hebra nozzle burner and a flat flame burner with molecular beam mass spectrometry (MBMS), and with a computational flame model using a detailed chemical kinetic reaction mechanism. Both fuel-lean and fuel-rich propane flames were studied to examine the role of equivalence ratio in flame inhibition. The experiments examined a wide variety of organophosphorus compounds. We report on the experimental species flame profiles for tri-methyl phosphate (TMP) and compare them with the species flame profile results from modeling of TMP and di-methyl methyl phosphonate (DMMP). Both the experiments and kinetic modeling support and illustrate previous experimental studies in both premixed and non-premixed flames that inhibition efficiency is effectively the same for all of the organophosphorus compounds examined, independent of the molecular structure of the initial inhibitor molecule. The chemical inhibition is due to reactions involving the small P-bearing species HOPO{sub 2} and HOPO that are produced by the organophosphorus compounds (OPCs). The ratios of the HOPO{sub 2} and HOPO concentrations differ between the lean and rich flames, with HOPO{sub 2} dominant in lean flames while HOPO dominates in rich flames. The resulting HOPO{sub 2} …

The purpose of this report is to document the technological opportunities of integrating power electronics-based inverters into a TEP system, primarily in the 10-kW size range. The proposed enhancement offers potential advantages in weight reduction, improved efficiency, better performance in a wider range of generator operating conditions, greater versatility and adaptability, and adequate reliability. In order to obtain strong assurance of the availability of inverters that meet required performance and reliability levels, a market survey was performed. The survey obtained positive responses from several manufacturers in the motor drive and distributed generation industries. This study also includes technology reviews and assessments relating to circuit topologies, reliability issues, vulnerability to pulses of electromagnetic energy, potential improvements in semiconductor materials, and potential performance improvement through cryogenics.

Student newspaper of Harper Independent School District in Harper, Texas that includes school news and information along with advertising.

Semi-weekly newspaper from Clifton, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

A series of glass samples were prepared analogous to high level waste glass using either glass frit or glass precursors combined with a high level waste surrogate containing NaTcO{sub 4}. Three different technetium species were observed in these glasses depending upon the synthesis conditions. If the glasses were prepared by reducing NaTcO{sub 4} to TcO{sub 2} {center_dot} 2H{sub 2}O with hydrazine or if a large amount of organic material was present, inclusions of TcO{sub 2} were observed. If no organic material was present, technetium was incorporated as TcO{sub 4}{sup -}. If only a small amount of organic material was present, isolated Tc(IV) sites were observed in the glass. The relative technetium retention of these glasses was estimated from the Tc K-edge height, and had no correlation with the oxidation state of the technetium. Pertechnetate was well retained in these glasses.

The behavior of nanostructured materials/small-volumestructures and biologi-cal/bio-implantable materials, so-called "nano"and "bio" materials, is currently much in vogue in materials science. Oneaspect of this field, which to date has received only limited attention,is their fracture and fatigue properties. In this paper, we examine twotopics in this area, namely the premature fatigue failure ofsilicon-based micron-scale structures for microelectromechanical systems(MEMS), and the fracture properties of mineralized tissue, specificallyhuman bone.

The objective of this project is to quantify the ability of the electrical induced polarization (IP) method to noninvasively monitor the reduction in reactive iron performance that is known to reduce the effectiveness of the permeable reactive barrier (PRB) with time. The primary scientific goals include: (1) fundamental laboratory studies to evaluate the sensitivity of the IP method to: Fe0 total surface area Fe0 surface chemistry physical/chemical changes to the Fe0 surface resulting from oxidation and precipitation (2) monitoring of the electrical tomographic response of the Kansas City PRB over a three-year period and assessment, via correlation with aqueous geochemical data and extracted iron cores, of whether electrical signatures associated with reduced PRB performance are resolvable in field studies (3) optimization of a three-dimensional tomographic imaging algorithm for application to highly conductive, high electrical contrast environments as represented by a PRB IP theory and empirical data resulting from the original development of the method for mineral exploration suggests that the method is highly relevant in the study of reactive iron barriers. Laboratory and field IP studies on mineral deposits illustrate the sensitivity of IP parameters to metal concentration, particle size and metal surface chemistry. IP theory, based on electrical (Warburg) …

We describe the development of the electronics that will be used to read out the Fiber Tracker and Preshower detectors in Run IIb. This electronics is needed for operation at 132ns bunch crossing, and may provide a measurement of the z coordinate of the Fiber Tracker hits when operating at 396ns bunch crossing. Specifically, we describe the design and preliminary tests of the Trip chip, MCM IIa, MCM IIb and MCM IIc. This document also serves as a user manual for the Trip chip and the MCM.

The present Fermilab D0 silicon microstrip tracker, the silicon microstrip tracker which was designed to replace it, and plans for upgrading the present silicon tracker are described.

The objective of this research is to increase the knowledge of the fundamental technetium chemistry that is necessary to address challenges to the safe, long-term remediation of high-level waste posed by this element. These challenges may be divided into two categories: unexpected behavior of technetium in high-level waste tanks at the Hanford and Savannah River Sites and the behavior of technetium in waste forms.

The CDF RunIIa silicon detector made the transition from commissioning to data taking. CDF's online and offline tracking algorithms, the performance of Layer 00 and the RunIIb silicon upgrade project are covered in this article.

OAK-B135 The project involved a study of a fundamental response of terrestrial vegetation to rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration, namely, the change in leaf conductance to gas diffusion associated with a change in the aperture of the microscopic pores (stomata) on the surface of leaves.

Fossil fuels currently provide 85% of the world's energy needs, with the majority coming from coal, due to its low cost, wide availability, and high energy content. The extensive use of coal-fired power assumes that the resulting CO{sub 2} emissions can be vented to the atmosphere. However, exponentially increasing atmospheric CO{sub 2} levels have brought this assumption under critical review. Over the last decade, this discussion has evolved from whether exponentially increasing anthropogenic CO{sub 2} emissions will adversely affect the global environment, to the timing and magnitude of their impact. A variety of sequestration technologies are being explored to mitigate CO{sub 2} emissions. These technologies must be both environmentally benign and economically viable. Mineral carbonation is an attractive candidate technology as it disposes of CO{sub 2} as geologically stable, environmentally benign mineral carbonates, clearly satisfying the first criteria. The primary challenge for mineral carbonation is cost-competitive process development. CO{sub 2} mineral sequestration--the conversion of stationary-source CO{sub 2} emissions into mineral carbonates (e.g., magnesium and calcium carbonate, MgCO{sub 3} and CaCO{sub 3})--has recently emerged as one of the most promising sequestration options, providing permanent CO{sub 2} disposal, rather than storage. In this approach a magnesium-bearing feedstock mineral (typically serpentine or olivine; …

The recent experimental advances in cold atomic traps have induced a great amount of interest in fields from condensed matter to particle physics, including approaches and prospects from the theoretical point of view. In this work we investigate the general properties and the ground state of an asymmetrical dilute gas of cold fermionic atoms, formed by two particle species having different densities. We have show in a recent paper, that a mixed phase composed of normal and superfluid components is the energetically favored ground state of such a cold fermionic system. Here we extend the analysis and verify that in fact, the mixed phase is the preferred ground state of an asymmetrical superfluid in various situations. We predict that the mixed phase can serve as a way of detecting superfluidity and estimating the magnitude of the gap parameter in asymmetrical fermionic systems.

In this note we describe the first set of tests done with a sample of TriP chips that were mounted on a modified AFE board. The modifications consisted of different firmware and the replacement of one power supply switch. The board used was a standard AFEIc board (red type) on which new MCMs (MCMIIs) were mounted. The new MCMs were designed to support the TriP and emulate the SVX for readout when mounted on an AFEIc board. The TriP and the MCMs are described in Ref. [1]. Two versions of the MCMII were designed and built: one (MCMIIb) supports two TriP chips wirebonded directly to the MCM substrate. The other, (MCMIIc) supports one TriP which can be either wirebonded directly or packaged into a standard TQFP surface mount package. Due to space constraints, this MCM can support only 1 TriP. We tested 6 TriP chips on 3 different MCMIIb (MCMIIb-1, MCMIIb-2 and MCMIIb-3) and 2 other TriPs were tested on MCMIIc, one of them with an unpackaged TriP (MCMIIc-1) and the other with a packaged TriP (MCMIIc-2). A set of 10 programable internal registers control the TriP operation, the description of these registers can be found in [1]. Table 1 …

We continue evaluation of the new electronics developed for the Central Fiber Tracker and Preshower detectors. With the custom TriP chip and MCM II we have measured the position of the hits along the fiber by comparing the time of arrival of the photons at the VLPC with the expected timing relative to the beam. The measured rms resolution at the center of the fibers is 46cm for hits with more than 8 photo-electrons and is dominated by the statistics of photon arrival time. The corresponding resolution near the ends of the fibers (where more photoelectrons are collected) is calculated to be of order 27cm. With a second submission of the TriP chip to add the time-of-flight measuring capability we will effectively double the number of channels in the central fiber tracker. This capability will increase the maximum luminosity at which D0 can do tracking from {approx} 100 {center_dot} 10{sup 30}cm{sup -2}s{sup -1} to {approx} 200 {center_dot} 10{sup 30} cm{sup -2}s{sup -1} (at a bench mark tracking specification). The cost of replacing the electronics is of order $500K and the necessary lead time is 1.5 years.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) spends more on information technology (IT) annually than any other department or agency, accounting for about half of the $59 billion governmentwide IT budget in fiscal year 2004. It is thus important that consistent, accurate, and complete DOD IT budget information is available to the Congress and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) so that they can make informed decisions among competing demands for funds. Accordingly, GAO reviewed the department's fiscal year 2004 IT budget submission to determine whether it was reliable, including identifying opportunities for future improvement."