We present for the first time, the self-consistent solution of the two-dimensional, time-dependent equations of radiation-hydrodynamics governing the accretion of matter onto the highly magnetized polar caps of luminous x-ray pulsars. The calculations show a structure in the accretion column very different from previous one-zone uniform models. We have included all the relevant magnetic field corrections to both the hydrodynamics and the radiative transport. We include a new theory for the diffusion and advection of both radiation energy density and photon number density. For initially uniformly accreting models with super-Eddington flows, we have uncovered evidence of strong radiation-driven outflowing optically thin radiation filled regions of the accretion column embedded in optically-thick inflowing plasma. The development of these photon bubbles'' have growth times on the order of a millisecond and show fluctuations on sub-millisecond timescales. The photon bubbles are likely to be a consequence of convective over-stability and may result in observable fluctuations in the emitted luminosity leading to luminosity dependent changes in the pulse profile. This may provide important new diagnostics for conditions in accreting x-ray pulsars. 13 refs., 18 figs.

Hadron masses are calculated on an 8/sup 3/ /times/ 16 lattice using four flavors of staggered fermion to generate the gauge configurations, but using Wilson fermions to calculate the hadron propagators. The identification of a value of the Wilson hopping parameter with the value of the bare quark mass used in the simulations is discussed.

A safety assessment was performed to determine if potential accidents at the 836 Complex at Site 300 could present undue hazards to the general public, personnel at Site 300, or have an adverse effect on the environment. The credible accidents that might have an effect on these facilities or have off-site consequences were considered. These were earthquake, extreme wind (including missiles), lightning, flood, criticality, high explosive (H) detonation that disperses uranium and beryllium, spontaneous oxidation of plutonium, explosions due to finely divided particles, and a fire.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The current H1N1 pandemic highlights the threat posed to our nation by an influenza pandemic. The previous administration's Homeland Security Council (HSC) issued the Implementation Plan for the National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza (Plan) in May 2006 to help address a pandemic. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) was asked to (1) determine how the HSC and responsible federal agencies monitor the progress and completion of the Plan's action items; and (2) assess the extent to which selected action items have been completed. To do this, GAO interviewed officials from the HSC and the six federal agencies responsible for implementing most of the Plan, and analyzed a random sample of 60 action items. While this report does not assess the response efforts for the H1N1 pandemic, GAO continues to monitor the outbreak and the federal response."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "On October 16, 2003, GAO testified before Congress at a hearing on whether DOD and VA are providing seamless health care coverage to transitioning veterans. This letter responds to a request thst we provide answers to follow-up questions from the hearing."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Wildland fires have become increasingly damaging and costly. To deal with fire's threats, the five federal wildland fire agencies--the Forest Service in the Department of Agriculture and four agencies in the Department of the Interior (Interior)--rely on thousands of firefighters, fire engines, and other assets. To ensure acquisition of the best mix of these assets, the agencies in 2002 began developing a new interagency budget tool known as fire program analysis (FPA). FPA underwent major changes in 2006, raising questions about its ability to meet its original objectives. GAO was asked to examine (1) FPA's development to date, including the 2006 changes, and (2) the extent to which FPA will meet its objectives. To do so, GAO reviewed agency policies and FPA documentation and interviewed agency officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID)Cuba Program provides assistance to support human rights and promote nonviolent democratic change in Cuba. From 1996 through 2008, the program awarded $83 million in grants to nongovernmental organizations and universities. In 2006, GAO found weaknesses in program oversight that increased the risk of grantees' improperly using grant funds and failing to comply with U.S. laws. In 2008, misuse of grant funds at organizations with the program's two largest grants was detected. GAO was asked to examine (1) actions that USAID has taken since 2006, or plans to take, to improve its award and oversight of the Cuba Program's grants and (2) actions that USAID has taken in response to the recently detected misuses of grant funds. GAO analyzed USAID and grantee records, conducted limited reviews at five grantees, and interviewed agency and grantee officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Under contract with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), states conduct surveys at nursing homes to help ensure compliance with federal quality standards. Over the past decade, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has reported on inconsistencies in states' assessment of nursing homes' quality of care, including understatement--that is, when state surveys fail to cite serious deficiencies or cite them at too low a level. In 2008, GAO reported that 9 states had high and 10 had low understatement based on CMS data for fiscal years 2002 through 2007. This report examines the effect on nursing home deficiency understatement of CMS's survey process, workforce shortages and training, supervisory reviews of surveys, and state agency practices. GAO primarily collected data through two Web-based questionnaires sent to all eligible nursing home surveyors and state agency directors, achieving 61 and 98 percent response rates, respectively."

This report discusses the current political conditions in Guinea, as well as the considerable changes to Guinea's political landscape that have taken place over the past two years. The report also discusses U.S. interests and associated policy challenges in Guinea, centering around democratization, counternarcotics issues, regional stability, and socioeconomic development, among other issues.

This report briefly discusses non-legislative debate in the House of Representatives, specifically special order speeches, one-minute speeches, and morning hour debate. The purpose of these practices is to permit Members to address the House for specified durations and at specified times of their own choosing, outside the consideration of legislative business.

This report briefly discusses the processes of sponsoring, cosponsoring, and gaining cosponsors for bills in the House of Representatives.

The nation's energy choices embody many tradeoffs. Water use is one of those tradeoffs. The energy choices before Congress represent vastly different demands on domestic freshwater. The energy sector's water consumption is projected to rise 50% from 2005 to 2030. This rising water demand derives from both an increase in the amount of energy demanded and shifts to more water-intense energy sources and technologies. This report discusses this issue as well as related issues that may arise for the 112th Congress.

The proposed Goose River Project is a commercial power development consisting of 4 power dams and one storage dam. All available energy is to be wholesaled to the Central Maine Power Company, the utility holding the franchise for the area. A description of the economic feasibility of the proposed project is presented.

The Geothermal research Program of the US Department of Energy (DOE) has as one of its goals to reduce the cost of drilling geothermal wells by 25 percent. To attain this goal, DOE continuously evaluates new technologies to determine their potential in contributing to the Program. One such technology is artifical intelligence (AI), a branch of computer science that, in recent years, has begun to impact the marketplace in a number of fields. Expert systems techniques can (and in some cases, already have) been applied to develop computer-based ''advisors'' to assist drilling personnel in areas such as designing mud systems, casing plans, and cement programs, optimizing drill bit selection and bottom hole asssembly (BHA) design, and alleviating lost circulation, stuck pipe, fishing, and cement problems. Intelligent machines with sensor and/or robotic directly linked to AI systems, have potential applications in areas of bit control, rig hydraulics, pipe handling, and pipe inspection. Using a well costing spreadsheet, the potential savings that could be attributed to each of these systems was calculated for three base cases: a dry steam well at The Geysers, a medium-depth Imerial Valley well, and a deep Imperial Valley well. Based on the average potential savings to be …

National Intelligence Estimates (NIEs) are often of considerable interest to many Members of Congress. NIEs address issues of major national security importance which may require congressional action. However, NIEs have occasionally proved unreliable because they were based on insufficient evidence or contained faulty analysis. This report explores this issue and discusses the NIE process and its relevance to congressional policymaking.

This report briefly discusses the procedure for introducing a bill or resolution in the House of Representatives.

This report discusses U.S.-Venezuela relations, including an historical overview. It also discusses the current political conditions in Venezuela, and certain Venezuela-related concerns the 111th Congress faces, such as Venezuela's human rights situation and its deepening relations with Iran.

This report discusses the implications of North Korea's May 25, 2009, underground nuclear test, related issues such as the the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), containment of radioactive materials, and other concerns for Congress, such as improving nuclear monitoring capability.

The United States and Russia signed a new strategic arms reduction treaty - known as New START - on April 8, 2010. This treaty is designed to replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reductions Treaty (START), which expired, after 15 years of implementation, on December 5, 2009. This report provides an overview of New START, including a comparison to the original START Treaty, the belief of the Obama Administration and outside analysts that New START will enhance U.S. national security, and the criticisms of those who say that New START (and, indeed, the entire issue of U.S.-Russian arms control) is a distraction from more important items on the nonproliferation agenda.

This report examines three labor issues and arguments related to the pending U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement (CFTA): violence against trade unionists; impunity (accountability for or punishment of the perpetrators); and worker rights protections for Colombians. This report addresses this issue at length, including the arguments for and against the agreement, as well as general U.S.-Colombia economic relations.

BRAC 2005 Intelligence Joint Cross-Service Group Meeting Minutes of November 24, 2003. The document is redacted.

Long-range as well as head-on beam-beam effects are expected to limit the LHC performance with design parameters. They are also important consideration for the LHC upgrades. To mitigate long-range effects current carrying wires parallel to the beam were proposed. Two such wires are installed in RHIC where they allow studying the effect of strong long-range beam-beam effects, as well as the compensation of a single long-range interaction. The tests provide benchmark data for simulations and analytical treatments. To reduce the head-on beam-beam effect electron lenses were proposed for both RIDC and the LHC. We present the experimental long-range beam-beam program at RHIC and report on head-on compensations studies based on simulations.

We present an extension of conventional laterally resolved soft x-ray photoelectron emission microscopy. A depth resolution along the surface normal down to a few {angstrom} can be achieved by setting up standing x-ray wave fields in a multilayer substrate. The sample is an Ag/Co/Au trilayer, whose first layer has a wedge profile, grown on a Si/MoSi2 multilayer mirror. Tuning the incident x-ray to the mirror Bragg angle we set up standing x-ray wave fields. We demonstrate the resulting depth resolution by imaging the standing wave fields as they move through the trilayer wedge structure.

The purpose of this report is to evaluate the effect of near-field rock treatment by injection of reactive material (calcite) above the drift for the purpose of decreasing postclosure drift seepage. The method used for the calculation was a coupled reaction-transport numerical model for gas-water-rock interaction. This includes the mass conservation of heat, liquid and gas for thermohydrological calculations, of aqueous and gaseous species for advective and diffusive transport, and the kinetics of mineral-water reactions.