The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) commitment to assuring the health and safety of its workers includes the conduct of illness and injury surveillance activities that provide an early warning system to detect health problems among workers. The Illness and Injury Surveillance Program monitors illnesses and health conditions that result in an absence, occupational injuries and illnesses, and disabilities and deaths among current workers.

By analyzing the pulse to pulse intensity fluctuations of the radiation emitted by a charge particle in the incoherent part of the spectrum, it is possible to extract information about the spatial distribution of the beam. At the Advanced Light Source (ALS) of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, we have developed and tested a simple scheme based on this principle that allows for the absolute measurement of the bunch length. A description of the method and the experimental results are presented.

A self-assembled supramolecular host catalyzes the hydrolysis of acetals in basic aqueous solution. The mechanism of hydrolysis is consistent with the Michaelis-Menten kinetic model. Further investigation of the rate limiting step of the reaction revealed a negative entropy of activation ({Delta}S{double_dagger} = -9 cal mol{sup -1}K{sup -1}) and an inverse solvent isotope effect (k(H{sub 2}O)/k(D{sub 2}O) = 0.62). These data suggest that the mechanism of hydrolysis that takes place inside the assembly proceeds through an A-2 mechanism, in contrast to the A-1 mechanism operating in the uncatalyzed reaction. Comparison of the rates of acetal hydrolysis in the assembly with the rate of the reaction of unencapsulated substrates reveals rate accelerations of up to 980 over the background reaction for the substrate diethoxymethane.

The SEMATECH Berkeley Actinic Inspection Tool (AIT) is an EUV-wavelength mask inspection microscope designed for direct aerial image measurements, and pre-commercial EUV mask research. Operating on a synchrotron bending magnet beamline, the AIT uses an off-axis Fresnel zoneplate lens to project a high-magnification EUV image directly onto a CCD camera. We present the results of recent system upgrades that have improved the imaging resolution, illumination uniformity, and partial coherence. Benchmarking tests show image contrast above 75% for 100-nm mask features, and significant improvements and across the full range of measured sizes. The zoneplate lens has been replaced by an array of user-selectable zoneplates with higher magnification and NA values up to 0.0875, emulating the spatial resolution of a 0.35-NA 4x EUV stepper. Illumination uniformity is above 90% for mask areas 2-{micro}m-wide and smaller. An angle-scanning mirror reduces the high coherence of the synchrotron beamline light source giving measured {sigma} values of approximately 0.125 at 0.0875 NA.

This report provides current statistical information, profiles the Afghanistan narcotics trade's participants, explores linkages between narcotics, insecurity, and corruption, and reviews U.S. and international policy responses since late 2001. The report also considers ongoing policy debates regarding the counternarcotics role of coalition military forces, poppy eradication, alternative livelihoods, and funding issues for Congress.

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The United States and many of its trading partners have enacted laws to remedy the unfair trade practices of other countries and foreign companies that cause injury to domestic industries. U.S. law authorizes the imposition of additional duties on importers to remedy these unfair trade practices. Specifically, antidumping (AD) duties are imposed on imports that are "dumped" in the United States (i.e., sales in the U.S. market at less than the market price in the item's home market) and countervailing (CV) duties are imposed on imports that are subsidized by foreign governments. Importers are responsible for paying all duties, taxes, and fees on products when they are brought into the United States (including AD/CV duties). Importers can be located either domestically or overseas. Since fiscal year 2001, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which is responsible for collecting import duties, has been unable to collect hundreds of millions of dollars in AD/CV duties. In March 2008, we reported that over $600 million in AD/CV duties were uncollected. Our analysis revealed four key factors contributing to uncollected AD/CV duties: (1) the retrospective component of the U.S. AD/CV duty system, …

This report discusses agricultural credit, which makes or guarantees loans to farmers who cannot qualify at other lenders, and the Farm Credit System (FCS), which is a network of borrower-owned lending institutions operating as a government-sponsored enterprise.

This report considers FY2009 appropriations in regards to agricultural agencies. Moreover, the report examines the budget for these agencies and different versions of appropriations bills on the matter.

This report reviews the types of air emissions from livestock and poultry operations and their human health and environmental impacts. It then discusses provisions of several federal laws concerned with environmental impacts, beginning with the Clean Water Act, because protecting water resources has been the primary regulatory focus regarding livestock and animal operations.

The report discusses the selected proposed priorities in light of the nondiscrimination provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. It will be updated as appropriate.

Prompt gamma activation analysis (PGAA) has been used to analyze metal ion oxyanion materials that have multiple applications, including medicine, materials, catalysts, and electronics. The significance for the need for accurate, highly sensitive analyses for the materials is discussed in the context of quality control of end products containing the parent element in each material. Applications of the analytical data for input to models and theoretical calculations related to the electronic and other properties of the materials are discussed.

The focus of this grant, entitled 'Experimental investigations of magnetic, superconducting, and other phase transitions in novel f-electron materials at ultra-high pressures using designer diamond anvils', is to explore the novel properties of f-electron compounds under pressure, with a particular emphasis on the physics of superconductivity, magnetism, and their interactions. This report is a synopsis of the research that was undertaken from 6/2007-6/2008.

This report discusses the relationships between the United States and Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, as well as these three nations' political and economic conditions. It also discusses key related issues in the second session of the 111th Congress, including the question of the United States' role in the South Caucasus, the significance of regional energy resources to U.S. interests, and other pertinent issues.

This report is categorized into five categories: (I) Introduction, (II) Congress' Role in U.S. Assistance to North Korea, (III) Energy Assistance, (IV) Food Assistance and (V) Other Forms of Assistance.

Individual raw data streams from instrumentation at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program Climate Research Facility (ACRF) fixed and mobile sites are collected and sent to the Data Management Facility (DMF) at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) for processing in near real time. Raw and processed data are then sent daily to the ACRF Archive, where they are made available to users. For each instrument, we calculate the ratio of the actual number of data records received daily at the Archive to the expected number of data records. The results are tabulated by (1) individual data stream, site, and month for the current year and (2) site and fiscal year (FY) dating back to 1998. Table 1 shows the accumulated maximum operation time (planned uptime), actual hours of operation, and variance (unplanned downtime) for the period October 1 - December 31, 2007, for the fixed sites and the mobile site. The AMF has been deployed to Germany and this was the final operational quarter. The first quarter comprises a total of 2,208 hours. Although the average exceeded our goal this quarter, a series of severe weather events (i.e., widespread ice storms) disrupted utility services, which affected the SGP performance measures. …

An experiment aimed at the synthesis of isotopes of element 120 has been performed using the {sup 244}Pu({sup 58}Fe,xn){sup 302-x} 120 reaction. No decay chains consistent with fusion-evaporation reaction products were observed during an irradiation with a beam dose of 7.1 x 10{sup 18} 330-MeV {sup 58}Fe projectiles. The sensitivity of the experiment corresponds to a cross section of 0.4 pb for the detection of one decay.

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This report presents the results of our audit of the expenditures of the Office of Special Counsel-Patrick J. Fitzgerald (OSC-Fitzgerald) for the 6 months ended March 31, 2008. The expenditures we audited were those made by the Department of Justice (DOJ) between October 1, 2007, and March 31, 2008, from the permanent, indefinite appropriation (fund) for OSC-Fitzgerald. DOJ determined that the appropriation established by Public Law 100-202 to fund expenditures by independent counsels appointed pursuant to the independent counsel law or other law is available to fund the expenditures of U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald, who was appointed as a special counsel within the Department of Justice by the then-Acting Attorney General. Under this law, we are required to perform semiannual financial reviews of expenditures from the fund and report our findings to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. To satisfy this requirement, we audit each expenditure processed by DOJ to determine whether it was: properly authorized and approved, supported by appropriate documentation, recorded accurately, and made in accordance with selected provisions of laws and regulations. On December 30, 2003, the then-Acting Attorney General appointed U.S. Attorney Patrick …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since its inception in November 2001, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has focused much of its efforts on aviation security, and has developed and implemented a variety of programs and procedures to secure the commercial aviation system. TSA funding for aviation security has totaled about $26 billion since fiscal year 2004. This testimony focuses on TSA's efforts to secure the commercial aviation system through passenger screening, strengthening air cargo security, and watch-list matching programs, as well as challenges that remain. It also addresses crosscutting issues that have impeded TSA's efforts in strengthening security. This testimony is based on GAO reports and testimonies issued from February 2004 through July 2008 including selected updates obtained from TSA officials in June and July 2008."

This report provides a brief overview of the basic terminology and concepts used in the federal budget process.

Distinct maxima and minima in the neutron total cross section uncertainties were observed in our large scale covariance calculations using a spherical optical potential. In this contribution we investigate the physical origin of this oscillating structure. Specifically, we analyze the case of neutron reactions on {sup 56}Fe, for which total cross section uncertainties are characterized by the presence of five distinct minima at 0.1, 1.1, 5, 25, and 70 MeV. To investigate their origin, we calculated total cross sections by perturbing the real volume depth V{sub v} by its expected uncertainty {+-}{Delta}V{sub v}. Inspecting the effect of this perturbation on the partial wave cross sections we found that the first minimum (at 0.1 MeV) is exclusively due to the contribution of the s-wave. On the other hand, the same analysis at 1.1 MeV showed that the minimum is the result of the interplay between s-, p-, and d-waves; namely the change in the s-wave happens to be counterbalanced by changes in the p- and d-waves. Similar considerations can be extended for the third minimum, although it can be also explained in terms of the Ramsauer effect as well as the other ones (at 25 and 70 MeV). We discuss the …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The purpose of this testimony is to assist the Subcommittee in monitoring progress on the Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) project. This testimony will focus on (1) the Architect of the Capitol's (AOC) construction progress since the last CVC hearing on July 8, 2008, and (2) the project's expected cost at completion and funding status."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Cayman Islands is a major offshore financial center and the registered home of thousands of corporations and financial entities. Financial activity there is in the trillions of dollars annually. One Cayman building--Ugland House--has been the subject of public attention as the listed address of thousands of companies. To help Congress better understand the nature of U.S. persons' business activities in the Cayman Islands, GAO was asked to study (1) the nature and extent of U.S. persons' involvement with Ugland House registered entities and the nature of such business; (2) the reasons why U.S. persons conduct business in the Cayman Islands; (3) information available to the U.S. government regarding U.S. persons' Cayman activities; and (4) the U.S. government's compliance and enforcement efforts. GAO interviewed U.S. and Cayman government officials and representatives of the law firm housed in Ugland House, and reviewed relevant documents. The full report on GAO's review is GAO-08-778, being released at the same time as this testimony."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Cayman Islands is a major offshore financial center and the registered home of thousands of corporations and financial entities. Financial activity in the Cayman Islands is measured in the trillions of dollars annually. One Cayman building--Ugland House--has been the subject of public attention as the listed address of thousands of companies. To help Congress better understand the nature of U.S. persons' business activities in the Cayman Islands, GAO was asked to study (1) the nature and extent of U.S. persons' involvement with Ugland House registered entities and the nature of such business; (2) the reasons why U.S. persons conduct business in the Cayman Islands; (3) information available to the U.S. government regarding U.S. persons' Cayman activities; and (4) the U.S. government's compliance and enforcement efforts. GAO interviewed U.S. and Cayman government officials and representatives of the law firm housed in Ugland House, and reviewed relevant documents."

Other written product issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This is an E-supplement to GAO-08-778. The Cayman Islands is a major center for financial activity and entities such as corporations, partnerships, and trusts can all play roles in those activities. U.S. taxpayers have a range of relationships to those entities, including as owners, as investors, as partners, and as beneficiaries of trusts. The activities of Cayman Islands entities can have tax consequences for under U.S. law. To understand more about the nature of financial activity in the Cayman Islands and its consequences under U.S. tax law, we examined relevant portions of Cayman Islands and U.S. law. This supplement discusses four areas of Cayman Islands and U.S. law. Part I is an overview of Cayman Islands law governing corporations, partnerships, and trusts. It also discusses the function of the registered office under Cayman Islands law. Part II presents an overview of Cayman Islands law governing the sharing of information by the Cayman Islands government with the U.S. government. Part III discusses certain Cayman Islands monetary authority and anti-money-laundering laws and compares specific Cayman Islands and United States regulations designed to combat money laundering. Finally, Part IV …