A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) officials believe that some aliens are using the benefit application process to carry out illegal activities, such as crimes of violence, narcotics trafficking, and terrorism. The extent of immigration benefit fraud is unknown, but INS officials and others believe that this problem will increase as smugglers and other criminal enterprises use fraud to bring illegal aliens, including criminals, into the United States. INS investigative units in both the service centers and the district offices investigate possible benefit fraud on the basis of information they receive from staff who process benefit applications, other INS units, the public, and law enforcement agencies. Providing immigration benefits in a timely manner may conflict with the goal of preserving the integrity of the legal immigration system. Although INS recognizes the need to balance these competing goals, it has not always succeeded. INS has several performance measures in place to gauge the results of its benefit fraud enforcement activities. However, INS has not established outcome-based performance measures to assess the results of fraud activities. Additionally, INS has not established goals or measurement criteria for the service center …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "For more than 60 years, the federal government has sought to improve the condition and reduce the cost of rental housing for poor Americans. In fiscal year 1999, 5.2 million low-income households received $28.7 billion in federal housing assistance through more than a dozen programs. Despite this assistance, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) estimates that 9 million other very-low-income households still have serious unmet housing needs. The most widespread problem facing these households is a lack of affordable housing; many pay more than 30 percent of their income for rent. The housing provided under the six active federal programs varies by such characteristics as age, building type, unit size, location, and services. GAO estimates that, for units with the same number of bedrooms in the same general location, these production programs cost more than housing vouchers. Across the six active programs, the federal government and tenants pay most of the programs' total costs. Except for one program, the federal government pays the largest percentage of the average total per-unit costs. GAO's work raises several housing policy issues, including the relative costs and benefits …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Dangerous accumulations of brush, small trees, and other vegetation on federal lands, particularly in the western United States, have helped fuel devastating wildfires in recent years. Although a single focal point is critical for directing firefighting efforts by federal, state, and local governments, GAO found a lack of clearly defined leadership at the federal level. Authority and responsibility remain fragmented among the Department of the Interior, the Forest Service, and the states. Implementation of a performance accountability network also remains fragmented. As a result, GAO could not determine if the $796 million earmarked for hazardous fuels reduction in 2001 and 2002 has been targeted to communities and areas at highest risk. The five federal land management agencies--the National Park Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Forest Service--have yet to begin the research needed to identify and prioritize vulnerable communities near high-risk federal lands. Moreover, the agencies are not collecting the data needed to determine if changes are needed to expedite the project-planning process. They also are not collecting data needed to measure the effectiveness …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issues regulations that states, localities, and private companies must comply with under the existing federal approach to environmental protection. This approach has been widely criticized for being costly, inflexible, and ineffective in addressing some of the nation's most pressing environmental problems. The states have used several methods to obtain EPA approval for innovative approaches to environmental protection. Among the primary approaches cited by the state environmental officials GAO interviewed are EPA's Project XL and the Joint EPA/State Agreement to Pursue Regulatory Innovation. Officials in most states told GAO that they faced significant challenges in submitting proposals to EPA, including resistance from within the state environmental agency and a lack of adequate resources to pursue innovative approaches. EPA recognizes that it needs to do more to encourage innovative environmental approaches by states and other entities. As a result, EPA has (1) issued a broad-based draft strategy entitled "Innovating for Better Environmental Results" and (2) adopted the recommendations of an internal task force, which advocated the consideration of innovative alternatives as new regulations are developed."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Financial Management Service's (FMS) overall security control environment continues to be ineffective in identifying, deterring, and responding to computer control weaknesses promptly. Consequently, billions of dollars of payments and collections are at significant risk of loss or fraud, sensitive data are at risk of inappropriate disclosure, and critical computer-based operations are vulnerable to serious disruptions. During its fiscal year 2000 audit, GAO found new general computer control weaknesses in the entity-wide security management program, access controls, and system software. GAO also identified new weaknesses in the authorization and completeness controls over one key FMS financial application. GAO's follow-up on the status of FMS's corrective actions to address weaknesses discussed in its fiscal year 1999 report found that, as of September 30, 2000, FMS had corrected or mitigated the risks associated with 35 of the 61 computer control weaknesses discussed in that report. To assist FMS management in addressing its computer control weaknesses, GAO made four overall recommendations in this public report."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 replaced the Aid to Families With Dependent Children program with a block grant to states that provide Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). TANF strongly emphasizes work and job replacement and sets a five-year lifetime limit on federally funded TANF assistance to adults. To meet information needs for welfare reform, information systems must be able to share data across various programs, including TANF, Medicaid, job training, child care, and vocational rehabilitation. However, previous GAO studies found major gaps in states' information systems. Most of the local TANF administrators in 15 states surveyed by GAO reported that their current systems provide half or less of the information needed to manage individual cases, plan appropriate services for the caseload, and monitor overall program performance. The administrators are missing information because some of the systems used do not share data on these recipients, which constrains the ability of case managers to arrange and monitor the delivery of services. Five states--New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Utah, and Wisconsin--are modernizing their information systems to take advantage of recent technological advances. These …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The military exchanges operate retail stores similar to department stores in more than 1,500 locations worldwide. The exchanges stock merchandise from many sources, including name-brand companies, brokers and importers, and overseas firms. Reports of worker rights abuses, such as child labor and forced overtime, and antilabor practices have led human rights groups and the press to scrutinize working conditions in overseas factories. GAO found that the military exchanges are not as proactive as private sector companies in determining working conditions at the overseas factories that manufacture their private label merchandise. Moreover, the exchanges have not sought to verify that overseas factories comply with labor laws and regulations. A single industrywide standard for working conditions at overseas factories was not considered practical by the 10 retailers GAO contacted. However, these retailers have taken the following three steps to ensure that goods are not produced by child or forced labor: (1) developing workplace codes of conduct that reflect their expectations of suppliers; (2) disseminating information on fair and safe labor conditions and educating their employees, suppliers, and factory workers on them; and (3) using their own employees or …

Power quality [PQ] and power reliability [PR] gained importance in the industrialized world as the pace of installation of sensitive appliances and other electrical loads by utility customers accelerated, beginning in the mid 1980s. Utility-grid-connected customers rapidly discovered that this equipment was increasingly sensitive to various abnormalities in the electricity supply.

Weekly newspaper from Bogata, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Weekly student newspaper from Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth, Texas that includes campus and local news along with advertising.

Observations of global temperature records seem to show less warming than predictions of global warming brought on by increasing concentrations of CO{sub 2} and other greenhouse gases. One of the reasonable explanations for this apparent inconsistency is that the increasing concentrations of anthropogenic aerosols may be partially counteracting the effects of greenhouse gases. Aerosols can scatter or absorb the solar radiation, directly change the planetary albedo. Aerosols, unlike CO{sub 2}, may also have a significant indirect effect by serving as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). Increases in CCN can result in clouds with more but smaller droplets, enhancing the reflection of solar radiation. Aerosol direct and indirect effects are a strong function of the distributions of all aerosol types and the size distribution of the aerosol in question. However, the large spatial and temporal variabilities in the concentration, chemical characteristics, and size distribution of aerosols have made it difficult to assess the magnitude of aerosol effects on atmospheric radiation. These variabilities in aerosol characteristics as well as their effects on clouds are the leading sources of uncertainty in predicting future climate variation. Inventory studies have shown that the present-day anthropogenic emissions contribute more than half of fine particle mass primarily due …

The device for the halyard stretching consists of a frame with coupler and clamping rollers mounted in pairs on it, the drive of the rotation of the coupler rollers and the clamping device with a clamping spring. The clamping device is remarkable that the clamping rollers are mounted in a separate movable bracket, which is connected with the frame with the help of a hinge. Between the frame and the movable bracket a releasing spring is inserted. The clamping device is equipped with a movable holder to clamp rollers kinematically connected with the coupler ones with the aid of cardan joints. It assures rotations of the movable bracket over the frame and synchronous rotation of the coupler and clamping rollers ill different directions. All rollers are connected with the drive of rotation via an electro magnet sleeve. A linear drive of spring pressing is mounted between the movable bracket and the clamping spring. A nip of the releasing spring is connected with the electromagnet rotor.

Weekly newspaper from Comanche, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Weekly newspaper from Timpson, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

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

Weekly newspaper from Hondo, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with extensive advertising.

The project seeks to develop and validate a new pulverized coal combustion system to reduce utility PC boiler NOx emissions to 0.15 lb per million Btu or less without post-combustion flue gas cleaning. Work during previous reporting periods completed the design, installation, shakedown and initial PRB coal testing of a 3-million Btu/h pilot system at BBP's Pilot-Scale Combustion Facility (PSCF) in Worcester, MA. Based on these results, modifications to the gas-fired preheat combustor and PC burner were defined, along with a modified testing plan and schedule. A revised subcontract was executed with BBP to reflect changes in the pilot testing program. Modeling activities were continued to develop and verify revised design approaches for both the Preheat gas combustor and PC burner. Reactivation of the pilot test system was then begun with BBP personnel. During the previous reporting period, reactivation of the pilot test system was completed with the modified Preheat gas combustor. Following shakedown of the modified gas combustor alone, a series of successful tests of the new combustor with PRB coal using the original PC burner were completed. NOx at the furnace exit was reduced significantly with the modified gas combustor, to as low as 150 ppm with only …

Fine particle concentrations were measured simultaneously at three locations: a regional monitoring site in Fresno, California, a backyard of an unoccupied residence in Clovis, California located 6 km northeast of the regional site; and indoors at the same residence. Measurements included 10-min determination of PM{sub 2.5} nitrate, sulfate and carbon using an automated collection and vaporization system, and black carbon measured by light attenuation through a filter deposit. Specific outdoor PM{sub 2.5} constituents were compared to assess the appropriateness of using regional data to model indoor concentrations from outdoor sources. The outdoor data show that, in general, the regional results provide a good representation of the concentrations seen at the building exterior. The indoor concentrations showed considerable attenuation as well as a broadening and time-lag for the concentration peaks. The concentration reduction was the largest for PM{sub 2.5} nitrate, which appears to undergo phase changes in addition to indoor deposition and penetration losses.

Min-max and max-min identities are found for inner products on the boundaries of compact, convex sets whose interiors contain the origin. The identities resemble the minimax theorem but they are different from it. Specifically, the value of each min-max (or max-min) equals the value of a dual problem of the same type. Their solution sets can be characterized geometrically in terms of the enclosed convex sets and their polar sets. However, the solution sets need not be convex nor even connected.

Natural gas transmission companies mark the right-of-way areas where pipelines are buried with warning signs to prevent accidental third-party damage. Nevertheless, pipelines are sometimes damaged by third-party construction equipment. A single incident can be devastating, causing death and millions of dollars of property loss. This damage could be prevented if potentially hazardous construction equipment could be detected and identified before the pipeline was damaged. The Gas Technology Institute (GTI) is developing a system to solve this problem by using an optical fiber as a distributed sensor and interrogating the fiber with an optical time domain reflectometer. Key issues are the ability to detect encroachment and the ability to discriminate among potentially hazardous and benign encroachment. The work performed in the first quarter of the project includes development of the Research Management Plan, writing a paper assessing of the state-of-the-art in encroachment and third party damage detection, and development of factors for selecting the optical fiber sensors.

A method is described for the continuous and simultaneous measurement of both {sup 220}Rn and {sup 222}Rn in air. Two scintillation flasks are arranged in a serial configuration and the concentrations of {sup 222}Rn and {sup 220}Rn are determined by making use of the difference between the half-lives of the two radon isotopes. The method was developed for directly measuring {sup 220}Rn in occupied areas where fuel materials containing {sup 228}Th were being used, but could also be useful for other applications. Since {sup 222}Rn is usually present from either naturally occurring materials or due to the presence of process material, the method was designed to allow measurement of the two isotopes at coincident times. The method is discussed for counting equipment using scintillation cells, but the approach would also be directly applicable for any type of pulse-counting radon monitoring equipment such as pulse-ion chambers. Although intermittent measurements with decay correction could be performed using a single detector, the use of two cells allows continuous monitoring and a higher degree of detection sensitivity. The approach makes use of isotope-independent calibration factors and could therefore easily be modified for use with a single detector when only one of the radon isotopes …

The project involves using advanced reservoir characterization and thermal production technologies to improve thermal recovery techniques and lower operating and capital costs in a slope and basin clastic (SBC) reservoir in the Wilmington field, Los Angeles Co., Calif. Through September 2001, project work has been completed on the following activities: data preparation; basic reservoir engineering; developing a deterministic three dimensional (3-D) geologic model, a 3-D deterministic reservoir simulation model and a rock-log model; well drilling and completions; and surface facilities on the Fault Block II-A Tar Zone (Tar II-A). Work is continuing on research to understand the geochemistry and process regarding the sand consolidation well completion technique, final reservoir tracer work, operational work and research studies to prevent thermal-related formation compaction in the Tar II-A steamflood area, and operational work on the Tar V steamflood pilot and Tar II-A post-steamflood projects. The project team spent the Fourth Quarter 2001 performing routine well work and reservoir surveillance on the Tar II-A post-steamflood and Tar V pilot steamflood projects. The Tar II-A post-steamflood operation started in February 1999 and steam chest fillup occurred in September-October 1999. The targeted reservoir pressures in the ''T'' and ''D'' sands are maintained at 90 {+-} 5% …

Working within the context of the Southern States Biobased Alliance (SSBA) and with officials in each state, the Southern States Energy Board (SSEB) is identifying bioenergy-related policies and programs within each state to determine their impact on the development, deployment or use of bioenergy. In addition, SSEB will determine which policies have impacted industry's efforts to develop, deploy or use biobased technologies or products. As a result, SSEB will work with the Southern States Biobased Alliance to determine how policy changes might address any negative impacts or enhance positive impacts.

Visual examination of lithium hydride reactor vessels revealed cracks that were adjacent to welds. Most cracks were parallel to the weld in the bottom portion of the vessel. Sections were cut out of the vessel containing these cracks and examined using the metallograph, scanning electron microscope, and microprobe to determine the cause of cracking. most of the cracks originated on the outer surface just outside the weld fusion line in the heat affected zone and propagated along grain boundaries. Crack depth of those sections examined ranged from about 300 to 500 {micro}m. Other cracks were reported to have reached a maximum depth of 0.32-cm (0.125-inch). The primary cause of cracking was the creation of high tensile stresses associated with the CTE differences between the filler metal and the base metal during operation of the vessel in a thermally cyclic environment. This failure mechanism could be described as creep-type fatigue whereby crack propagation might have been aided by the presence of brittle chromium carbides along the grain boundaries, which is indicative of a slightly sensitized microstructure.