Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the nation's leader in conducting and sponsoring biomedical research. More than 80 percent of NIH's budget, which totaled over $28 billion in fiscal year 2006, is used to support extramural research, which is primarily conducted at over 500 universities nationwide. NIH reimburses universities for direct costs that can be specifically attributed to research sponsored by NIH grants, including costs for labor and materials used solely to carry out the research. It also reimburses universities for indirect costs, which include various facility and administrative expenses incurred by the universities for the shared support of such research. To be reimbursed for direct and indirect costs, universities must properly identify and claim them in accordance with federal guidance. Because indirect costs cannot be specifically attributed to a particular research grant, they are charged via an indirect cost rate that is applied to the direct costs for each grant agreement. The oversight responsibilities of NIH's institutes and centers (IC) include the financial management of grants as well as ensuring that grantees comply with the terms of the grants. …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, U.S. and international experts raised concerns that unsecured radiological sources were vulnerable to theft and posed a significant security threat to the United States and the international community. Radioactive material is encapsulated or sealed in metal to prevent its dispersal and is commonly called a sealed radiological source. Sealed radiological sources are used worldwide for many legitimate purposes, such as medical, industrial, and agricultural applications. However, the total number of these sources in use worldwide is unknown because many countries do not systematically account for them. It is estimated that thousands of these sources have been lost, stolen, or abandoned--commonly referred to as orphan sources. If certain types of these sources were obtained by terrorists, they could be used to produce a simple and crude, but potentially dangerous, weapon--known as a radiological dispersion device, or dirty bomb. In 2001, a congressional report directed DOE to use a portion of its fiscal year 2002 supplemental appropriation to address the threat posed by dirty bombs. In response to the congressional requirement, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) established the Radiological …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Congress authorized the Mentor-Protege Program to boost the participation of small disadvantaged businesses as subcontractors and suppliers under Department of Defense (DOD) and other contracts. The program provides incentives to major defense contractors (mentors) to help small disadvantaged businesses (proteges) strengthen their ability to compete for contracts. GAO administered a Web-based survey to determine whether former proteges believe the program enhanced their business development; examined the accuracy of the Mentor-Protege Program Office's annual reporting to Congress; determined whether DOD reported on the progress of former proteges and their contributions to small business goals; and, identified how program funds have been obligated and used."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Community Renewal Tax Relief Act of 2000 authorized up to $15 billion of allocation authority under the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) to stimulate investment in low-income communities. The act mandated that GAO report on the program to Congress by January 31, 2004, 2007, and 2010. Two subsequent laws authorized an additional $1 billion in NMTC authority for certain qualified investments and extended the program for 1 year with an additional $3.5 billion of authority. This report (1) describes the status of the NMTC program, (2) profiles NMTC program participants, (3) assesses the credit's effectiveness in attracting investment by participating investors, and (4) assesses IRS and the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund compliance monitoring efforts. To conduct the analysis, GAO surveyed NMTC investors, conducted statistical analysis, and interviewed IRS and CDFI Fund officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO's audits and evaluations identify federal programs and operations that, in some cases, are high risk due to their greater vulnerabilities to fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement. In recent years, GAO also has identified high-risk areas to focus on the need for broad-based transformations to address major economy, efficiency, or effectiveness challenges. Since 1990, GAO has periodically reported on government operations it has designated as high risk. In this 2007 update for the 110th Congress, GAO presents the status of high-risk areas identified in 2005 and new high-risk areas warranting attention by Congress and the executive branch. Lasting solutions to high-risk problems offer the potential to save billions of dollars, dramatically improve service to the public, strengthen confidence and trust in the performance and accountability of the U.S. government, and ensure the ability of government to deliver on its promises."

Guidance issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This publication has been superseded by GAO-07-731G, Government Auditing Standards: July 2007 Revision. This is the Government Auditing Standards 2007 version. This document outlines standards that contain requirements for auditor reporting on internal control. This revision supersedes the 2003 revision."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)--the agency that administers Medicare--estimated that the program made about $700 million in improper payments for durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies (DMEPOS) from April 1, 2005, through March 31, 2006. To protect Medicare from improper DMEPOS payments, CMS relies on three Program Safeguard Contractors (PSC), and four contractors that process Medicare claims, to conduct critical program integrity activities. GAO was requested to examine CMS's and CMS's contractors' activities to prevent and minimize improper payments for DMEPOS, and describe CMS's oversight of PSC program integrity activities. To do this, GAO analyzed DMEPOS claims data by supplier and item to identify atypical, or large, increases in billing; reviewed CMS documents; and conducted interviews with CMS and contractor officials. GAO focused its work on contractors' automated prepayment controls and described related claims analysis functions."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The General Services Administration (GSA) provides leased space to over 55 percent of federal employees at an annual cost of $3.6 billion. In 2004, GSA awarded four contracts for national broker services (NBS). Performance of the contracts began on April 1, 2005. This report focuses on GSA's administration of the leasing contracts for the first contract year, ending March 31, 2006, and addresses, among other matters, (1) how GSA is attempting to prevent conflicts of interest in the NBS leasing program and to safeguard its information; (2) what, if any, savings have accrued to the government; and (3) how GSA is distributing its leasing workload among the brokers. To address these matters, GAO, among other actions, analyzed the contracts; GSA's contract administration guide; and GSA's policies, procedures, and controls related to these matters."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Energy (DOE) sets energy efficiency standards through the rulemaking process for certain consumer product categories, such as kitchen ranges, and industrial equipment, such as distribution transformers. Congress reported in 2005 that DOE was late in setting standards and required DOE to report every 6 months on the status of the backlog. GAO examined (1) the extent to which DOE has met its obligations to issue rules on minimum energy efficiency standards for consumer products and industrial equipment and (2) whether DOE's plan for clearing the backlog will be effective or can be improved. Among other things, GAO convened an expert panel on energy efficiency standards to identify causes and effects of delays and assess DOE's plans."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Continuing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan are taking a heavy toll on the condition and readiness of the Army's equipment. Harsh combat and environmental conditions in theater over sustain periods exacerbates the wear and tear on equipment. Since fiscal year 2002, Congress has appropriated about $38 billion to the Army for the reset (repair, replacement, and modernization) of equipment that has been damaged or lost as a result of combat operations. As operations continue in Iraq and Afghanistan and the Army's equipment reset requirements increase, the potential for reset costs to significantly increase in future Department of Defense annual budgets also increases. For example, the Army estimates that it will need about $12 billion to $13 billion per year for equipment reset until operations cease, and up to two years thereafter. Today's testimony addresses (1) the extent to which the Army can track and report equipment reset expenditures in a way that confirms that funds appropriated for reset are expended for that purpose, and (2) whether the Army can be assured that its equipment reset strategies will sustain future equipment readiness for deployed as well as non-deployed …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "During the late 1990s, the Department of Energy (DOE) experienced difficulties with a lack of clear management authority and responsibility that contributed to security problems at the nation's nuclear weapons laboratories and management problems with major projects. In response, Congress created the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) as a separately organized agency within DOE under Title 32 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000--the NNSA Act. Since its creation, NNSA has continued to experience security problems, such as unauthorized access to NNSA computer systems, and cost and schedule overruns on major projects, such as the National Ignition Facility. GAO was asked to review the extent to which NNSA has taken steps to (1) improve security at its laboratories and plants and (2) improve its management practices and revise its organizational structure. In January 2007, GAO issued a report--National Nuclear Security Administration: Additional Actions Needed to Improve Management of the Nation's Nuclear Programs, (GAO-07-36)--that addressed these matters. To carry out its work, GAO reviewed legislation; NNSA policies, plans and budgets; collected and analyzed security performance ratings and interviewed current and former DOE and NNSA officials."

3D cell cultures are rapidly becoming the method of choice for the physiologically relevant modeling of many aspects of non-malignant and malignant cell behavior ex vivo. Nevertheless, only a limited number of distinct cell types have been evaluated in this assay to date. Here we report the first large scale comparison of the transcriptional profiles and 3D cell culture phenotypes of a substantial panel of human breast cancer cell lines. Each cell line adopts a colony morphology of one of four main classes in 3D culture. These morphologies reflect, at least in part, the underlying gene expression profile and protein expression patterns of the cell lines, and distinct morphologies were also associated with tumor cell invasiveness and with cell lines originating from metastases. We further demonstrate that consistent differences in genes encoding signal transduction proteins emerge when even tumor cells are cultured in 3D microenvironments.

This report provides detailed test results consisting of test data and post-test inspections from Task 1 ''Cooled Liner Coupon Development and Test'' of the project titled ''Development of Technologies and Capabilities for Coal Energy Resources--Advanced Gasification Systems Development (AGSD)''. The primary objective of this development and test program is to verify that ceramic matrix composite (CMC) liner materials planned for use in an advanced gasifier pilot plant will successfully withstand the environments in a commercial gasifier. Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR) designed and fabricated the cooled liner test assembly article that was tested in a slagging gasifier at CANMET Energy Technology Center (CETC-O) in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The test program conducted in 2006 met the objective of operating the cooled liner test article at slagging conditions in a small scale coal gasifier at CETC-O for over the planned 100 hours. The test hardware was exposed to at least 30 high temperature excursions (including start-up and shut-down cycles) during the test program. The results of the testing has provided valuable information on gasifier startup and required cooling controls in steady state operation of future advanced gasifiers using similar liners. The test program also provided a significant amount of information in the …

This Hazardous Waste Management Act/Resource Conservation and Recovery Act closure plan was developed for portions of the Test Reactor Area/Materials Test Reactor Warm Waste System located in the Materials Test Reactor Building (TRA-603) at the Reactor Technology Complex, Idaho National Laboratory Site, to meet a further milestone established under Voluntary Consent Order Action Plan SITE-TANK-005 for Tank System TRA-007. The reactor drain tank and canal sump to be closed are included in the Test Reactor Area/Materials Test Reactor Warm Waste System. The reactor drain tank and the canal sump were characterized as having managed hazardous waste. The reactor drain tank and canal sump will be closed in accordance with the interim status requirements of the Hazardous Waste Management Act/Resource Conservation and Recovery Act as implemented by the Idaho Administrative Procedures Act 58.01.05.009 and 40 Code of Federal Regulations 265. This closure plan presents the closure performance standards and methods for achieving those standards.

A large amount of corn stover is available in the U.S. corn belt for the potential production of cellulosic bioethanol when the production technology becomes commercially ready. In fact, because corn stover is already available, it could serve as a starting point for producing cellulosic ethanol as a transportation fuel to help reduce the nation's demand for petroleum oil. Using the data available on the collection and transportation of corn stover and on the production of cellulosic ethanol, we have added the corn stover-to-ethanol pathway in the GREET model, a fuel-cycle model developed at Argonne National Laboratory. We then analyzed the life-cycle energy use and emission impacts of corn stover-derived fuel ethanol for use as E85 in flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs). The analysis included fertilizer manufacturing, corn farming, farming machinery manufacturing, stover collection and transportation, ethanol production, ethanol transportation, and ethanol use in light-duty vehicles (LDVs). Energy consumption of petroleum oil and fossil energy, emissions of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide [CO{sub 2}], nitrous oxide [N{sub 2}O], and methane [CH{sub 4}]), and emissions of criteria pollutants (carbon monoxide [CO], volatile organic compounds [VOCs], nitrogen oxide [NO{sub x}], sulfur oxide [SO{sub x}], and particulate matter with diameters smaller than 10 micrometers [PM{sub …

This paper describes two stylized alternative visions inpopular currencyof how the power system might evolve to meet futurerequirements for the high quality electricity service that modern digitaleconomies demand, a supergrids paradigm and a dispersed paradigm. Some ofthe economics of the dispersed vision are explored. Economic perspectivesare presented on both the choice of homogeneous universal power qualityupstream in the electricity supply, and also on the extremelyheterogeneous require-ments of end-use loads. Finally, the potential roleof microgrids in delivering heterogeneous power quality is demonstratedby reference to two ongoing microgrid tests in the U.S. andJapan.

This Hazardous Waste Management Act/Resource Conservation and Recovery Act closure plan was developed for portions of the Test Reactor Area/Materials Test Reactor Warm Waste System located in the Materials Test Reactor Building (TRA-603) at the Reactor Technology Complex, Idaho National Laboratory Site, to meet a further milestone established under Voluntary Consent Order Action Plan SITE-TANK-005 for Tank System TRA-007. The reactor drain tank and canal sump to be closed are included in the Test Reactor Area/Materials Test Reactor Warm Waste System. The reactor drain tank and the canal sump were characterized as having managed hazardous waste. The reactor drain tank and canal sump will be closed in accordance with the interim status requirements of the Hazardous Waste Management Act/Resource Conservation and Recovery Act as implemented by the Idaho Administrative Procedures Act 58.01.05.009 and 40 Code of Federal Regulations 265. This closure plan presents the closure performance standards and methods for achieving those standards.

General discussion of effluents from nuclear material reprocessing operations and the opportunity to detect important effluents in the near-field domain.

The project to develop an advanced hydraulic fracture mapping system consisted of both hardware and analysis components in an effort to build, field, and analyze combined data from tiltmeter and microseismic arrays. The hardware sections of the project included: (1) the building of new tiltmeter housings with feedthroughs for use in conjunction with a microseismic array, (2) the development of a means to use separate telemetry systems for the tilt and microseismic arrays, and (3) the selection and fabrication of an accelerometer sensor system to improve signal-to-noise ratios. The analysis sections of the project included a joint inversion for analysis and interpretation of combined tiltmeter and microseismic data and improved methods for extracting slippage planes and other reservoir information from the microseisms. In addition, testing was performed at various steps in the process to assess the data quality and problems/issues that arose during various parts of the project. A prototype array was successfully tested and a full array is now being fabricated for industrial use.

Space-charge effects in the low-energy ring of the proposedSuper-B Factory are studied using a weak-strong model of dynamics asimplemented in the code Marylie/Impact (MLI). The impact of space chargeappears noticeable but our results suggest the existence of workableregions of the tune space where the design emittance is minimallyaffected. However, additional studies are recommended to fullysubstantiate this conclusion.

This report presents results of the Westinghouse work performed under Task 3 of this Financial Assistance Award and it satisfies a Level 2 Milestone for the project. Task 3 of the collaborative effort between ORNL, Brazil and Westinghouse for the International Nuclear Energy Research Initiative entitled “Development of Advanced Instrumentation and Control for an Integrated Primary System Reactor” focuses on developing computer models for transient analysis. This report summarizes the work performed under Task 3 on developing control system models. The present state of the IRIS plant design – such as the lack of a detailed secondary system or I&C system designs – makes finalizing models impossible at this time. However, this did not prevent making considerable progress. Westinghouse has several working models in use to further the IRIS design. We expect to continue modifying the models to incorporate the latest design information until the final IRIS unit becomes operational. Section 1.2 outlines the scope of this report. Section 2 describes the approaches we are using for non-safety transient models. It describes the need for non-safety transient analysis and the model characteristics needed to support those analyses. Section 3 presents the RELAP5 model. This is the highest-fidelity model used for …

Propylene hydrogenation over Pt nanoparticles supported onmesoporous silica type SBA-15 was monitored by time-resolved FT-IRspectroscopy at 23 ms resolution using short propylene gas pulses thatjoined a continuous flow of hydrogen in N2 (1 atm total pressure).Experiments were conducted in the temperature range 323-413 K. Propanewas formed within 100 milliseconds or faster. The CH stretching regionrevealed distinct bands for propane molecules emerging inside thenanoscale channels of the silica support. Spectral analysis gave thedistribution of the propane product between support and surrounding gasphase as function of time. Kinetic analysis showed that the escape ofpropane molecules from the channels occurred within hundreds ofmilliseconds (3.1 + 0.4 s-1 at 383 K). A steady state distribution ofpropane between gas phase and mesoporous support is established as theproduct is swept from the catalyst zone by the continuous flow ofhydrogen co-reactant. This is the first direct spectroscopic observationof emerging products of heterogeneous catalysis on nanoporous supportsunder reaction conditions.

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