Guidance issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This publication supersedes GAO-07-1134SP, Cost Assessment Guide: Best Practices for Estimating and Managing Program Costs--Exposure Draft, July 2007. The U.S. Government Accountability Office is responsible for, among other things, assisting the Congress in its oversight of the federal government, including agencies' stewardship of public funds. To use public funds effectively, the government must meet the demands of today's changing world by employing effective management practices and processes, including the measurement of government program performance. In addition, legislators, government officials, and the public want to know whether government programs are achieving their goals and what their costs are. To make those evaluations, reliable cost information is required and federal standards have been issued for the cost accounting that is needed to prepare that information. We developed the Cost Guide in order to establish a consistent methodology that is based on best practices and that can be used across the federal government for developing, managing, and evaluating capital program cost estimates."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "As a separately organized agency within the Department of Energy, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) administers the Stockpile Life Extension Program, whose purpose is to extend, through refurbishment, the operational lives of the weapons in the nuclear stockpile. NNSA encountered significant management problems with its first refurbishment for the W87 warhead. GAO was asked to assess the extent to which NNSA and the Department of Defense (DOD) have effectively managed the refurbishment of two other weapons--the B61 bomb and the W76 warhead. This report summarizes the findings of GAO's classified report on the refurbishment of the B61 bomb and W76 warhead."

Other written product issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) plans to invest billions in the coming years in science and exploration space fl ight initiatives. The scientifi c and technical complexities inherent in NASA's mission create great challenges in managing its projects and controlling costs. In the past, NASA has had diffi culty meeting cost, schedule, and performance objectives for some of its projects. The need to effectively manage projects will gain even more importance as NASA seeks to manage its wide-ranging portfolio in an increasingly constrained fiscal environment. Per congressional direction, this report provides an independent assessment of selected NASA projects. In conducting this work, GAO compared projects against best practice criteria for system development including attainment of knowledge on technologies and design as well as various aspects of program management. The projects assessed are considered major acquisitions by NASA--each with a life-cycle cost of over $250 million. No recommendations are provided."

Concurrent resolution introduced by the Texas Senate and House of Representatives relating to requesting that the Texas Legislature send a letter of congratulations to President Barack H. Obama.

A testing program evaluating actual tank waste was developed in response to Task 4 from the M-12 External Flowsheet Review Team (EFRT) issue response plan (Barnes and Voke 2006). The test program was subdivided into logical increments. The bulk water-insoluble solid wastes that are anticipated to be delivered to the Hanford Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) were identified according to type such that the actual waste testing could be targeted to the relevant categories. Under test plan TP RPP WTP 467 (Fiskum et al. 2007), eight broad waste groupings were defined. Samples available from the 222S archive were identified and obtained for testing. Under this test plan, a waste testing program was implemented that included: • Homogenizing the archive samples by group as defined in the test plan. • Characterizing the homogenized sample groups. • Performing parametric leaching testing on each group for compounds of interest. • Performing bench-top filtration/leaching tests in the hot cell for each group to simulate filtration and leaching activities if they occurred in the UFP2 vessel of the WTP Pretreatment Facility. This report focuses on a filtration/leaching test performed using two of the eight waste composite samples. The sample groups examined in this report …

The purpose of this report is to provide a concise but comprehensive overview of Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Climate Research Facility instrumentation status. The report is divided into the following five sections: (1) new instrumentation in the process of being acquired and deployed, (2) field campaigns, (3) existing instrumentation and progress on improvements or upgrades, (4) proposed future instrumentation, and (5) Small Business Innovation Research instrument development.

The Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) is a U.S. Department of Energy research and development laboratory located at the Savannah River Site (SRS) near Aiken, South Carolina. SRNL has over 50 years of experience in developing and applying hydrogen technology, both through its national defense activities as well as through its recent activities with the DOE Hydrogen Programs. The hydrogen technical staff at SRNL comprises over 90 scientists, engineers and technologists, and it is believed to be the largest such staff in the U.S. SRNL has ongoing R&D initiatives in a variety of hydrogen storage areas, including metal hydrides, complex hydrides, chemical hydrides and carbon nanotubes. SRNL has over 25 years of experience in metal hydrides and solid-state hydrogen storage research, development and demonstration. As part of its defense mission at SRS, SRNL developed, designed, demonstrated and provides ongoing technical support for the largest hydrogen processing facility in the world based on the integrated use of metal hydrides for hydrogen storage, separation, and compression. The SRNL has been active in teaming with academic and industrial partners to advance hydrogen technology. A primary focus of SRNL's R&D has been hydrogen storage using metal and complex hydrides. SRNL and its Hydrogen Technology …

We study ultrahigh frequency surface acoustic wave propagation in nickel-on-sapphire nanostructures. The use of ultrafast, coherent, extreme ultraviolet beams allows us to extend optical measurements of propagation dynamics of surface acoustic waves to frequencies of nearly 50 GHz, corresponding to wavelengths as short as 125 nm. We repeat the measurement on a sequence of nanostructured samples to observe surface acoustic wave dispersion in a nanostructure series for the first time. These measurements are critical for accurate characterization of thin films using this technique.

We discuss a spectroscopic method to determine the character of chemical bonding and for the identification of metal ligands in coordination and bioinorganic chemistry. It is based on the analysis of satellite lines in X-ray emission spectra that arise from transitions between valence orbitals and the metal ion 1s level (valence-to-core XES). The spectra, in connection with calculations based on density functional theory (DFT), provide information that is complementary to other spectroscopic techniques, in particular X-ray absorption (XANES and EXAFS). The spectral shape is sensitive to protonation of ligands and allows ligands, which differ only slightly in atomic number (e.g., C, N, O...), to be distinguished. A theoretical discussion of the main spectral features is presented in terms of molecular orbitals for a series of Mn model systems: [Mn(H2O)6]2+, [Mn(H2O)5OH]+, [Mn(H2O)5NH2]+, and [Mn(H2O)5NH3]2+. An application of the method, with comparison between theory and experiment, is presented for the solvated Mn2+ ion in water and three Mn coordination complexes, namely [LMn(acac)N3]BPh4, [LMn(B2O3Ph2)(ClO4)], and [LMn(acac)N]BPh4, where L represents 1,4,7-trimethyl-1,4,7-triazacyclononane, acac stands for the 2,4-pentanedionate anion, and B2O3Ph2 represents the 1,3-diphenyl-1,3-dibora-2-oxapropane-1,3-diolato dianion.

IceCube is a km-scale neutrino observatory under construction at the South Pole with sensors both in the deep ice (InIce) and on the surface (IceTop). The sensors, called Digital Optical Modules (DOMs), detect, digitize and timestamp the signals from optical Cherenkov-radiation photons. The DOM Main Board (MB) data acquisition subsystem is connected to the central DAQ in the IceCube Laboratory (ICL) by a single twisted copper wire-pair and transmits packetized data on demand. Time calibration ismaintained throughout the array by regular transmission to the DOMs of precisely timed analog signals, synchronized to a central GPS-disciplined clock. The design goals and consequent features, functional capabilities, and initial performance of the DOM MB, and the operation of a combined array of DOMs as a system, are described here. Experience with the first InIce strings and the IceTop stations indicates that the system design and performance goals have been achieved.

Using a highly coherent focused electron probe in a 5th order aberration-corrected transmission electron microscope, we report on resolving a crystal spacing less than 50 pm. Based on the geometrical source size and residual coherent and incoherent axial lens aberrations, an electron probe is calculated, which is theoretically capable of resolving an ideal 47 pm spacing with 29percent contrast. Our experimental data show the 47 pm spacing of a Ge 114 crystal imaged with 11-18percent contrast at a 60-95percent confidence level, providing the first direct evidence for sub 50-pm resolution in ADF STEM imaging.

The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory conducted this study for the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) with funding provided through the Northwest Power and Conservation Council(a) and the BPA Fish and Wildlife Program. The study was conducted in the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River. The goal of study was to determine the physical habitat factors necessary to define the redd capacity of fall Chinook salmon that spawn in large mainstem rivers like the Hanford Reach and Snake River. The study was originally commissioned in FY 1994 and then recommissioned in FY 2000 through the Fish and Wildlife Program rolling review of the Columbia River Basin projects. The work described in this report covers the period from 1994 through 2004; however, the majority of the information comes from the last four years of the study (2000 through 2004). Results from the work conducted from 1994 to 2000 were covered in an earlier report. More than any other stock of Pacific salmon, fall Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) have suffered severe impacts from the hydroelectric development in the Columbia River Basin. Fall Chinook salmon rely heavily on mainstem habitats for all phases of their life cycle, and mainstem hydroelectric dams have inundated or blocked …

The purpose of the Craig Wood Fired Boiler Project is to use waste wood from local sawmilling operations to provide heat to local public buildings, in an effort to reduce the cost of operating those buildings, and put to productive use a byproduct from the wood milling process that otherwise presents an expense to local mills. The scope of the project included the acquisition of a wood boiler and the delivery systems to feed wood fuel to it, the construction of a building to house the boiler and delivery systems, and connection of the boiler facility to three buildings that will benefit from heat generated by the boiler: the Craig Aquatic Center, the Craig Elementary School, and the Craig Middle School buildings.

In ultra-peripheral relativistic heavy-ion collisions, a photon from the electromagnetic field of one nucleus can fluctuate to a quark-antiquark pair and scatter from the other nucleus, emerging as a {rho}{sup 0}. The {rho}{sup 0} production occurs in two well-separated (median impact parameters of 20 and 40 fermi for the cases considered here) nuclei, so the system forms a 2-source interferometer. At low transverse momenta, the two amplitudes interfere destructively, suppressing {rho}{sup 0} production. Since the {rho}{sup 0} decays before the production amplitudes from the two sources can overlap, the two-pion system can only be described with an entangled non-local wave function, and is thus an example of the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox. We observe this suppression in 200 GeV per nucleon-pair gold-gold collisions. The interference is 87% {+-} 5%(stat.) {+-} 8% (syst.) of the expected level. This translates into a limit on decoherence due to wave function collapse or other factors, of 23% at the 90% confidence level.

In this paper, we report on studies of ion back bombardment in high average current dc and rf photoinjectors using a particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo method. Using H{sub 2} ion as an example, we observed that the ion density and energy deposition on the photocathode in rf guns are order of magnitude lower than that in a dc gun. A higher rf frequency helps mitigate the ion back bombardment of the cathode in rf guns.

Platinum nanocubes and nanopolyhedra with tunable size from 5 to 9 nm were synthesized by controlling the reducing rate of metal precursor ions in a one-pot polyol synthesis. A two-stage process is proposed for the simultaneous control of size and shape. In the first stage, the oxidation state of the metal ion precursors determined the nucleation rate and consequently the number of nuclei. The reaction temperature controlled the shape in the second stage by regulation of the growth kinetics. These well-defined nanocrystals were loaded into MCF-17 mesoporous silica for examination of catalytic properties. Pt loadings and dispersions of the supported catalysts were determined by elemental analysis (ICP-MS) and H2 chemisorption isotherms, respectively. Ethylene hydrogenation rates over the Pt nanocrystals were independent of both size and shape and comparable to Pt single crystals. For pyrrole hydrogenation, the nanocubes enhanced ring-opening ability and thus showed a higher selectivity to n-butylamine as compared to nanopolyhedra.

Understanding heat transport on nanoscale dimensions is important for fundamental advances in nanoscience, as well as for practical applications such as thermal management in nano-electronics, thermoelectric devices, photovoltaics, nanomanufacturing, as well as nanoparticle thermal therapy. Here we report the first time-resolved measurements of heat transport across nanostructured interfaces. We observe the transition from a diffusive to a ballistic thermal transport regime, with a corresponding increase in the interface resistivity for line widths smaller than the phonon mean free path in the substrate. Resistivities more than three times higher than the bulk value are measured for the smallest line widths of 65 nm. Our findings are relevant to the modeling and design of heat transport in nanoscale engineered systems, including nanoelectronics, photovoltaics and thermoelectric devices.

This report discusses the current political state of Afghanistan, as well as the Afghan government. This report also discusses Afghanistan's relationship with the United States, particularly U.S. efforts to urge President Hamid Karzai to address corruption within the Afghan government.

This report discusses the Technology Innovation Program (TIP) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which is designed "to support, promote, and accelerate innovation in the United States through high-risk, high-reward research in areas of critical national need," according to the authorizing legislation. Grants are provided to small and medium-sized firms for individual projects or joint ventures with other research organizations.

A recital presented at the UNT College of Music Concert Hall in partial fulfillment of the degree Master of Music in Performance.

Daily newspaper from Baytown, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Funeral program for Lena Ann Hodges, born April 29, 1923 and died February 26, 2009. The funeral was held March 2, 2009 at Greater Love Missionary Baptist Church, officiated by Dr. L. J. Gillespie, Sr.

Funeral program for Mildred B. Smith, born March 4, 1927 and died February 20, 2009. The funeral was held March 2, 2009 at Sutton-Sutton Mortuary Chapel, officiated by Reverend Errol Ray Warren. Funeral arrangements were made through Sutton-Sutton Mortuary, Inc. and she was buried in Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery near San Antonio, Texas.

None