A recent study concluded that serum prostate specific antigen (PSA)-based screening is beneficial for reducing the lethality of PCa, but was also associated with a high risk of 'overdiagnosis'. Nevertheless, also PCa patients who suffered from organ confined tumors and had negative bone scans succumb to distant metastases after complete tumor resection. It is reasonable to assume that those tumors spread to other organs long before the overt manifestation of metastases. Our current results confirm that prostate tumors are highly heterogeneous. Even a small subpopulation of cells bearing BRCA1 losses can initiate PCa cell regional and distant dissemination indicating those patients which might be at high risk of metastasis. A preliminary study performed on a small cohort of multifocal prostate cancer (PCa) detected BRCA1 allelic imbalances (AI) among circulating tumor cells (CTCs). The present analysis was aimed to elucidate the biological and clinical role of BRCA1 losses on metastatic spread and tumor progression in prostate cancer patients. Experimental Design: To map molecular progression in PCa outgrowth we used FISH analysis of tissue microarrays (TMA), lymph node sections and CTC from peripheral blood. We found that 14% of 133 tested patients carried monoallelic BRCA1 loss in at least one tumor focus. …

This report provides an overview of the DHS IE both at headquarters and within the components. It examines how DHS IE is organized and supports key departmental activities to include homeland security analysis and threat warning; border security; critical infrastructure protection; support to, and the sharing of information with, state, local, tribal, and private sector partners. It also discusses several oversight challenges and options for Congress to consider on these issues.

This report provides a baseline assessment of the current state of energy efficiency-related education and training programs and analyzes training and education needs to support expected growth in the energy efficiency services workforce. In the last year, there has been a significant increase in funding for 'green job' training and workforce development (including energy efficiency), through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Key segments of the energy efficiency services sector (EESS) have experienced significant growth during the past several years, and this growth is projected to continue and accelerate over the next decade. In a companion study (Goldman et al. 2009), our research team estimated that the EESS will increase two- to four-fold by 2020, to 220,000 person-years of employment (PYE) (low-growth scenario) or up to 380,000 PYE (high-growth scenario), which may represent as many as 1.3 million individuals. In assessing energy efficiency workforce education and training needs, we focus on energy-efficiency services-related jobs that are required to improve the efficiency of residential and nonresidential buildings. Figure ES-1 shows the market value chain for the EESS, sub-sectors included in this study, as well as the types of market players and specific occupations. Our assessment does not include the manufacturing, …

The linear magnetic trap is an attractive concept both for fusion reactors and for other plasma applications due to its relative engineering simplicity and high-beta operation. Applying the α- channeling technique to linear traps, such as mirror machines, can benefit this concept by efficiently redirecting α particle energy to fuel ion heating or by otherwise sustaining plasma confinement, thus increasing the effective fusion reactivity. To identify waves suitable for α-channeling a rough optimization of the energy extraction rate with respect to the wave parameters is performed. After the optimal regime is identified, a systematic search for modes with similar parameters in mirror plasmas is performed, assuming quasi-longitudinal or quasi-transverse wave propagation. Several modes suitable for α particle energy extraction are identified for both reactor designs and for proof- of-principle experiments.

This report provides background information on the types of water supply and wastewater treatment projects traditionally funded by the federal government and the several existing programs to assist communities with water supply and wastewater recycling and treatment.

This report summarizes the health-related revenue provisions in the Reconciliation Act of 2010, introduced in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 4872.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) relies extensively on computerized systems to carry out its demanding responsibilities to collect taxes, process tax returns, and enforce the nation's tax laws. Effective information security controls are essential to protect financial and taxpayer information from inadvertent or deliberate misuse, improper disclosure, or destruction. As part of its audit of IRS's fiscal years 2009 and 2008 financial statements, GAO assessed (1) the status of IRS's actions to correct or mitigate previously reported information security weaknesses and (2) whether controls over key financial and tax processing systems are effective in ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of financial and sensitive taxpayer information. To do this, GAO examined IRS information security policies, plans, and procedures; tested controls over key financial applications; and interviewed key agency officials at six sites."

Electron beam quality is an important factor in the performance of a free electron laser (FEL). Parameters of particular interest are the electron beam energy, slice emittance and energy spread, peak current, and energy chirp. Jitter in average energy is typically many times the slice energy spread. A seeded FEL is sensitive not only to these local properties but also to factors such as shot-to-shot consistency and the uniformity of the energy and current profiles across the bunch. The timing and bunch length jitter should be controlled to maximize the interval of time over which the electron beam can be reliably seeded by a laser to produce good output in the FEL. LiTrack, a one-dimensional tracking code which includes the effect of longitudinal wakefields, is used to study the sensitivity of the accelerator portion of a 2.4 GeV FEL to sources of variability such as the radio frequency (RF) cavities, chicanes, and the timing and efficiency of electron production at the photocathode. The main contributors to jitter in the resulting electron beam are identified and quantified for various figures of merit.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The F-35 Lightning II, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), is the Department of Defense's (DOD) most costly and ambitious aircraft acquisition, seeking to simultaneously develop and field three aircraft variants for the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and eight international partners. The JSF is critical for recapitalizing tactical air forces and will require a long-term commitment to very large annual funding outlays. The current estimated investment is $323 billion to develop and procure 2,457 aircraft. As required by law, this report discusses (1) program cost, schedule, and performance; (2) manufacturing results; and (3) test plans and progress. GAO's work includes interviews, cost data, test plans, production measures, and analyses by defense and contractor officials."

This report discusses the myriad legal issues associated with the development of CCS technology.

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This report discusses the Navy's plan to develop and design a class of 12 next-generation ballistic missile submarines, or SSBN(X)s, as replacements for the 14 Ohio class SSBNs currently in operation. The report explores certain related issues for Congress, including the affordability of the project and its potential impact on other Navy shipbuilding programs, alternatives to the program, and which shipyard or shipyards will build the proposed ships.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "CMS established the Special Focus Facility (SFF) Program in 1998 to help address poor nursing home performance. States select a subset of homes as SFFs from a list of the 15 poorest performing homes in each state, but the program is limited to 136 homes nationwide because of resource constraints. CMS guidance directs states to survey SFFs twice as frequently as other homes and to propose more robust enforcement, including termination, for SFFs that fail to improve within about 18 months. GAO was asked to (1) determine the factors states consider in selecting SFFs and how SFFs differed from other nursing homes, (2) evaluate CMS regional office and state adherence to program guidance and the program's impact on homes' performance, and (3) identify other strategies that have been used to improve poorly performing homes. In general, GAO's analysis used CMS data from 2005 through 2009 on SFFs and other homes as well as interviews with officials in 14 states selected based on the number of SFFs in each state and other factors."

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This report discusses the current economic and political state of the island nation of Singapore, focusing in particularly on its economic success and its relationship with the United States.

This report primarily covers fundamental tax reform by discussing background and proposals for review during the 111th Congress. It includes sections about fundamental tax reform, the relationship between income and consumption, what should be taxed, types of broad-based consumption taxes, international comparisons, other types of fundamental tax reform, legislative proposals and other legislation, and sections looking at other specific kinds of taxation.

This report will examine the legal issues raised by wellness programs, including discussions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) nondiscrimination rules, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), other employment discrimination laws such as the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as well as Medicaid and applicable tax code provisions.