The early detection of the deliberate biological and chemical contamination of water distribution systems is a necessary capability for securing the nation's water supply. Current and emerging early-detection technology capabilities and shortcomings need to be identified and assessed to provide government agencies and water utilities with an improved methodology for assessing the value of installing these technologies. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has tasked a multi-laboratory team to evaluate current and future needs to protect the nation's water distribution infrastructure by supporting an objective evaluation of current and new technologies. The primary deliverables from this Operational Technology Demonstration (OTD) are the following: (1) establishment of an advisory board for review and approval of testing protocols, technology acquisition processes and recommendations for technology test and evaluation in laboratory and field settings; (2) development of a technology acquisition process; (3) creation of laboratory and field testing and evaluation capability; and (4) testing of candidate technologies for insertion into a water early warning system. The initial phase of this study involves the development of two separate but complementary strategies to be reviewed by the advisory board: (1) a technology acquisition strategy, and (2) a technology evaluation strategy. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and …

Daily newspaper from Altus, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

On May 1, 2004, 10 states joined the European Union (EU), enlarging the Union to 25 members. The EU views the enlargement process as an historic opportunity to promote stability in Europe and further the integration of the continent by peaceful means. In addition to the 10 new members (Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia), three other states — Bulgaria, Romania, and Croatia — hope to accede to the EU by 2007. Turkey is also a candidate and is expected to begin accession negotiations in 2005. Macedonia has also applied for EU membership.

The European Union (EU) experienced significant changes in 2004 as it enlarged from 15 to 25 members and continued work on a new constitutional treaty to institute internal reforms and further EU political integration. In 2005, the EU is expected to build on these efforts and seek to implement several recent foreign policy and defense initiatives. This report describes the current status of the EU’s “constitution,” EU enlargement, the EU’s evolving foreign and defense policies, and possible implications for U.S.-EU relations.

This report provides answers to key questions related to the European Union (EU). It describes the EU’s evolution, its governing institutions, trade policy, and efforts to forge common foreign and defense policies. The report also addresses the EU-U.S. and EU-NATO relationships.

In June 2004, the European Union (EU) concluded work on a constitutional treaty that contains changes to the EU’s governing institutions and decision-making processes. This new “constitution” grew out of the 2002-2003 Convention on the Future of Europe and previous EU efforts to institute internal reforms ahead of the Union’s expansion from 15 members to 25 in May 2004. The “constitution” aims to enable a larger EU to operate effectively and prevent gridlock, but it must still be ratified by all member states before it enters into force. This report provides background information on the Convention and describes the EU “constitution,” its key provisions, next steps, and possible implications for the U.S.-EU relationship.

Since the first genetically engineered (GE) crops (also called GM [genetically modified] crops, or GMOs, genetically modified organisms) became commercially available in the mid-1990s, U.S. soybean, cotton, and corn farmers have rapidly adopted them. As adoption has spread, there have been policy debates over the costs and benefits of GE products. Issues include the impacts of GE crops on the environment and food safety, and whether GE foods should be specially labeled. Congress generally has been supportive of GE agricultural products, although some Members have expressed wariness about their adoption and regulation. The 109th Congress will likely continue to follow trade developments, particularly the U.S.-EU dispute, as well as U.S. regulatory mechanisms for approving biotech foods.

In pure plutonium, the monoclinic {alpha} phase is the equilibrium phase at ambient temperature and pressure. The addition of a few percent of gallium, however, allows the fcc {delta} phase to be retained metastablely at ambient conditions. When the metastable {delta} phase is cooled to subambient temperatures, it partially transforms to the monoclinic {alpha}' phase, which has gallium supersaturated in the lattice. The {alpha}' phase reverts to the {delta} phase when the sample is heated above the ambient temperature. The martensite burst (M{sub b}) and reversion start (R{sub s}) temperatures are functions of the composition, heating rate, and prior thermal history. For a Pu-2.0 at% Ga alloy, the transformation hysteresis is approximately 150 C, which is large compared with other solid-solid phase transformations. Both the forward and reverse transformations are martensitic and proceed via a burst mode. Here, we use differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and resistometry to perform fundamental studies of the {alpha}'/{delta} transformations with the goal of understanding how aging may affect {delta} phase stability, particularly the M{sub b} temperature. Because materials properties of the {alpha}' and {delta} phases are considerably different (including a density increase of 25% and an accompanying resistivity increase of 46% upon transformation from {delta} …

Daily newspaper from Sapulpa, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Daily newspaper from Chickasha, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Silver and platinum were incorporated within diamondlike carbon (DLC) thin films using a multicomponent target pulsed laser deposition process. Transmission electron microscopy of the DLC-silver and DLC-platinum composite films reveals that the metals self-assemble into particulate nanocomposite structures. Nanoindentation testing has shown that diamondlike carbon-silver films exhibit hardness and Young's modulus values of approximately 37 GPa and 333 GPa, respectively. DLC-silver-platinum films exhibited antimicrobial properties against Staphylococcus bacteria. Diamondlike carbon-biofunctional metal nanocomposite films have a variety of potential medical and antimicrobial applications.

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

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Raymond Cheney. Cheney enlisted in the Army Air Forces in September of 1942. He completed radio school and served in Australia, New Guinea and Los Negros Island. He provides some details of his work and travel experiences. He was honorably discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Raymond Cheney. Cheney enlisted in the Army Air Forces in September of 1942. He completed radio school and served in Australia, New Guinea and Los Negros Island. He provides some details of his work and travel experiences. He was honorably discharged in 1946.

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The authors present an analysis of the color and variability characteristics for point sources in the Faint Sky Variability Survey (FSVS). The FSVS cataloged {approx} 23 square degrees in BVI filters from {approx} 16-24 mag to investigate variability in faint sources at moderate to high Galactic latitudes. Point source completeness is found to be >83% for a selected representative sample (V - 17.5-22.0 mag, B-V = 0.0-1.5) containing both photometric B, V detections and 80% of the time-sampled V data available compared to a basic internal source completeness of 99%. Multi-epoch (10-30) observations in V spanning minutes to years modeled by light curve simulations reveal amplitude sensitivities to {approx} 0.015-0.075 mag over a representative V = 18-22 mag range. Periodicity determinations appear viable to time-scales of an order 1 day or less using the most sampled fields ({approx} 30 epochs). The fraction of point sources is found to be generally variable at 5-8% over V = 17.5-22.0 mag. For V brighter than 19 mag, the variable population is dominated by low amplitude (< 0.05 mag) and blue (B-V < 0.35) sources, possibly representing a population of {gamma} Doradus stars. Overall, the dominant population of variable sources are bluer than B-V …

The high energy limit of Quantum Chromodynamics is one of the most fascinating areas in the theory of strong interactions. Over a decade ago the HERA experiment at DESY in Hamburg provided strong evidence for the rise of the proton structure function at small values of the Bjorken variable x. This behavior can be explained as an increase of the gluon density of the proton with energy or correspondingly with smaller values of x. This increase can be attributed on the other hand to the large probability of gluon splitting in QCD. The natural framework for describing the gluon dynamics at small x is the Balitskii-Fadin-Kuraev-Lipatov formalism developed some 30 years ago. It predicts that the gluon density grows very fast with increasing energy, as a power with a large intercept. This increase has to be tamed in order to satisfy the unitarily bound. Over two decades ago, Gribov, Levin and Ryskin proposed the mechanism called the parton saturation, which slows down the fast rise of the gluon density. This formalism accounts for an additional gluon recombination apart from the pure gluon splitting. It leads to the very interesting non-linear modification of the evolution equations for the gluon distributions. Since …

This report provides the U.S. concerns and policy responses on Iran.

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This report includes information about Egyptian and U.S. relations, issues with these relations, and U.S. foreign assistance to Egypt.

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Israeli-U.S. relations are an important factor in U.S. policy in the Middle East, and Congress has placed considerable emphasis on the maintenance of a close and supportive relationship. The main vehicle for expressing support for Israel has been foreign aid; Israel currently receives about $3 billion per year in economic and military grants, refugee settlement assistance, and other aid. Congress has monitored aid closely along with other issues in bilateral relations, and its concerns have affected Administration’s policies.

This report includes information regarding the relationship between the United States and Lebanon, as well as Lebanon's political profile, and foreign presence in Lebanon