Resource Type

Transportation Security: Comprehensive Risk Assessments and Stronger Internal Controls Needed to Help Inform TSA Resource Allocation (open access)

Transportation Security: Comprehensive Risk Assessments and Stronger Internal Controls Needed to Help Inform TSA Resource Allocation

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has called for using risk-informed approaches to help prioritize its investments, develop plans, and allocate resources in a way that balances security and commerce. Within DHS, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is responsible for making risk-informed investments to secure the transportation system. GAO evaluated to what extent TSA (1) implemented a risk management approach to inform the allocation of resources across the transportation sector and (2) followed internal control standards in its efforts to implement and use a risk management approach to inform resource allocation."
Date: March 27, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Under-Sodium Viewing: A Review of Ultrasonic Imaging Technology for Liquid Metal Fast Reactors (open access)

Under-Sodium Viewing: A Review of Ultrasonic Imaging Technology for Liquid Metal Fast Reactors

This current report is a summary of information obtained in the "Information Capture" task of the U.S. DOE-funded "Under Sodium Viewing (USV) Project." The goal of the multi-year USV project is to design, build, and demonstrate a state-of-the-art prototype ultrasonic viewing system tailored for periodic reactor core in-service monitoring and maintenance inspections. The study seeks to optimize system parameters, improve performance, and re-establish this key technology area which will be required to support any new U.S. liquid-metal cooled fast reactors.
Date: March 27, 2009
Creator: Griffin, Jeffrey W.; Peters, Timothy J.; Posakony, Gerald J.; Chien, Hual-Te; Bond, Leonard J.; Denslow, Kayte M. et al.
System: The UNT Digital Library
What's the Difference?--Comparing U.S. and Chinese Trade Data (open access)

What's the Difference?--Comparing U.S. and Chinese Trade Data

This report provides a comparison of U.S. and Chinese trade data. U.S. trade with the People's Republic of China (China) is becoming increasingly contentious as the U.S. bilateral trade deficit rises. Debate over this trade deficit is hampered because of disagreement between the two countries on how large the deficit actually is. According to official U.S. figures, China has surpassed Canada as the largest supplier of U.S. imports.
Date: March 27, 2009
Creator: Martin, Michael F.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Whole Building Cost and Performance Measurement: Data Collection Protocol Revision 2 (open access)

Whole Building Cost and Performance Measurement: Data Collection Protocol Revision 2

This protocol was written for the Department of Energy’s Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) to be used by the public as a tool for assessing building cost and performance measurement. The primary audiences are sustainable design professionals, asset owners, building managers, and research professionals within the Federal sector. The protocol was developed based on the need for measured performance and cost data on sustainable design projects. Historically there has not been a significant driver in the public or private sector to quantify whole building performance in comparable terms. The deployment of sustainable design into the building sector has initiated many questions on the performance and operational cost of these buildings.
Date: March 27, 2009
Creator: Fowler, Kimberly M.; Spees, Kathleen L.; Kora, Angela R.; Rauch, Emily M.; Hathaway, John E. & Solana, Amy E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Advanced Dark Energy Physics Telescope (ADEPT) (open access)

Advanced Dark Energy Physics Telescope (ADEPT)

In 2006, we proposed to NASA a detailed concept study of ADEPT (the Advanced Dark Energy Physics Telescope), a potential space mission to reliably measure the time-evolution of dark energy by conducting the largest effective volume survey of the universe ever done. A peer-review panel of scientific, management, and technical experts reported back the highest possible 'excellent' rating for ADEPT. We have since made substantial advances in the scientific and technical maturity of the mission design. With this Department of Energy (DOE) award we were granted supplemental funding to support specific extended research items that were not included in the NASA proposal, many of which were intended to broadly advance future dark energy research, as laid out by the Dark Energy Task Force (DETF). The proposed work had three targets: (1) the adaptation of large-format infrared arrays to a 2 micron cut-off; (2) analytical research to improve the understanding of the dark energy figure-of- merit; and (3) extended studies of baryon acoustic oscillation systematic uncertainties. Since the actual award was only for {approx}10% of the proposed amount item (1) was dropped and item (2) work was severely restricted, consistent with the referee reviews of the proposal, although there was considerable …
Date: March 26, 2009
Creator: Bennett, Charles L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Annual Site Environmental Report for Calendar Year 2004 (open access)

Annual Site Environmental Report for Calendar Year 2004

This report provides the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the public with information on the level of radioactive and non-radioactive pollutants (if any) that are added to the environment as a result of Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory's (PPPL) operations. The results of the 2004 environmental surveillance and monitoring program for PPPL's are presented and discussed. The report also summarizes environmental initiatives, assessments, and programs that were undertaken in 2004.
Date: March 26, 2009
Creator: Finley, V.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Does the Endangered Species Act (ESA) Listing Provide More Protection of Polar Bear?: A Look at the Special Rules (open access)

Does the Endangered Species Act (ESA) Listing Provide More Protection of Polar Bear?: A Look at the Special Rules

This report looks at the regulations surrounding the polar bear, which has been protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) since 1972. The report discusses the protections, prohibitions, and special rules for polar bears as well as exceptions to the rules, habitat issues, recovery plans, and other issues regarding polar bear protections.
Date: March 26, 2009
Creator: Alexander, Kristina
System: The UNT Digital Library
Egypt: Background and U.S. Relations (open access)

Egypt: Background and U.S. Relations

This report provides an overview of Egyptian politics and current issues in U.S.-Egyptian relations. It briefly provides a political history of modern Egypt, an overview of its political institutions, and a discussion of the prospects for democratization in Egypt.
Date: March 26, 2009
Creator: Sharp, Jeremy M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Laser Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectroscopy Study at the 222-S Laboratory Using Hot-Cell Glove Box Prototype System (open access)

Laser Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectroscopy Study at the 222-S Laboratory Using Hot-Cell Glove Box Prototype System

This report describes the installation, testing and acceptance of the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant procured laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (LA-ICP-AES) system for remotely analyzing high-level waste samples in a hot cell environment. The 2005-003; ATS MP 1027, Management Plan for Waste Treatment Plant Project Work Performed by Analytical Technical Services. The APD group at the 222-S laboratory demonstrated acceptable turnaround time (TAT) and provide sufficient data to assess sensitivity, accuracy, and precision of the LA-ICP-AES method.
Date: March 26, 2009
Creator: Lockrem, L. L.; Owens, J. W. & Seidel, C. M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Methadone-Associated Overdose Deaths: Factors Contributing to Increased Deaths and Efforts to Prevent Them (open access)

Methadone-Associated Overdose Deaths: Factors Contributing to Increased Deaths and Efforts to Prevent Them

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Prescription drug abuse is a growing public health problem. In particular, methadone-associated overdose deaths--those in which methadone may have caused or contributed to the death--have risen sharply. Before the late 1990s, methadone was used mainly to treat opioid addiction but has since been increasingly prescribed to manage pain. Taken too often, in too high a dose, or with other drugs or alcohol, methadone can cause serious side effects and death. Methadone-associated overdose deaths can occur under several different scenarios, including improper dosing levels by practitioners, misuse by patients who may combine methadone with other drugs, or abuse--using the drug for nontherapeutic purposes. This report examines the regulation of methadone, factors that have contributed to the increase in methadone-associated overdose deaths, and steps taken to prevent methadone-associated overdose deaths. GAO reviewed documents, laws and regulations, data, and research from relevant state and federal agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). GAO also interviewed federal officials, officials in five selected states, officials from professional associations and advocacy groups, and experts in pain management, addiction treatment, and forensic sciences."
Date: March 26, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Overview of Recent U.S. Supreme Court Jurisprudence in Patent Law (open access)

An Overview of Recent U.S. Supreme Court Jurisprudence in Patent Law

None
Date: March 26, 2009
Creator: unknown
System: The UNT Digital Library
Panama: Political and Economic Conditions and U.S. Relations (open access)

Panama: Political and Economic Conditions and U.S. Relations

This report discusses the current political and economic conditions in the country of Panama, which has made notable political and economic progress since the 1989 U.S. military intervention that ousted the regime of General Manuel Noriega from power. The United States has close relations with Panama, stemming in large part from the extensive linkages developed when the canal was under U.S. control. This report describes the U.S.-Panama relationship at length, including trade relations.
Date: March 26, 2009
Creator: Sullivan, Mark P.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Shock Ignitiion: A New Approach to High Gain/Yield Targets for the National Ignition Facility (open access)

Shock Ignitiion: A New Approach to High Gain/Yield Targets for the National Ignition Facility

None
Date: March 26, 2009
Creator: Perkins, L J; LaFortune, K N; Betti, R; Williams, W H; Miles, A R & Divol, L
System: The UNT Digital Library
Silicon Carbide Ceramics for Compact Heat Exchangers (open access)

Silicon Carbide Ceramics for Compact Heat Exchangers

Silicon carbide (SiC) materials are prime candidates for high temperature heat exchangers for next generation nuclear reactors due to their refractory nature and high thermal conductivity at elevated temperatures. This research has focused on demonstrating the potential of liquid silicon infiltration (LSI) for making SiC to achieve this goal. The major advantage of this method over other ceramic processing techniques is the enhanced capability of making high dense, high purity SiC materials in complex net shapes. For successful formation of net shape SiC using LSI techniques, the carbon preform reactivity and pore structure must be controlled to allow the complete infiltration of the porous carbon structure which allows complete conversion of the carbon to SiC. We have established a procedure for achieving desirable carbon properties by using carbon precursors consisting of two readily available high purity organic materials, crystalline cellulose and phenolic resin. Phenolic resin yields a glassy carbon with low chemical reactivity and porosity while the cellulose carbon is highly reactive and porous. By adjusting the ratio of these two materials in the precursor mixtures, the properties of the carbons produced can be controlled. We have identified the most favorable carbon precursor composition to be a cellulose resin mass …
Date: March 26, 2009
Creator: Nagle, Dennis & Zhang, Dajie
System: The UNT Digital Library
Small Business Tax Benefits: Overview and Economic Rationale (open access)

Small Business Tax Benefits: Overview and Economic Rationale

None
Date: March 26, 2009
Creator: unknown
System: The UNT Digital Library
Study of Turbulent Fluctuations Driven by the Electron Temperature Gradient in the National Spherical Torus Experiment (open access)

Study of Turbulent Fluctuations Driven by the Electron Temperature Gradient in the National Spherical Torus Experiment

Various theories and numerical simulations support the conjecture that the ubiquitous problem of anomalous electron transport in tokamaks may arise from a short-scale turbulence driven by the electron temperature gradient. To check whether this turbulence is present in plasmas of the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX), measurements of turbulent fluctuations were performed with coherent scattering of electromagnetic waves. Results from plasmas heated by high harmonic fast waves (HHFW) show the existence of density fluctuations in the range of wave numbers k⊥ρe=0.1-0.4, corresponding to a turbulence scale length of the order of the collisionless skin depth. Experimental observations and agreement with numerical results from the linear gyro-kinetic GS2 code indicate that the observed turbulence is driven by the electron temperature gradient. These turbulent fluctuations were not observed at the location of an internal transport barrier driven by a negative magnetic shear.
Date: March 26, 2009
Creator: Mazzucato, E.; Bell, R. E.; Ethier, S.; Hosea, J. C.; Kaye, S. M.; LeBlanc, B. P. et al.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Tax-Advantaged Accounts for Health Care Expenses: Side-by-Side Comparison (open access)

Tax-Advantaged Accounts for Health Care Expenses: Side-by-Side Comparison

This report provides brief summaries and background information for four types of tax-advantaged accounts for healthcare; it compares them with respect to eligibility, contribution limits, use of funds, and other characteristics for tax year 2009. It also includes a discussion of various healthcare-related issues including equity and options for reform.
Date: March 26, 2009
Creator: Lyke, Bob & Peterson, Chris L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Advanced Spectroscopic Portal Program: Background and Issues for Congress (open access)

The Advanced Spectroscopic Portal Program: Background and Issues for Congress

This report provides an overview of the Advanced Spectroscopic Portal (ASP) program's history and outlines issues for Congress as the program moves forward. The ASP is an improved type of radiation detection device, meant to serve as part of new and existing programs to protect against terrorist nuclear or radiological attack.
Date: March 25, 2009
Creator: Shea, Dana A.; Moteff, John D. & Morgan, Daniel
System: The UNT Digital Library
Authority of State Legislatures to Accept Funds Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (open access)

Authority of State Legislatures to Accept Funds Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

This report analyzes the language contained in § 1607 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act),1 which provides that federal funds can be made available to a state by the federal government either after certification by a governor that such money will be requested and spent or after the adoption of a concurrent resolution by a state legislature. This report evaluates the authority of state legislatures to, by concurrent resolution, provide for the acceptance of federal funds.
Date: March 25, 2009
Creator: Thomas, Kenneth R.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Department of Defense: Additional Actions and Data Are Needed to Effectively Manage and Oversee DOD's Acquisition Workforce (open access)

Department of Defense: Additional Actions and Data Are Needed to Effectively Manage and Oversee DOD's Acquisition Workforce

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 2001, the Department of Defense's (DOD) spending on goods and services has more than doubled to $388 billion in 2008, while the number of civilian and military acquisition personnel has remained relatively stable. To augment its in-house workforce, DOD relies heavily on contractor personnel. If it does not maintain an adequate workforce, DOD places its billion-dollar acquisitions at an increased risk of poor outcomes and vulnerability to fraud, waste, and abuse. GAO was asked to (1) assess DOD's ability to determine whether it has a sufficient acquisition workforce, (2) assess DOD initiatives to improve the management and oversight of its acquisition workforce, and (3) discuss practices of leading organizations that could provide insights for DOD's acquisition workforce oversight. To do this, GAO analyzed key DOD studies, obtained data from 66 major weapon system program offices across DOD, and interviewed officials from 4 program offices. GAO also met with representatives from six companies recognized as leaders in workforce management."
Date: March 25, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Deposition Velocities of Newtonian and Non-Newtonian Slurries in Pipelines (open access)

Deposition Velocities of Newtonian and Non-Newtonian Slurries in Pipelines

The WTP pipe plugging issue, as stated by the External Flowsheet Review Team (EFRT) Executive Summary, is as follows: “Piping that transports slurries will plug unless it is properly designed to minimize this risk. This design approach has not been followed consistently, which will lead to frequent shutdowns due to line plugging.” A strategy was employed to perform critical-velocity tests on several physical simulants. Critical velocity is defined as the point where a stationary bed of particles deposits on the bottom of a straight horizontal pipe during slurry transport operations. Results from the critical velocity testing provide an indication of slurry stability as a function of fluid rheological properties and transport conditions. The experimental results are compared to the WTP design guide on slurry transport velocity in an effort to confirm minimum waste velocity and flushing velocity requirements as established by calculations and critical line velocity correlations in the design guide. The major findings of this testing is discussed below. Experimental results indicate that the use of the Oroskar and Turian (1980) correlation in the design guide is conservative—Slurry viscosity has a greater affect on particles with a large surface area to mass ratio. The increased viscous forces on these …
Date: March 25, 2009
Creator: Poloski, Adam P.; Adkins, Harold E.; Abrefah, John; Casella, Andrew M.; Hohimer, Ryan E.; Nigl, Franz et al.
System: The UNT Digital Library
EMSL Operations Manual (open access)

EMSL Operations Manual

This manual is a general resource tool to assist EMSL users and Laboratory staff within EMSL locate official policy, practice and subject matter experts. It is not intended to replace or amend any formal Battelle policy or practice. Users of this manual should rely only on Battelle’s Standard Based Management System (SBMS) for official policy. No contractual commitment or right of any kind is created by this manual. Battelle management reserves the right to alter, change, or delete any information contained within this manual without prior notice.
Date: March 25, 2009
Creator: Foster, Nancy S.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Energy Supply- Production of Fuel from Agricultural and Animal Waste (open access)

Energy Supply- Production of Fuel from Agricultural and Animal Waste

The Society for Energy and Environmental Research (SEER) was funded in March 2004 by the Department of Energy, under grant DE-FG-36-04GO14268, to produce a study, and oversee construction and implementation, for the thermo-chemical production of fuel from agricultural and animal waste. The grant focuses on the Changing World Technologies (CWT) of West Hempstead, NY, thermal conversion process (TCP), which converts animal residues and industrial food processing biproducts into fuels, and as an additional product, fertilizers. A commercial plant was designed and built by CWT, partially using grant funds, in Carthage, Missouri, to process animal residues from a nearby turkey processing plant. The DOE sponsored program consisted of four tasks. These were: Task 1 Optimization of the CWT Plant in Carthage - This task focused on advancing and optimizing the process plant operated by CWT that converts organic waste to fuel and energy. Task 2 Characterize and Validate Fuels Produced by CWT - This task focused on testing of bio-derived hydrocarbon fuels from the Carthage plant in power generating equipment to determine the regulatory compliance of emissions and overall performance of the fuel. Task 3 Characterize Mixed Waste Streams - This task focused on studies performed at Princeton University to better …
Date: March 25, 2009
Creator: Miller, Gabriel
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federal Student Aid: Recent Changes to Eligibility Requirements and Additional Efforts to Promote Awarness Could Increase Academic Competitiveness and SMART Grant Participation (open access)

Federal Student Aid: Recent Changes to Eligibility Requirements and Additional Efforts to Promote Awarness Could Increase Academic Competitiveness and SMART Grant Participation

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Academic Competitiveness (AC) and National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (SMART) Grants were established by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. The grants provide merit-based financial aid to certain low-income college students eligible for Federal Pell Grants and are administered by the Department of Education (Education). In the first year of implementation, participation was lower than expected. GAO was asked to determine (1) factors affecting AC and SMART Grant student participation; (2) challenges colleges face in administering the grant programs; and (3) the extent to which Education has assisted states and colleges with implementation. To address these objectives, GAO analyzed data on AC, SMART, and Pell Grants, and interviewed officials from Education and 12 state education agencies, administrators from 42 selected colleges, and several national associations."
Date: March 25, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
System: The UNT Digital Library