Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed whether the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) conducted a thorough and complete investigation of possible misconduct by management of the Los Angeles District Attorney's Bureau of Family Support Operations (BFSO)."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO responded to congressional questions regarding its June 24, 1999, testimony on the need for stronger information security management, focusing on: (1) the effectiveness of federal agencies' implementation of the 1987 Computer Security Act; (2) what gaps the Presidential Decision Directive (PDD) No. 63 will fill within existing federal programs that would improve the security of federal computer systems; (3) how GAO's Information Security Management guide differ from existing National Institute of Standards Technology (NIST) issued guidelines and bulletins, and how agencies responded to the guidelines; and (4) whether the 1992 information security audits conducted by NIST and National Security Agency (NSA) were effective and useful and whether NIST and NSA should perform these audits on a regular basis."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO followed up on its report on the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) fiscal year (FY) 1998 financial statements."

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Authority of a commissioners court to set salaries for employees of a juvenile probation department and related questions (RQ-963)

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The purpose of this calculation is to document the WAPDEG version 3.09 (CRWMS M&O 1998b). Software Routine Report for WAPDEG (Version 3.09) simulations used to analyze waste package degradation and failure under the repository exposure conditions characterized by a two-tier thermal loading repository design. Also documented is the post-processing of these results into tables of waste-package-degradation-time histories suitable for use as input into the Integrated Probabilistic Simulator for Environmental Systems (RIP) version 5.19.01 (Golder Associates 1998) computer program. Specifically, the WAPDEG simulations discussed in this calculation correspond to waste package emplacement conditions (repository environment and design) as defined in the Total System Performance Assessment-Viability Assessment (CRWMS M&O 1998a). Total System Performance Assessment-Viability Assessment (TSPA-VA) Analyses Technical Basis Document--Chapter 5, Waste Package Degradation Modeling And Abstraction, pp. 5-27 to 5-29, with the exception that a two-tier thermal loading design feature as specified in the License Application Design Selection (LADS) study was analyzed. The particular design feature evaluated in this report is a modification of the repository horizon elevation and layout within the Topopah Springs Member of Yucca Mountain. Specifically, the modification consists of adding a second level, 50-m above the base case repository layout. Two options were considered, representing two variations …

In 1997, the US public and private sectors invested $205.7 billion in R&D. Private sector investments in R&D increased 34% between 1990 and 1997; over the same period the federal government decreased its expenditures by 15% in real terms. Projections of outyear federal budgets indicate the federal government will continue to reduce its investments in R&D for the foreseeable future. Defense R&D continues to be the largest area of concentration for federal government's R&D investments, with defense R&D accounting for 54% of all federal R&D outlays in 1998. Defense R&D is funded at a level which is there times higher than health R&D. Health R&D has experienced the largest inflation-adjusted increases of any federal R&D program, up 21% in real terms since 1990. US national (i.e., public and private) investments in energy R&D currently stand at a 23-year low of $4.4 billion in 1996. Federal support for energy R&D has declined 22% in real terms between 1990 and 1996. Federal energy R&D investments are also undergoing changes in priority. Fossil energy R&D programs are at the beginning of a potentially significant change away from ''clean coal'' technology development programs and towards more fundamental research on ways to decarbonize fossil fuels …

In 1997, the public and private sectors in Japan invested $90.3 billion in R and D. Japan is the second largest supporter of R and D after the United States. A very large percentage (79.4%) of all R and D in Japan is supported by the private sector. The prolonged economic recession that has plagued the Japanese economy for most of the 1990s has significantly reduced the scale of the Japanese R and D effort compared to what it would have been had the economy been more robust. The Japanese government has recently attempted to bring the economy out of this recession through the use of economic stimulus packages. These stimulus packages have contained significant new funding for R and D, although it is apparent that much of the funding is going to R and D programs and R and D construction projects with very near tern payoff and not to the support of longer term R and D. In 1998, the Japanese government devoted 13.7% of all public R and D funds to the support of energy R and D. The priority accorded to energy R and D in Japan is significantly higher than in any other industrialized nation. …

We have been studying the use of spectral imagery to locate targets in spectrally interfering backgrounds. In making performance estimates for various sensors it has become evident that some calculations are unreliable because of overflying. Hence, we began a thorough study of the problem of overfitting in multivariate classification. In this paper we present some model based results describing the problem. From the model we know the ideal covariance matrix, the ideal discriminant vector, and the ideal classification performance. We then investigate how experimental conditions such as noise, number of bands, and number of samples cause discrepancies from the ideal results. We also suggest ways to discover and alleviate overfitting.

The objective of the Fossil Energy Advanced Research and Technology Development (AR and TD) Materials program is to conduct research and development on materials for longer-term fossil energy applications as well as for generic needs of various fossil fuel technologies. These needs have prompted research aimed toward a better understanding of material behavior in fossil energy environments and the development of new materials capable of substantial enhancement of plant operations, reliability, and efficiency.

This report describes the design, construction, and preliminary results of an experiment that studies imbibition displacement in two fracture blocks. Multiphase (oil/water) displacements will be conducted at the same rate on three core configurations. The configurations are a compact core, a two-block system with a 1 mm spacer between the blocks, and a two-block system with no spacer. The blocks are sealed in epoxy so that saturation measurements can be made throughout the displacement experiments using a Computed Tomography (CT) scanner. Preliminary results are presented from a water/air experiment. These results suggest that it is incorrect to assume negligible capillary continuity between matrix blocks as is often done.

The fluid transfer parameters between rock matrix and fracture are not well known. Consequently, simulation of fractured reservoirs uses, in general, very crude and unproven hypotheses such as zero capillary pressure in the fracture and/or relative permeability linear with saturation. In order to improve the understanding of flow in fractured media, an experimental study was conducted and numerical simulations of the experiments were made. A laboratory flow apparatus was built to obtain data on water- air imbibition and oil-water drainage displacements in horizontal single-fractured block systems. For this purpose, two configurations have been used: a two-block system with a 1 mm spacer between the blocks, and a two-block system with no spacer. During the experiments, porosity and saturation measurements along the cores have been made utilizing an X-ray Computerized Tomography (CT) scanner. Saturation images were reconstructed in 3-D to observe matrix-fracture interactions. Differences in fluid saturations and relative permeabilities caused by changes in fracture width have also been analyzed.

Steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) is an effective method of producing heavy oil and bitumen. In a typical SAGD approach, steam is injected into a horizontal well located directly above a horizontal producer. A steam chamber grows around the injection well and helps displace heated oil toward the production well. Single-well (SW) SAGD attempts to create a similar process using only one horizontal well. This may include steam injection from the toe of the horizontal well with production at the heel. Obvious advantages of SW-SAGD include cost savings and utility in relatively thin reservoirs. However, the process is technically challenging. To improve early-time response of SW-SAGD, it is necessary to heat the near-wellbore area to reduce oil viscosity and allow gravity drainage to take place. Ideally heating should occur with minimal circulation or bypassing of stream. Since project economics are sensitive to early production response, we are interested in optimizing the start -up procedure.

The goal of the Stanford University Petroleum Research Institute is to conduct research directed toward increasing the recovery of heavy oils. Present, SUPRI is working in five main directions: (1) Flow Properties Studies - To assess the influence of different reservoir conditions (temperature and pressure) on the absolute and relative permeability to oil and water and on capillary pressure; (2) In-Situ Combustion - To evaluate the effect of different reservoir parameters on the in-situ combustion process. This project includes the study of the kinetics of the reactions; (3) Steam with Additives- To develop and understand the mechanisms of the process using commercially available surfactants for reduction of gravity override and channeling of steam; (4) Formation Evaluation - To develop and improve techniques of formation evaluation such as tracer tests and pressure transient tests; and (5) Field Support Services - To provide technical support for design and monitoring of DOE sponsored or industry initiated field projects.

Revision O was never issued. Finding safe and environmentally sound methods of storage and disposal of 54 million gallons of highly radioactive waste contained in 177 underground tanks is the largest challenge of Hanford cleanup. TWRS was established in 1991 and continues to integrate all aspects of the treatment and management of the high-level radioactive waste tanks. In fiscal Year 1997, program objectives were advanced in a number of areas. RL TWRS refocused the program toward retrieving, treating, and immobilizing the tank wastes, while maintaining safety as first priority. Moving from a mode of storing the wastes to getting the waste out of the tanks will provide the greatest cleanup return on the investment and eliminate costly mortgage continuance. There were a number of safety-related achievements in FY1997. The first high priority safety issue was resolved with the removal of 16 tanks from the ''Wyden Watch List''. The list, brought forward by Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, identified various Hanford safety issues needing attention. One of these issues was ferrocyanide, a chemical present in 24 tanks. Although ferrocyanide can ignite at high temperature, analysis found that the chemical has decomposed into harmless compounds and is no longer a concern.

The authors report on the metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) of strained layer superlattices (SLSs) of InAsSb/InPSb as well as mid-infrared optically pumped lasers grown using a high speed rotating disk-reactor (RDR). The devices contain AlAsSb cladding layers and strained, type I, InAsSb/InPSb active regions. By changing the layer thickness and composition of InAsSb/InPSb SLSs, they have prepared structures with low temperature (< 20 K) photoluminescence wavelengths ranging from 3.4 to 4.8 {micro}m. They find a variation in bandgap of 0.272 to 0.324 eV for layer thicknesses of 9.0 to 18.2 nm. From these data they have estimated a valence band offset for the InAsSb/InPSb interface of about 400 meV. The optical properties of the superlattices revealed an anomalous low energy transition that can be assigned to an antimony rich interfacial layer in the superlattice. An InAsSb/InPSb SLS, laser was grown on an InAs substrate with AlAs{sub 0.16}Sb{sub 0.84} cladding layers. A lasing threshold and spectrally narrowed laser emission were seen from 80 through 200 K, the maximum temperature where lasing occurred. The temperature dependence of the SLS laser threshold is described by a characteristic temperature, T{sub 0} = 72 K, from 80 to 200 K.

Pressure studies have provided new insights into the physics of compositionally-disordered ABO{sub 3} oxide relaxors. Specifically results are presented and discussed on a pressure-induced ferroelectric-to-relaxor crossover phenomenon, the continuous evolution of the energetics and dynamics of the relaxation process, and the interplay between pressure and electric field in determining the dielectric response.

There is an estimated 10 billion barrels of original oil in place (OOIP) in diatomaceous reservoirs in Kern County, California. These reservoirs have low permeability ranging from 0.1 to 10 mD. Injection pressure controlled steam drive has been found to be an effective way to recover oil from these reservoir. However, steam drive in these reservoirs has its own complications. The rock matrix is primarily silica (SiO2). It is a known fact that silica is soluble in hot water and its solubility varies with temperature and pH. Due to this fact, the rock matrix in diatomite may dissolve into the aqueous phase as the temperature at a location increases or it may precipitate from the aqueous phase onto the rock grains as the temperature decreases. Thus, during steam drive silica redistribution will occur in the reservoir along with oil recovery. This silica redistribution causes the permeability and porosity of the reservoir to change. Understanding and quantifying these silica redistribution effects on the reservoir permeability might prove to be a key aspect of designing a steam drive project in these formations.

In this paper, we include for discussion three topics of current interest in metal oxide surface science. Using first principles density functional theory (DFT) [1] calculations, we have investigated: (1) the atomic-scale structure of experimentally-relevant ultrathin alumina films, (2) the role of common point defects in metal island nucleation on oxide terraces, and (3) the growth and morphology of metals on oxide surfaces which have high concentrations of a common impurity.

This report presents the results of an assessment of a test installation of two similar sulfur lamp, or S-lamp lighting systems, with hollow-light guide distribution. The S-lamp, developed by Fusion Lighting, Inc. with support from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Building Technology, Community and State Programs (BTS), was demonstrated as a prototype for the first time in 1994. The S-lamp embodies a new, microwave-powered, electrodeless technology that offers improved energy efficiency and color rendition compared with most available sources. The purpose of this assessment is to provide important information to all of those involved regarding the effectiveness and future applicability of this technology in a postal sorting setting.

The effect of higher-order corrections to the Born approximation is studied for the previously obtained giant conductance enhancement in tunnel-coupled double quantum wires in a parallel magnetic field. The relative correction is found to be significant and depends on various effects such as the magnetic field, electron and impurity densities, impurity positions, symmetric and asymmetric doping profiles, and center barrier thickness.

The goal of the Stanford University Petroleum Research Institute is to conduct research directed toward increasing the recovery of heavy oils. Present, SUPRI is working in five main directions: (1) Flow Properties Studies - To assess the influence of different reservoir conditions (temperature and pressure) on the absolute and relative permeability to oil and water and on capillary pressure; (2) In-Situ Combustion - To evaluate the effect of different reservoir parameters on the in-situ combustion process. This project includes the study of the kinetics of the reactions; (3) Steam with Additives- To develop and understand the mechanisms of the process using commercially available surfactants for reduction of gravity override and channeling of steam; (4) Formation Evaluation - To develop and improve techniques of formation evaluation such as tracer tests and pressure transient tests; and (5) Field Support Services - To provide technical support for design and monitoring of DOE sponsored or industry initiated field projects.

Foam is used to reduce the high mobility of gas-drive fluids and improve the contact between oil and these injected fluids. We require a better understanding of the effect of surfactant concentration on foam flow in porous media. Besides this, the literature on foam flow and transport in heterogeneous systems is sparse although the field situation is primarily heterogeneous and multidimensional. In this study, foam flow experiments were conducted first in homogeneous sand packs to investigate the effect of surfactant concentration on foam flow and then a heterogeneous experimental setup was prepared to observe heterogeneity and multidimensional flow effects on foam propagation. The homogeneous core experiments were conducted in a cylindrical aluminum core holder that was packed with a uniform Ottawa sand. Sand permeability is about 7.0 Darcy. The experiments were interpreted in terms of evolution of in-situ water saturation as a function of time by the usage of CT scanner, cumulative water, and pressure drop across the core. At very low surfactant concentration, no significant benefit was observed. But when stable foam generation started sweep efficiency (water recovery), breakthrough time, and pressure drop increased as surfactant concentration increased.

At the present time, there are a number of future linear collider designs with a center-of-mass energy of 500 GeV or more with luminosities in excess of 10{sup -34}cm{sup -2}s{sup -1} . Many of these designs are at an advanced state of development. However, to attain the high luminosity, the colliders require very small beam emittances, strong focusing, and very good stability. In this paper, some of the outstanding issues related to producing and maintaining the small beam sizes are discussed. Although the different designs are based on very different rf technologies, many of these problems are common.