A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The failure by the District of Columbia's Commission on Mental Health Services to provide community-based mental health services, as required by a 1974 court ruling, prompted a judge to appoint a receiver to carry out the court's order. Control of mental health services is scheduled to be returned to the Commission in April 2001. Although the transitional receiver is developing a plan to enhance the Commission's ability to comply with the court ruling, many challenges must be overcome. For example, the District must change its hospital-based system of care to one that considers the needs of the individual within a framework of a community-based provider responsible for all aspects of mental health and supportive services needs. Many interested mental health providers and patient care advocacy groups believe that a solid foundation is being laid for community-based mental health services. However, success will depend on the Commission's ability to improve management processes and coordinate with other agencies that provide care to the mentally ill."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Veterans Health Administration, the Department of Transportation, and the Office of Student Financial Assistance have begun to use results- oriented performance agreements to align agency expectations with organizational goals. Each agency developed and implemented agreements that reflected their specific organizational priorities, structures, and cultures. GAO identified the following five common emerging benefits: (1) better alignment of results-oriented goals with daily operations, (2) collaboration across organizational boundaries, (3) opportunities to use performance information to improve federal programs, (4) results-oriented basis for individual accountability, and (5) continuity of program goals during leadership transitions. The three agencies' experiences show that effective implementation of performance agreements can encourage communication about progress towards agency goals. Their experiences also indicate that performance information should be provided to executives and managers in a timely fashion and in a useful format."

This report summarizes the results of Phase I of a study entitled, Low-Cost Manufacturing Of Multilayer Ceramic Fuel Cells. The work was carried out by a group called the Multilayer Fuel Cell Alliance (MLFCA) led by NexTech Materials and including Adaptive Materials, Advanced Materials Technologies (AMT), Cobb & Co., Edison Materials Technology Center, Iowa State University, Gas Technology Institute (GTI), Northwestern University, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Ohio State University, University of Missouri-Rolla (UMR), and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The objective of the program is to develop advanced manufacturing technologies for making solid oxide fuel cell components that are more economical and reliable for a variety of applications. In the Phase I effort, five approaches were considered: two based on NexTech's planar approach using anode and cathode supported variations, one based on UMR's ultra-thin electrolyte approach, and two based on AMI's co-extrusion technology. Based on a detailed manufacturing cost analysis, all of the approaches are projected to result in a significantly reduced production cost. Projected costs range from $139/kW to $179/kW for planar designs. Development risks were assessed for each approach and it was determined that the NexTech and UMR approaches carried the least risk for successful development. Using advanced …

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This project demonstrated that bacterial catalase enzymes can convert unreactive Hg(0) to highly reactive Hg(II) ion. It also demonstrated the mechanism of the organomercural lyase, a bacterial enzyme which degrades methylmercury and other organomercurials. Lastly, it demonstrated the 3-dimensional structure of this enzyme by both solution NMR and by x-ray crystallography. These structures provide insights into the catalytic mechanism of the lyase that will allow engineering of variants with improved ability to degrade methylmercury.

This is the first quarterly progress report for Year 2 of the ACTS project. It includes a review of progress made in Flow Loop development and research during the period of time between July 14, 2000 and September 30, 2000. This report presents information on the following specific tasks: (a) Progress in Advanced Cuttings Transport Facility design and development (Task 2), (b) Progress on research project (Task 8): ''Study of Flow of Synthetic Drilling Fluids Under Elevated Pressure and Temperature Conditions'', (c) Progress on research project (Task 6): ''Study of Cuttings Transport with Foam Under LPAT Conditions (Joint Project with TUDRP)'', (d) Progress on research project (Task 7): ''Study of Cuttings Transport with Aerated Muds Under LPAT Conditions (Joint Project with TUDRP)'', (e) Progress on research project (Task 9): ''Study of Foam Flow Behavior Under EPET Conditions'', (f) Initiate research on project (Task 10): ''Study of Cuttings Transport with Aerated Mud Under Elevated Pressure and Temperature Conditions'', (g) Progress on instrumentation tasks to measure: Cuttings concentration and distribution (Tasks 11), and Foam properties (Task 12), (h) Initiate a comprehensive safety review of all flow-loop components and operational procedures. Since the previous Task 1 has been completed, we will now designate …

This annual, technical report will discuss the engineering research and data accomplishments that have transpired in support of the development of Cost Effective Composite Drill Pipe (CDP). The report discusses and illustrates the first iteration design of the tube and the tool joint interface. The report discusses standards and specifications to which the CDP design will be tailored and tested, and discusses conclusions of the first iteration design for future design enhancements.

The purpose of this calculation is to document the structural adequacy of Multi-Canister Overpacks (MCOs) in two separate normal configurations for the 40-year interim period in the storage tubes at the Canister Storage Building (CSB). The two configurations apply when the lower MCO is arranged with (1) just a shield plug mechanical closure or (2) with the canister cover welded over the shield plug. Multiple analyses have been conducted to show the MCO design is adequate for drop events involving a lower, passive MCO being struck by an overhead drop load MCO both in vertical position. Minimal plastic deformations are experienced for either the MCO with shield plug or the MCO with cover cap. This survivability at 35 g's demonstrates the package's worthiness for 40 years of storage. The force between the two MCOs created by a drop event far exceed that resulting from stacking two loaded MCOs. The stacking load condition is not a structural concern and is, therefore, acceptable for the design duration of 40 years of storage. Both mechanical and welded cap models have the lifting ring and associated flat plate for the top unit to rest on and, therefore, easily fit together. Both designs were analyzed …

The CHG Chief Information Officer (CIO) requested a study of alternatives to the current business system computing environment. This Business Systems Planning (BSP) Project Alternatives Analysis document presents an analysis of the current Project Controls, Work Management, and Business Management systems environment and alternative solutions that support the business functions. The project team has collected requirements and priorities from stakeholders in each business area and documented them in the BSP System Requirements Specification (SRS), RPP-6297. The alternatives analysis process identifies and measures possible solutions in each of the business process areas against the requirements as documented in the SRS. The team gathered input from both internal and external sources to identify and grade the possible solutions. This document captures the results of that activity and recommends a suite of software products. This study was to select the best product based on how well the product met the requirements, not to determine the platform or hardware environment that would be used. Additional analysis documentation can be found in BSP project files.

Due to limited tank space at Hanford and Savannah River, the liquid nuclear wastes or supernatants have been concentrated in evaporators to remove excess water prior to the hot solutions being transferred to underground storage tanks. As the waste solutions cooled, the salts in the waste exceeded the associated solubility limits and precipitated in the form of saltcakes. The initial step in the remediation of these saltcakes is a rehydration process called saltcake dissolution. At Hanford, dissolution experiments have been conducted on small saltcake samples from five tanks. Modeling of these experimental results, using the Environmental Simulation Program (ESP), are being performed at the Diagnostic Instrumentation and Analysis Laboratory (DIAL) at Mississippi State University. The River Protection Project (RPP) at Hanford will use these experimental and theoretical results to determine the amount of water that will be needed for its dissolution and retrieval operations. A comprehensive effort by the RPP and the Tank Focus Area continues to validate and improve the ESP and its databases for this application. The initial effort focused on the sodium, fluoride, and phosphate system due to its role in the formation of pipeline plugs. In FY 1999, an evaluation of the ESP predictions for sodium …

A quad-double number is an unevaluated sum of four IEEE double precision numbers, capable of representing at least 212 bits of significance. We present the algorithms for various arithmetic operations (including the four basic operations and various algebraic and transcendental operations) on quad-double numbers. The performance of the algorithms, implemented in C++, is also presented.

This engineering task plan identifies the resources, responsibilities, and schedules for the development and deployment of a mobile, variable depth sampling system and an at-tank analysis system. The mobile, variable depth sampling system concept was developed after a cost assessment indicated a high cost for multiple deployments of the nested, fixed-depth sampling system. The sampling will provide double-shell tank (DST) staging tank waste samples for assuring the readiness of the waste for shipment to the LAW/HLW plant for treatment and immobilization. The at-tank analysis system will provide ''real-time'' assessments of the samples' chemical and physical properties. These systems support the Hanford Phase 1B vitrification project.

Intensive efforts have been carried out over the past decade to develop means to slow down the phase transformation kinetics during the forming of metallic glasses. As a result of these efforts, some metallic glasses can now be fabricated in bulk forms (BMG) from the liquid state at cooling rates on the order of 1-10 K/s, which is close to that of conventional casting. This enables the production of bulk amorphous alloys with a thickness of {approx}10 mm. While advances in amorphous metallic alloy development have been impressive, they have been made largely through experience [1]. Three main conclusions drawn from this study are: (1) Bulk metallic glasses generally have excellent mechanical formability in the supercooled liquid region. (2) Bulk metallic glasses may not be necessarily behave like a Newtonian fluid (i.e. m=1). The non-Newtonian behavior is associated with glass instability during deformation. (3) Multi-component Bulk metallic glasses can be used as the precursor of a nanocrystalline solid. However, the nanocrystalline solid is not necessarily superplastic. The non-superplastic behavior is caused by the difficult strain accommodation at grain triple junctions.

The abysmal state of Russia's conventional forces has caused Russia to rely on nuclear weapons to ensure its security. This reliance was formalized in Russia's military doctrine which states that nuclear weapons can be used ''in situations critical to the national security of the RF and its allies.'' In fact, most Russian security analysts believe that this dependence on nuclear weapons will remain for the foreseeable future because the economy will have to improve significantly before a conventional force build up can be contemplated. Yet, despite Russia's need to rely on nuclear weapons, even this may be problematic because its economic plight may create difficulties in maintaining its current level of nuclear forces. Thus, Russia has a keen interest in negotiating a treaty to reduce Strategic Nuclear Forces below START II levels and would prefer to go even beyond the 2,000-2,500 numbers agreed to by Presidents Yeltsin and Clinton in Helsinki in 1997. Sergei Rogov, an influential defense analyst, believes that Russia's strategic nuclear forces will fall below 1,000 warheads by 2010 irrespective of arms control agreements. Accordingly, Russia is keen to ensure rough parity with the US. To retain a credible deterrent posture at these lower levels, Russia believes …

The performance of NIF target designs is simulated in three dimensions using the HYDRA multiphysics radiation hydrodynamics code. In simulations of a cylindrical NIF hohlraum that include an imploding capsule, all relevant hohlraum features and the detailed laser illumination pattern, the motion of the wall material inside the hohlraum shows a high degree of axisymmetry. Laser light is able to propagate through the entrance hole for the required duration of the pulse. Gross hohlraum energetics mirror the results from an axisymmetric simulation. A NIF capsule simulation resolved the full spectrum of the most dangerous modes that grow from surface roughness. Hydrodynamic instabilities evolve into the weakly nonlinear regime. There is no evidence of anomalous low mode growth driven by nonlinear mode coupling.

The objective of this activity is to show that the use of the traditional strength of materials approach to the drip shield and the waste package (WP) designs is bounding and appropriate when compared to the fracture mechanics approach. The scope of this activity is limited to determining the failure assessment diagrams for the two materials at issue: Ti-7 and Alloy 22. This calculation is intended for use in support of the license application design of the drip shield and the WP. This activity is associated with the drip shield and the WP designs. The activity evaluation for work package number P32 12234F2, included in ''Technical Work Plan for: Waste Package Design Description for LA'', has determined that the development of this document is subject to ''Quality Assurance Requirements and Description'' requirements. The control of the electronic management of data is accomplished in accordance with the methods specified in Reference 1, Section 10. AP-3.124, ''Design Calculations and Analysis'' (Ref. 2), is used to develop and document the calculation.

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

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

Weekly newspaper from Alvin, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

CH2M HILL Hanford Group, Inc. (CHG) is currently performing many core business functions including, but not limited to, work control, planning, scheduling, cost estimating, procurement, training, and human resources. Other core business functions are managed by or dependent on Project Hanford Management Contractors including, but not limited to, payroll, benefits and pension administration, inventory control, accounts payable, and records management. In addition, CHG has business relationships with its parent company CH2M HILL, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of River Protection and other River Protection Project contractors, government agencies, and vendors. The Business Systems Planning (BSP) Project, under the sponsorship of the CH2M HILL Hanford Group, Inc. Chief Information Officer (CIO), have recommended information system solutions that will support CHG business areas. The Preliminary System Design was developed using the recommendations from the Alternatives Analysis, RPP-6499, Rev 0 and will become the design base for any follow-on implementation projects. The Preliminary System Design will present a high-level system design, providing a high-level overview of the Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) modules and identify internal and external relationships. This document will not define data structures, user interface components (screens, reports, menus, etc.), business rules or processes. These in-depth activities will be accomplished at implementation planning …

Video footage from the KXAS-TV/NBC station in Fort Worth, Texas, to accompany a news story about the public's reaction to Mike Moses' election.

Concert presented at the UNT College of Music.

Faculty performance at the UNT College of Music.

Two reauthorization bills have been reported in the House: the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee reported H.R. 1300 (H.Rept. 106-353, Part I), and the Commerce Committee reported H.R. 2580 (H.Rept. 106-775, Part I). The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has considered a brownfields bill, S. 2700. The outlook for passage of any of them is not bright.