A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO summarized from available research what is known about adverse drug events (ADE), focusing on the: (1) different types and causes of ADEs; (2) evidence on the overall incidence and cost of ADEs in the United States; and (3) measures that have been proposed to reduce the number and severity of ADEs."

This list provides a sampling of the rapidly proliferating number of agricultural resources available on the Internet. It is not intended to be exhaustive. It is divided into 27 categories.

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

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

Semiweekly newspaper from Boerne, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

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

As part of a long running effort to make the Consumer Price Index (CPI) a better measure of price change, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor has made a number of changes in recent years which have affected actual measures of inflation and hence both federal outlays and receipts. This report summarizes those changes, presents estimates of their effect on measured inflation, and expands what other changes are expected for the CPI.

Nanoindentation studies reveal that the measured elastic properties of materials can be strongly dependent upon their stress-state and defect structure. Using an interfacial force microscope (IFM), the measured elastic response of 100 nm thick Au films was found to be strongly correlated with the films' stress state and thermal history. Indentation elasticity was also found to vary in close proximity to grain boundaries in thin films and near surface steps on single crystal surfaces. Molecular dynamics simulations suggest that these results cannot be explained by elasticity due only to bond stretching. Instead, the measured elastic properties appear to be a combination of bond and defect compliance representing a composite modulus. We propose that stress concentration arising from the structure of grains, voids and grain boundaries is the source of an additional compliance which is sensitive to the stress state and thermal history of a material. The elastic properties of thin metallic films appear to reflect the collective elastic response of the grains, voids and grain boundaries. These results demonstrate that nanoindentation can be useful as a highly localized probe of stress-state and defect structures.

Direct fast-neutron detection is the detection of fast neutrons before they are moderated to thermal energy. We have investigated two approaches for using proton-recoil in plastic scintillators to detect fast neutrons and distinguish them from gamma-ray interactions. Both approaches use the difference in travel speed between neutrons and gamma rays as the basis for separating the types of events. In the first method, we examined the pulses generated during scattering in a plastic scintillator to see if they provide a means for distinguishing fast-neutron events from gamma-ray events. The slower speed of neutrons compared to gamma rays results in the production of broader pulses when neutrons scatter several times within a plastic scintillator. In contrast, gamma-ray interactions should produce narrow pulses, even if multiple scattering takes place, because the time between successive scattering is small. Experiments using a fast scintillator confirmed the presence of broader pulses from neutrons than from gamma rays. However, the difference in pulse widths between neutrons and gamma rays using the best commercially available scintillators was not sufficiently large to provide a practical means for distinguishing fast neutrons and gamma rays on a pulse-by-pulse basis. A faster scintillator is needed, and that scintillator might become available …

The inferred internal structure of large icy satellites hinges on the degree to which their rock component has been hydrated: this is due to the low density of hydrated silicates relative to anhydrous silicates. Accordingly, interior models of icy satellites have varied greatly in their estimates of ice thickness due to uncertainties in the density of the underlying rock. Furthermore, as both H{sub 2}O (potentially liquid) and organic materials are likely to be present, icy moons have been postulated to be possible hosts for extraterrestrial life; therefore, the stability of organic material under relevant hydrothermal conditions is an important issue. For example, Ganymede, Titan, and Triton are similar in that high pressure hydrothermal processing of silicates has likely been important in their chemical evolution. With mean densities between 1.8 and 2.1 g/cm{sup 3}, compositional models of these bodies incorporate approximately 50--80% silicate minerals by weight, with ices constituting the remaining mass. Moment of inertia constraints on the internal structure of Ganymede demonstrate that differentiation between rock and ice has occurred: such differentiation has also likely occurred in Titan and Triton. During accretion and differentiation (which could be ongoing), the silicate fraction of their interiors would have interacted with aqueous fluids …

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

The present Heavy Ion Driver design for HYLIFE-II calls for 96 beams from each side, or a total of 192 beams. The beams are separated from each other, at present, by an angle of 4.25 degrees. This report shows the focus magnet locations and a magnet build that leads to the minimum angle of 4.25 degrees between beams. Beam line and first wall shielding for the oscillating flow version of HYLIFE-II is accomplished by a series of horizontal and vertical jets. Ideally the horizontal jets would not deviate from a straight line but this is not feasible due to the force of gravity. Methods of altering the beam line array pattern to accommodate the curved ''horizontal'' jets are addressed.

The present Heavy Ion Driver design for HYLIFE-II calls for 96 beams from each side, or a total of 192 beams. The beams are separated from each other, at present, by an angle of 4.25 degrees. This report shows the focus magnet locations and a magnet build that leads to the minimum angle of 4.25 degrees between beams. Beam line and first wall shielding for the oscillating flow version of HYLIFE-II is accomplished by a series of horizontal and vertical jets. Ideally the horizontal jets would not deviate from a straight line but this is not feasible due to the force of gravity. Methods of altering the beam line array pattern to accommodate the curved ''horizontal'' jets are addressed.

In this report the results of experiments of water injection in fractured porous media comprising a number of water-wet matrix blocks are reported for the first time. The blocks experience an advancing fracture-water level (FWL). Immersion-type experiments are performed for comparison; the dominant recovery mechanism changed from co-current to counter-current imbibition when the boundary conditions changed from advancing FWL to immersion-type. Single block experiments of co-current and counter-current imbibition was performed and co-current imbibition leads to more efficient recovery was found.

In this study, the authors investigated the effects of various source gases (methane, ethane, ethylene, and acetylene) on the friction and wear performance of diamondlike carbon (DLC) films prepared in a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) system. Films were deposited on AISI H13 steel substrates and tested in a pin-on-disk machine against DLC-coated M50 balls in dry nitrogen. They found a close correlation between friction coefficient and source gas composition. Specifically, films grown in source gases with higher hydrogen-to-carbon ratios exhibited lower friction coefficients and higher wear resistance than films grown in source gases with lower hydrogen-to-carbon (H/C) ratios. The lowest friction coefficient (0.014) was achieved with a film derived from methane with an WC ratio of 4, whereas the coefficient of films derived from acetylene (H/C = 1) was of 0.15. Similar correlations were observed for wear rates. Specifically, films derived from gases with lower H/C values were worn out and the substrate material was exposed, whereas films from methane and ethane remained intact and wore at rates that were nearly two orders of magnitude lower than films obtained from acetylene.

Funeral program for Eugene Edward Harrell, born October 21, 1950 and died January 7, 2000. The funeral was held January 18, 2000 at Calvary Baptist Church, officiated by Rev. Robert Miller. Funeral arrangements were made through Lewis Funeral Home and he was buried in Meadowlawn Memorial Park in San Antonio, Texas.

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Al{sub 2}Cu thin films ({approx} 382 nm) are fabricated by melting and resolidifying Al/Cu bilayers in the presence of a {micro} 3 nm Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} passivating layer. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) measures a 1.0 eV shift of the Cu2p{sub 3/2} peak and a 1.6 eV shift of the valence band relative to metallic Cu upon Al{sub 2}Cu formation. Scanning Electron microscopy (SEM) and Electron Back-Scattered Diffraction (EBSD) show that the Al{sub 2}Cu film is composed of 30-70 {micro}m wide and 10-25 mm long cellular grains with (110) orientation. The atomic composition of the film as estimated by Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) is 67 {+-} 2% Al and 33 {+-} 2% Cu. XPS scans of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/Al{sub 2}Cu taken before and after air exposure indicate that the upper Al{sub 2}Cu layers undergo further oxidation to Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} even in the presence of {approx} 5 nm Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}. The majority of Cu produced from oxidation is believed to migrate below the Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} layers, based upon the lack of evidence for metallic Cu in the XPS scans. In contrast to Al/Cu passivated with Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}, melting/resolidifying the Al/Cu bilayer without Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} results in phase-segregated …

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

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is redesigning its Computer-Based Training (CBT) program for radiological workers. The redesign represents a major effort to produce a single, highly interactive and flexible CBT program that will meet the training needs of a wide range of radiological workers--from researchers and x-ray operators to individuals working in tritium, uranium, plutonium, and accelerator facilities. The new CBT program addresses the broad diversity of backgrounds found at a national laboratory. When a training audience is homogeneous in terms of education level and type of work performed, it is difficult to duplicate the effectiveness of a flexible, technically competent instructor who can tailor a course to the express needs and concerns of a course's participants. Unfortunately, such homogeneity is rare. At LLNL, they have a diverse workforce engaged in a wide range of radiological activities, from the fairly common to the quite exotic. As a result, the Laboratory must offer a wide variety of radiological worker courses. These include a general contamination-control course in addition to radioactive-material-handling courses for both low-level laboratory (i.e., bench-top) activities as well as high-level work in tritium, uranium, and plutonium facilities. They also offer training courses for employees who work with radiation-generating devices--x-ray, …

Numerical measurements and analytical studies are performed on a stochastic model with features relevant to plasma confinement. Although the model lacks crucial features of self-organized criticality (SOC) and its transport can be computed by standard techniques, it nevertheless exhibits intermittency and algebraic time correlations. This suggests that SOC need not be the explanation for observed long-time tails in experimental fluctuation data. Arguments based on the renormalized spectral balance equation, and simulation of a standard nonlinear paradigm, predict a range of Hurst exponents in reasonable agreement with the observations without invoking submarginal dynamics.

The recent discovery of materials that have anomalous magneto-resistive properties has generated renewed commercial interest in metal-based fast memory storage as an alternative to the currently used semiconductor-based devices. One particularly promising ternary alloy, fabricated at LLNL, appeared to have exceptional field response. This proposal extended the investigation of this class of materials by examining the scaling properties of test structures made from this material that could definitively verify the preliminary observations of high field sensitivity. Although the expected scaling was observed, technical issues, such as excessive oxidation, prevented a definitive assessment of the effect. Despite the difficulties encountered, several test structures demonstrated superior performance in a ''spin-valve'' configuration that might have applications for very high density recording heads.

The analysis of many complex multiphase fluid flow systems is based on a scale decoupling procedure. At the macroscale continuum models are used to perform large-scale simulations. At the mesoscale statistical homogenization theory is used to derive continuum models based on representative volume elements (RVEs). At the microscale small-scale features, such as interfacial properties, are analyzed to be incorporated into mesoscale simulations. In this research mesoscopic simulations of hard particles suspended in a Newtonian fluid undergoing nonlinear shear flow are performed using a boundary element method. To obtain an RVE at higher concentrations, several hundred particles are included in the simulations, putting considerable demands on the computational resources both in terms of CPU and memory. Parallel computing provides a viable platform to study these large multiphase systems. The implementation of a portable, parallel computer code based on the boundary element method using a block-block data distribution is discussed in this paper. The code employs updated direct-solver technologies that make use of dual-processor compute nodes.

A comprehensive Mentor Review of the All Schools - Leadership Academy, offering an insightful evaluation of the academy's leadership development programs.