Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In March 2001, GAO issued a report (GAO-01-394) on the results of its audit of the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) financial statements and on the effectiveness of its internal controls for fiscal year 2000. This report reviews additional matters identified during GAO's fiscal year 2000 audit regarding accounting procedures and internal controls that could be improved. GAO found that IRS had immaterial internal control issues that affected reporting. IRS (1) was unable to determine if its costs for reimbursable activities were accurate and whether it was recouping the costs of the goods or services it provided, (2) lacked procedures to properly record its working capital fund prepaid expenses, (3) accepted information from its contractors for inclusion in its year-end financial reporting without sufficient oversight or review, and (4) did not always follow standard procedures with respect to the transfer of funds between appropriations."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses internal controls weaknesses that left two Navy units in San Diego, California, vulnerable to purchase card fraud and abuse. GAO found a proliferation of purchase cards at the two units in San Diego--the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command and the Navy Public Works. In the end, more than 1,700 cardholders essentially had the authority to make their own purchase decisions. A serious breakdown in internal controls over the receipt of government property and the certification of monthly statements, coupled with flawed or nonexistent policies and procedures and the failure of Navy employees to adhere to valid policies and procedures, led to (1) the loss, theft, and misuse of government property; (2) the potential abuse of purchase cards; and (3) payments of potentially fraudulent charges. Five fraud cases have already been identified, and the government remains extremely vulnerable to fraud, waste, and abuse arising from the purchase card program at the two Navy units. This testimony summarized the November report, GAO-02-32."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The military's ability to carry out its mission depends on its having adequate supplies of spare parts on hand for maintenance and repairs. Shortages are a key indicator that the billions of dollars being spent on these parts are not being used effectively, efficiently, and economically. Despite additional funding from Congress, the Army still has concerns about spare parts shortages. Spare parts shortages for the Apache, Blackhawk, and Chinook helicopters have harmed operations and lowered morale among maintenance personnel. Cannibalization of parts from one aircraft to another is an inefficient practice that results in double work for the maintenance personnel, masks parts shortages, and lowers morale. Parts were unavailable for various reasons, including higher-than-expected demand for parts, delays in obtaining parts from contractors, and problems with overhaul and maintenance. Another factor contributing to the shortage was the Army's inability to obtain parts for these aging aircraft from the original manufacturers, which sometimes had gone out of business. The Army and the Defense Logistics Agency have efforts planned or underway to improve the availability of aviation spare parts. Once these initiatives are further along, GAO will review …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Consolidated Edison Company shut down the Indian Point 2 commercial nuclear power plant in February 2000 because a tube had ruptured in a steam generator, raising the possibility that radioactively contaminated water could leak into the environment. In this case, the total amount of radioactivity released posed no threat because the amount of radioactivity released was about one thousandth of the dose an individual receives from a chest X-ray. However, in the event of a more serious emergency at Indian Point 2, protecting the public from a radioactive release presents more substantial challenges because the plant is located in a heavily populated area. This report reviews issues associated with emergency preparedness protocols associated with the plant. GAO found that a more proactive approach to correct recurring weaknesses could have improved the emergency preparedness plan during the February 2000 emergency. This emergency demonstrated the importance of effective, clear communication networks, both on-site regarding the need to ensure that pagers work well to notify key personnel of an emergency, as well as off-site, regarding communication about the extent and magnitude of the emergency. Exercises, although playing a valuable …

A model-based detector is developed to process shallow water ocean acoustic data. The function of the detector is to adaptively monitor the environment and decide whether or not a change from normal has occurred. Here we develop a processor incorporating both a normal-mode ocean acoustic model and a vertical hydrophone array. The detector is applied to data acquired from the Hudson Canyon experiments at various ranges and its performance is evaluated.

Photograph of the statue from the top of Canadian County Court House that was demolished on January 21, 1992, El Reno, OK, July 30, 2001.

In-situ studies of CO adsorption by surface x-ray scattering (SXS) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy techniques are used to create the link between the macroscopic kinetic rates of CO oxidation and the microscopic level of understanding the structure/site occupancy of CO on Pt(111). A remarkable difference in activity was observed between alkaline and acid solutions. In alkaline solution the oxidation of CO proceeds at low overpotential (<0.2 V) by the surface reaction between the adsorbed CO and OH, the latter forming selectively in the hydrogen underpotential potential region at defect sites. In acid solution these sites are blocked by specific adsorption of anions, and consequently in a solution containing Br{sup -} the ignition potential is shifted positively by 0.6 V. Anions of supporting electrolytes also have dramatic effects on both the potential range of stability and the domain size of the p(2x2)-3CO structure which is formed at 0.05 V. The stability/domain size of this structure increases from KOH (ca. 30 {angstrom} between 0.05 < E < 0.3V), to HClO{sub 4} (ca. 140 {angstrom} between 0.05 < E < 0.6V) to HClO{sub 4} + Br{sup -} (ca 350 {angstrom} between 0.05 < E < 0.8V). The larger the ordered domains …

The principle of magnetic induction has been applied to the acceleration of high current beams in betatrons and a variety of induction accelerators. The linear induction accelerator (LIA) consists of a simple nonresonant structure where the drive voltage is applied to an axially symmetric gap that encloses a toroidal ferromagnetic material. The change in flux in the magnetic core induces an axial electric field that provides particle acceleration. This simple nonresonant (low Q) structure acts as a single turn transformer that can accelerate from hundreds of amperes to tens of kiloamperes, basically only limited by the drive impedance. The LIA is typically a low gradient structure that can provide acceleration fields of varying shapes and time durations from tens of nanoseconds to several microseconds. The efficiency of the LIA depends on the beam current and can exceed 50% if the beam current exceeds the magnetization current required by the ferromagnetic material. The acceleration voltage available is simply given by the expression V=A dB/dt. Hence, for a given cross section of material, the beam pulse duration influences the energy gain. Furthermore, a premium is put on minimizing the diameter, which impacts the total weight or cost of the magnetic material. The …

Faced with a downsizing organization, serious budget reductions and retirement of key metrology personnel, maintaining capabilities to provide necessary services to our customers was becoming increasingly difficult. It appeared that the only solution was to automate some of our more personnel-intensive processes; however, it was crucial that the most personnel-intensive candidate process be automated, at the lowest price possible and with the lowest risk of failure. This discussion relates factors in the selection of the Standard Leak Calibration System for automation, the methods of automation used to provide the lowest-cost solution and the benefits realized as a result of the automation.

Eltron Research Inc., and team members, are developing an environmentally benign, inexpensive, and efficient method for separating hydrogen from gas mixtures produced during industrial processes, such as coal gasification. This project was motivated by the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) Vision 21 initiative which seeks to economically eliminate environmental concerns associated with the use of fossil fuels. This objective is being pursued using dense membranes based in part on Eltron-patented ceramic materials with a demonstrated ability for proton and electron conduction. The technical goals are being addressed by modifying single-phase and composite membrane composition and microstructure to maximize proton and electron conductivity without loss of material stability. Ultimately, these materials must enable hydrogen separation at practical rates under ambient and high-pressure conditions, without deactivation in the presence of feedstream components such as carbon dioxide, water, and sulfur. During this quarter, ceramic, cermet (ceramic/metal), and thin film membranes were prepared, characterized, and evaluated for H{sub 2} transport. For selected ceramic membrane compositions an optimum range for transition metal doping was identified, and it was determined that highest proton conductivity occurred for two-phase ceramic materials. Furthermore, a relationship between transition metal dopant atomic number and conductivity was observed. Ambipolar conductivities of {approx}6 …

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

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Archie Clark. Clark was born May 19, 1920 in Pulaski County, Indiana, drafted into the Army on July 17, 1942 and was transferred to the 80th Infantry Division. In July 1944 he was shipped across the Atlantic on the Queen Mary with 22,000 other people on the ship. The battalion eventually landed at Utah Beach, 58 days following D-Day. His platoon's first engagement was with the retreating Germans at the Battle of the Falaise Pocket, in Argentan, France. His division was part of Patton's Third Army. During a three day pass to Paris, he recalls the MPs informing members of the 101st Airborne to return to camp, where they headed out for Bastogne, Belgium. When he rejoined the 80th, they were already on their way to Bastogne. He recalls several experiences during the siege, including losing 33 of the 39 men in his platoon, and his Battalion being reduced to 96 men. He recalls that, after Bastogne, his unit advanced into Germany, where he was wounded by an artillery shell. After recovering, he rejoined his unit in Vöcklabruck, Austria, where they were tasked with accepting the surrender 200,000 …

The purpose of this calculation is to provide the bases for defining the preclosure limits on radioactive material releases from radioactive waste forms to be received in disposable canisters at the Monitored Geologic Repository (MGR) at Yucca Mountain. Specifically, this calculation will provide the basis for criteria to be included in a forthcoming revision of the Waste Acceptance System Requirements Document (WASRD) that limits releases in terms of non-isotope-specific canister release dose-equivalent source terms. These criteria will be developed for the Department of Energy spent nuclear fuel (DSNF) standard canister, the Multicanister Overpack (MCO), the naval spent fuel canister, the High-Level Waste (HLW) canister, the plutonium can-in-canister, and the large Multipurpose Canister (MPC). The shippers of such canisters will be required to demonstrate that they meet these criteria before the canisters are accepted at the MGR. The Quality Assurance program is applicable to this calculation. The work reported in this document is part of the analysis of DSNF and is performed using procedure AP-3.124, Calculations. The work done for this analysis was evaluated according to procedure QAP-2-0, Control of Activities, which has been superseded by AP-2.21Q, Quality Determinations and Planning for Scientific, Engineering, and Regulatory Compliance Activities. This evaluation determined …

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

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Archie Clark. Clark was born May 19, 1920 in Pulaski County, Indiana, drafted into the Army on July 17, 1942 and was transferred to the 80th Infantry Division. In July 1944 he was shipped across the Atlantic on the Queen Mary with 22,000 other people on the ship. The battalion eventually landed at Utah Beach, 58 days following D-Day. His platoon's first engagement was with the retreating Germans at the Battle of the Falaise Pocket, in Argentan, France. His division was part of Patton's Third Army. During a three day pass to Paris, he recalls the MPs informing members of the 101st Airborne to return to camp, where they headed out for Bastogne, Belgium. When he rejoined the 80th, they were already on their way to Bastogne. He recalls several experiences during the siege, including losing 33 of the 39 men in his platoon, and his Battalion being reduced to 96 men. He recalls that, after Bastogne, his unit advanced into Germany, where he was wounded by an artillery shell. After recovering, he rejoined his unit in Vöcklabruck, Austria, where they were tasked with accepting the surrender 200,000 …

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

Mechanisms underlying the differentiation of stable T helper subsets will be important in understanding how discrete types of immunity develop in response to different pathogens. An evolutionarily conserved {approx}400 base pair non-coding sequence in the IL-4/IL-13 intergenic region, designated CNS-1, was deleted in mice. The capacity to develop Th2 cells was compromised in vitro and in vivo in the absence of CNS-1. Despite the profound effect in T cells, mast cells from CNS-1-deleted mice maintained their capacity to produce IL-4. A T cell-specific element critical for optimal expression of type 2 cytokines may represent evolution of a regulatory sequence exploited by adaptive immunity.

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

B-roll video footage from the KXAS-TV/NBC station in Fort Worth, Texas, to accompany a news story.

Newsletter of the Texas Department of Health discussing the news, activities, and events of the organization and other information related to health in Texas.

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

Testing superconducting accelerator magnets is inherently coupled with the proper handling of quenches; i.e., protecting the magnet and characterizing the quench process. Therefore, software implementations must include elements of both data acquisition and real-time controls. The architecture of the quench management software developed at Fermilab's Magnet Test Facility is described. This system consists of quench detection, quench protection, and quench characterization components that execute concurrently in a distributed system. Collaboration between the elements of quench detection, quench characterization and current control are discussed, together with a schema of distributed saving of various quench-related data. Solutions to synchronization and reliability in such a distributed quench system are also presented.

The Learning Objective is to present the basic chemistry research findings to the forensic community regarding development of latent fingerprints using the cyanoacrylate fuming method. Chemical processes involved in the development of latent fingerprints using the cyanoacrylate fuming method have been studied, and will be presented. Two major types of latent prints have been investigated--clean (eccrine) and oily (sebaceous) prints. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used as a tool for determining the morphology of the polymer developed separately on clean and oily prints after cyanoacrylate fuming. A correlation between the chemical composition of an aged latent fingerprint, prior to development, and the quality of a developed fingerprint was observed in the morphology. The moisture in the print prior to fuming was found to be a critical factor for the development of a useful latent print. In addition, the amount of time required to develop a high quality latent print was found to be minimal. The cyanoacrylate polymerization process is extremely rapid. When heat is used to accelerate the fuming process, typically a period of 2 minutes is required to develop the print. The optimum development time is dependent upon the concentration of cyanoacrylate vapors within the enclosure.