Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The August 14, 2003, electricity blackout--the largest in the nation's history--affected millions of people across eight northeastern and midwestern states as well as areas in Canada. The blackout intensified concerns about the overall status and security of the electricity industry at a time when the industry is undergoing major changes and Americans have a heightened awareness of threats to security. Because of these widespread concerns and the broad institutional interest of the Congress, we (1) highlighted information about the known causes and effects of the blackout, (2) summarized themes from prior GAO reports on electricity and security matters that provide a context for understanding the blackout, and (3) identified some of the potential options for resolving problems associated with these electricity and security matters."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense is spending nearly $18 billion annually to develop, acquire, and operate satellites and other spacerelated systems. The majority of satellite programs that GAO has reviewed over the past 2 decades experienced problems that increased costs, delayed schedules, and increased performance risk. In some cases, capabilities have not been delivered to the warfighter after decades of development. DOD has recently implemented a new acquisition policy, which sets the stage for decision making on individual space programs. GAO was asked to testify on its assessment of the new policy."

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, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: District attorney’s obligation as administrator of forfeited real property (RQ-0059-GA)

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, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Applying the anti-nepotism laws, Government Code chapter 573, to an independent school district (RQ-0060-GA)

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, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether municipal hotel occupancy tax revenue may be used to fund certain programs at a county senior center (RQ-0065-GA)

One of the major motivations driving recent interest in FFAGs is their use for the cost-effective acceleration of muons. This paper summarizes the progress in this area that was achieved leading up to and at the FFAG workshop at KEK from July 7-12, 2003. Much of the relevant background and references are also given here, to give a context to the progress we have made.

This report documents research that was done during a ten week internship in the Sapphire research group at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory during the Summer of 2003. The goal of the study was to develop an algorithm that is capable of isolating (segmenting) moving objects in low resolution video sequences. This capability is currently being developed by the Sapphire research group as the first stage in a longer term video data mining project. This report gives a chronological account of what ideas were tried in developing the algorithm and what was learned from each attempt. The final version of the algorithm, which is described in detail, gives good results and is fast.

The spatial distribution of field-scale geochemical parameters, such as extractable Fe(II) and Fe(III), influences microbial processes and thus the efficacy of bioremediation. Because traditional characterization of those parameters is invasive and laborious, it is rarely performed sufficiently at the field-scale. Since both geochemical and geophysical parameters often correlate to some common physical properties (such as lithofacies), we investigated the utility of tomographic radar attenuation data for improving estimation of geochemical parameters using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) approach. The data used in this study included physical, geophysical, and geochemical measurements collected in and between several boreholes at the DOE South Oyster Bacterial Transport Site in Virginia. Results show that geophysical data, constrained by physical data, provided field-scale information about extractable Fe(II) and Fe(III) in a minimally invasive manner and with a resolution unparalleled by other geochemical characterization methods. This study presents our estimation framework for estimating Fe(II) and Fe(III), and its application to a specific site. Our hypothesis--that geochemical parameters and geophysical attributes can be linked through their mutual dependence on physical properties--should be applicable for estimating other geochemical parameters at other sites.

Sarnoff has designed an integrated array of thermophotovoltaic (TPV) cells based on the In(Al)GaAsSb/GaSb materials system. These arrays will be used in a system to generate electrical power from a radioisotope heat source that radiates at temperatures from 700 to 1000 C. Two arrays sandwich the slab heat source and will be connected in series to build voltage. Between the arrays and the heat source is a spectral control filter that transmits above-bandgap radiation and reflects below-bandgap radiation. The goal is to generate 5 mW of electrical power at 3 V from a 700 C radiant source. Sarnoff is a leader in antimonide-based TPV cell development. InGaAsSb cells with a bandgap of 0.53 eV have operated at system conversion efficiencies greater than 17%. The system included a front-surface filter, and a 905 C radiation source. The cells were grown via organo-metallic vapor-phase epitaxy. Sarnoff will bring this experience to bear on the proposed project. The authors first describe array and cell architecture. They then present calculated results showing that about 80 mW of power can be obtained from a 700 C radiator. Using a conservative array design, a 5-V output is possible.

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

This report surveys the procedures for and the results of the Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel’s (CARP’s) February 20, 2002 Report making recommendations for statutory royalty rates for eligible nonsubscription webcasters.

The need for intense muon beams for muon colliders and for neutrino factories based on muon storage rings leads to a concept of 1-4 MW proton beams incident on a moving target that is inside a 20-T solenoid magnet, with a mercury jet as a preferred example. Novel technical issues for such a system include disruption of the mercury jet by the proton beam and distortion of the jet on entering the solenoid, as well as more conventional issues of materials lifetime and handling of activated materials in an intense radiation environment. As part of the R&D program of the Neutrino Factory and Muon Collider Collaboration, an R&D effort related to targetry is being performed within the context of experiment E951 at Brookhaven National Laboratory, first results of which are reported here.

The utilization of nanomaterials in the synthesis and processing of energetic materials (i.e., pyrotechnics, explosives, and propellants) is a relatively new area of science and technology. Previous energetic nanomaterials have displayed new and potentially beneficial properties, relative to their conventional analogs. Unfortunately some of the energetic nanomaterials are difficult and or expensive to produce. At LLNL we are studying the application of sol-gel chemical methodology to the synthesis of energetic nanomaterials components and their formulation into energetic nanocomposites. Here sol-gel synthesis and formulation techniques are used to prepare Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3}/Al pyrotechnic nanocomposites. The preliminary characterization of their thermal properties and the degree of mixing between fuel and oxidizer phases is contrasted with that of a conventional pyrotechnic mixture.

Practical cooling rings could lead to lower cost or improved performance in neutrino factory or muon collider designs, The ring modeled here uses realistic 3-dimensional fields and includes such ''real-world'' effects as windows on the absorbers and RF cavities and leaving empty lattice cells for injection and extraction. The ring increases the density of muons in a fixed acceptance volume by a factor of 4.2.

In the 1970s, Morrocco and independence-seeking popular front for the liberation of the saqiat .UN arranged a cease-fire and proposed a settlement. This report is regarding the proposal and settlement .

In the field of composite energetic materials, properties such as ingredient distribution, particle size, and morphology, affect both sensitivity and performance. Since the reaction kinetics of composite energetic materials are typically controlled by the mass transport rates between reactants, one would anticipate new and potentially exceptional performance from energetic nanocomposites. We have developed a new method of making nanostructured energetic materials, specifically explosives, propellants, and pyrotechnics, using sol-gel chemistry. A novel sol-gel approach has proven successful in preparing metal oxide/silicon oxide nanocomposites in which the metal oxide is the major component. Two of the metal oxides are tungsten trioxide and iron(III) oxide, both of which are of interest in the field of energetic materials. Furthermore, due to the large availability of organically functionalized silanes, the silicon oxide phase can be used as a unique way of introducing organic additives into the bulk metal oxide materials. As a result, the desired organic functionality is well dispersed throughout the composite material on the nanoscale. By introducing a fuel metal into the metal oxide/silicon oxide matrix, energetic materials based on thermite reactions can be fabricated. The resulting nanoscale distribution of all the ingredients displays energetic properties not seen in its microscale counterparts due …

Recent simulations have shown that muon cooling rings can effectively reduce both longitudinal and transverse emittance. The muon collaboration is investigating several varieties of muon cooling rings. This study looks at the first of these ring cooling scenarios that was proposed by V. Balbekov. This simulation of this ring shows significant cooling in the hard-edge field approximation. We discuss the status of using realistic fields in the tetra simulation.

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The application of high pressure affects the band structure and magnetic interactions in solids by modifying nearest-neighbor distances and interatomic potentials. While all materials experience electronic changes with increasing pressure, spin polarized, strongly electron correlated materials are expected to undergo the most dramatic transformations. In such materials, (d and f-electron metals and compounds), applied pressure reduces the strength of on-site correlations, leading to increased electron delocalization and, eventually, to loss of its magnetism. In this ongoing project, we study the electronic and magnetic properties of Group VIII, 3d (Fe, Co and Ni) magnetic transition metals and their compounds at high pressures. The high-pressure properties of magnetic 3d-transition metals and compounds have been studied extensively over the years, because of iron being a major constituent of the Earth's core and its relevance to the planetary modeling to understand the chemical composition, internal structure, and geomagnetism. However, the fundamental scientific interest in the high-pressure properties of magnetic 3d-electron systems extends well beyond the geophysical applications to include the electron correlation-driven physics. The role of magnetic interactions in the stabilization of the ''non-standard'' ambient pressure structures of Fe, Co and Ni is still incompletely understood. Theoretical studies have predicted (and high pressure experiments …

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In the brief instant of a high-explosive detonation, the shock wave produces a pressure 500,000 times that of the Earth's atmosphere, the detonation wave travels as fast as 10 kilometers per second, and internal temperatures soar up to 5,500 Kelvin. As the shock propagates through the energetic material, the rapid heating coupled with compression that results in almost 30% volume reduction, initiate complex chemical reactions. A dense, highly reactive supercritical fluid is established behind the propagating detonation front. Energy release from the exothermic chemical reactions serve in turn to drive and sustain the detonation process until complete reactivity is reached. Several experimental results suggest the existence of strong correlations between the applied mechanical stress and shocks, the local heterogeneity and defects (dislocations, vacancies, cracks, impurities, etc.), and the onset of chemical reactions. The reaction chemistry of energetic materials at high pressure and temperature is, therefore, of considerable importance in understanding processes that these materials experience under impact and detonation conditions. Chemical decomposition models are critical ingredients in order to predict, among other things, the measured times to explosion and the conditions for ignition of hot spots, localized regions of highly concentrated energy associated with defects. To date, chemical kinetic rates …

The formation of a high number density of helium bubbles in FCC metals irradiated within the fusion energy environment is well established. Yet, the role of helium bubbles in radiation hardening and mechanical property degradation of these steels remains an outstanding issue. In this paper, we present the results of a combined molecular dynamics simulation and in-situ straining transmission electron microscopy study, which investigates the interaction mechanisms between glissile dislocations and nanometer-sized helium bubbles. The molecular dynamics simulations, which directly account for dislocation core effects through semi-empirical interatomic potentials, provide fundamental insight into the effect of helium bubble size and internal gas pressure on the dislocation/bubble interaction and bypass mechanisms. The combination of simulation and in-situ straining experiments provides a powerful approach to determine the atomic to microscopic mechanisms of dislocation-helium bubble interactions, which govern the mechanical response of metals irradiated within the fusion environment.

Background: Serum protein profiling patterns can reflect the pathological state of a patient and therefore may be useful for clinical diagnostics. Here, we present results from a pilot study of proteomic expression patterns in hemodialysis patients designed to evaluate the range of serum proteomic alterations in this population. Methods: Surface-Enhanced Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (SELDI-TOFMS) was used to analyze serum obtained from patients on periodic hemodialysis treatment and healthy controls. Serum samples from patients and controls were first fractionated into six eluants on a strong anion exchange column, followed by application to four array chemistries representing cation exchange, anion exchange, metal affinity and hydrophobic surfaces. A total of 144 SELDI-TOF-MS spectra were obtained from each serum sample. Results: The overall profiles of the patient and control samples were consistent and reproducible. However, 30 well-defined protein differences were observed; 15 proteins were elevated and 15 were decreased in patients compared to controls. Serum from one patient exhibited novel protein peaks suggesting possible additional changes due to a secondary disease process. Conclusion: SELDI-TOF-MS demonstrated dramatic serum protein profile differences between patients and controls. Similarity in protein profiles among dialysis patients suggests that patient physiological responses to end-stage renal disease and/or dialysis …

We have developed a detailed kinetic model to follow the decomposition of formic acid at modestly high pressures (1-10 GPa) and temperature (500-1000K) and further include our refinement of a fluid exponential-6 equation of state for formic acid and corresponding reaction species. We also include the effects of bimolecular and water catalyzed reactions, calculated from ab initio molecular orbital calculations. We present a comparison between our simulations and experimental observations made using near- near-simultaneous high-pressure FTIR and Raman spectroscopy. We discuss, in detail, the simultaneous implications our experimental observations provide in relation to computed reaction timescales and dominant species employed in our model.