Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 1997, three African-American farmers filed a class action civil rights lawsuit against the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). These farmers alleged that USDA had willfully discriminated against them and other African-American farmers by denying their applications for farm loans and benefit programs, or by delaying the processing of their applications, and had failed to properly investigate and resolve their complaints of discrimination. This lawsuit, Pigford v. Glickman, was certified by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia as a class action suit on October 9, 1998. On April 14, 1999, District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman approved and entered a consent decree settling this lawsuit. In doing so, the court noted USDA's long-standing discriminatory practices. The court stated that for decades USDA discriminated against African-American farmers by denying, delaying, or otherwise frustrating African-American farmers' applications for farm loans and other credit and benefit programs. The court also noted that USDA disbanded its Office of Civil Rights in 1983, and stopped responding to claims of discrimination. Finally, the court observed that the consent decree would not undo all that had been done to African-American …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Energy (DOE) is working to obtain a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to construct a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. The project, which began in the 1980s, has been beset by delays. In a 2004 report, GAO raised concerns that persistent quality assurance problems could further delay the project. Then, in 2005, DOE announced the discovery of employee e-mails suggesting quality assurance problems, including possible falsification of records. Quality assurance, which establishes requirements for work to be performed under controlled conditions that ensure quality, is critical to making sure the project meets standards for protecting public health and the environment. GAO was asked to examine (1) the history of the project's quality assurance problems, (2) DOE's tracking of these problems and efforts to address them since GAO's 2004 report, and (3) challenges facing DOE as it continues to address quality assurance issues within the project."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "A number of initiatives to improve information sharing have been called for, including the Homeland Security Act of 2002 and in the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004. The 2002 act required the development of policies for sharing classified and sensitive but unclassified homeland security information. The 2004 act called for the development of an Information Sharing Environment for terrorism information. This report examines (1) the status of efforts to establish government-wide information sharing policies and processes and (2) the universe of sensitive but unclassified designations used by the 26 agencies that GAO surveyed and their related policies and procedures."

Centrosomes nucleate and organize interphase MTs and areinstrumental in the assembly of the mitotic bipolar spindle. Here wereport that two members of the multifunctional protein 4.1 family havedistinct distributions at centrosomes. Protein 4.1R localizes to maturecentrioles whereas 4.1G is a component of the pericentriolar matrixsurrounding centrioles. To selectively probe 4.1R function, we used RNAinterference-mediated depletion of 4.1R without decreasing 4.1Gexpression. 4.1R downregulation reduces MT anchoring and organization atinterphase and impairs centrosome separation during prometaphase.Metaphase chromosomes fail to properly condense/align and spindleorganization is aberrant. Notably 4.1R depletion causes mislocalizationof its binding partner NuMA (Nuclear Mitotic Apparatus Protein),essential for spindle pole focusing, and disrupts ninein. Duringanaphase/telophase, 4.1R-depleted cells have lagging chromosomes andaberrant MT bridges. Our data provide functional evidence that 4.1R makescrucial contributions to centrosome integrity and to mitotic spindlestructure enabling mitosis and anaphase to proceed with the coordinatedprecision required to avoid pathological events.

The central metabolic fluxes of Shewanella oneidensis MR-1were examined under carbon-limited (aerobic) and oxygen-limited(micro-aerobic) chemostat conditions using 13C labeled lactate as thesole carbon source. The carbon labeling patterns of key amino acids inbiomass were probed using both GC-MS and 13C-NMR. Based on the genomeannotation, a metabolic pathway model was constructed to quantify thecentral metabolic flux distributions. The model showed that thetricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle is the major carbon metabolism route underboth conditions. The Entner-Doudoroff and pentose phosphate pathways weremainly utilized for biomass synthesis (flux below 5 percent of thelactate uptake rate). The anapleurotic reactions (pyruvate to malate andoxaloacetate to phosphoenolpyruvate) and the glyoxylate shunt wereactive. Under carbon-limited conditions, a substantial amount of carbonwas oxidized via the highly reversible serine metabolic pathway. Fluxesthrough the TCA cycle were less whereas acetate production was more underoxygen limitation than under carbon limitation. Although fluxdistributions under aerobic, micro-aerobic, and shake-flask cultureconditions were dramatically different, the relative flux ratios of thecentral metabolic reactions did not vary significantly. Hence, S.oneidensis metabolism appears to be quite robust to environmentalchanges. Our study also demonstrates the merit of coupling GC-MS with 13CNMR for metabolic flux analysis to reduce the use of 13C labeledsubstrates and to obtain more accurate flux values.

Model evolution and improvement is complicated by the lack of high quality observational data. To address a major limitation of these measurements the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program was formed. For the second quarter ARM metric we will make use of new water vapor data that has become available, and called the 'Merged-sounding' value added product (referred to as OBS, within the text) at three sites: the North Slope of Alaska (NSA), Darwin Australia (DAR) and the Southern Great Plains (SGP) and compare these observations to model forecast data. Two time periods will be analyzed March 2000 for the SGP and October 2004 for both DAR and NSA. The merged-sounding data have been interpolated to 37 pressure levels (e.g., from 1000hPa to 100hPa at 25hPa increments) and time averaged to 3 hourly data for direct comparison to our model output.

Free weekly newspaper that includes business and classified advertising.

Free weekly newspaper that includes business and classified advertising.

Weekly newspaper from Dallas, Texas that includes local, state, and national news and advertising of interest to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community.

Quarterly publication of the Texas Comptroller's Office regarding sales and use tax in the state of Texas, including an analysis by county, analysis by industry, and related notes.

This report is written from the perspective of labor policy and details the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR), related to farm labor, under which a guest worker must be paid state or federal minimum wage.

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This document provides preplanning necessary to expeditiously remove any waste that may leak from the primary tank to the secondary tank for Hanford's 28 DSTs. The strategy is described, applicable emergency procedures are referenced, and transfer routes and pumping equipment for each tank are identified.

The purpose of this plan is to provide a post-closure groundwater monitoring program for the 216-S-10 Pond and Ditch (S-10) treatment, storage, and/or disposal (TSD) unit. The plan incorporates the sum of knowledge about the potential for groundwater contamination to originate from the S-10, including groundwater monitoring results, hydrogeology, and operational history. The S-10 has not received liquid waste since October 1991. The closure of S-10 has been coordinated with the 200-CS-1 source operable unit in accordance with the Tri-Party Agreement interim milestones M-20-39 and M-15-39C. The S-10 is closely situated among other waste sites of very similar operational histories. The proximity of the S-10 to the other facilities (216-S-17 pond, 216-S-11 Pond, 216-S-5,6 cribs, 216-S-16 ditch and pond, and 216-U-9 ditch) indicate that at least some observed groundwater contamination beneath and downgradient of S-10 could have originated from waste sites other than S-10. Hence, it may not be feasible to strictly discriminate between the contributions of each waste site to groundwater contamination beneath the S-10. A post-closure groundwater monitoring network is proposed that will include the drilling of three new wells to replace wells that have gone dry. When completed, the revised network will meet the intent for groundwater …

Gradient direction matching (GDM) is the main target identification algorithm used in the Image Content Engine project at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. GDM is a 3D solid model-based edge-matching algorithm which does not require explicit edge extraction from the source image. The GDM algorithm is presented, identifying areas where performance enhancement seems possible. Improving the process of producing model gradient directions from the solid model by assigning different weights to different parts of the model is an extension tested in the current study. Given a simple geometric model, we attempt to determine, without obvious semantic clues, if different weight values produce significantly better matching accuracy, and how those weights should be assigned to produce the best matching accuracy. Two simple candidate strategies for assigning weights are proposed--pixel-weighted and edge-weighted. We adjust the weights of the components in a simple model of a tractor/semi-trailer using relevance feedback to produce an optimal set of weights for this model and a particular test image. The optimal weights are then compared with pixel and edge-weighting strategies to determine which is most suitable and under what circumstances.

The ability of wetted cathodes of limited area to support localized corrosion sites on passive materials exposed to atmospheric conditions was studied computationally. The analysis pertains to conditions where metal surfaces are covered by thin layers of moisture in contrast to conditions of full immersion. The moisture may be a continuous layer or in patches with and without particulate on the surface. These conditions are of interest for the surfaces of the waste packages at the proposed Yucca Mountain Repository where waste packages are supported in air. The cathode capacity was characterized by the total net cathodic current, I{sub net}, which the surface surrounding a localized corrosion site (i.e., a pit or crevice) could supply. The cathode capacity increases with increasing cathode area, but it saturates at finite cathode sizes due to the resistance of the thin electrolyte layer. The magnitude of the capacity depends on the water layer thickness, the solution conductivity, and the electrochemical reaction kinetics. The presence of particulates is treated by considering both volume and surface coverage effects. The limited electrolyte volume under thin film conditions can lead to rapid pH changes which decrease the cathode capacity due to the slower electrochemical kinetics at elevated pH. …

This project led to an improved understanding of the mechanisms of dross formation. The microstructural evolution in industrial dross samples was determined. Results suggested that dross that forms in layers with structure and composition determined by the local magnesium concentration alone. This finding is supported by fundamental studies of molten metal surfaces. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy data revealed that only magnesium segregates to the molten aluminum alloy surface and reacts to form a growing oxide layer. X-ray diffraction techniques that were using to investigate an oxidizing molten aluminum alloy surface confirmed for the first time that magnesium oxide is the initial crystalline phase that forms during metal oxidation. The analytical techniques developed in this project are now available to investigate other molten metal surfaces. Based on the improved understanding of dross initiation, formation and growth, technology was developed to minimize melt loss. The concept is based on covering the molten metal surface with a reusable physical barrier. Tests in a laboratory-scale reverberatory furnace confirmed the results of bench-scale tests. The main highlights of the work done include: A clear understanding of the kinetics of dross formation and the effect of different alloying elements on dross formation was obtained. It was determined …

Sorption of {sup 237}Np(V) and {sup 233}U(VI) was measured on clays separated from Yucca Mountain alluvium as a function of solution pH and aqueous actinide concentrations. The results indicate that sorption of U and Np on the separated clay fraction depends strongly on solution pH. Np sorption on clays increases slowly with increasing pH from 3 to 7. Above pH 7, Np sorption on clays increases rapidly up to a pH of about 10. On the other hand, U sorption on clays reaches it maximum at a pH of about 6, with sorption decreasing as pH increases from 6 to 8 and then increasing again as pH increases further from 8 to about 10. The results suggest that a Freundlich isotherm can be used to describe U and Np sorption on clays at pH above 5.5. The results of this study indicate that clay minerals play a very important role in the sorption of U and Np on Yucca Mountain alluvium. Indeed, the clay content of the alluvium is probably considerably more important than water chemistry in predicting the ability of the alluvium to attenuate the transport of these radionuclides.

Uranium-series ages, oxygen-isotopic compositions, and uranium contents were determined in outer growth layers of opal and calcite from 0.5- to 3-centimeter-thick mineral coatings hosted by lithophysal cavities in the unsaturated zone at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, the proposed site of a permanent repository for high-level radioactive waste. Micrometer-scale growth layering in the minerals was imaged using a cathodoluminescence detector on a scanning electron microscope. Determinations of the chemistry, ages, and delta oxygen-18 values of the growth layers were conducted by electron microprobe analysis and secondary ion mass spectrometry techniques at spatial resolutions of 1 to about 20 micrometers ({micro}m) and 25 to 40 micrometers, respectively. Growth rates for the last 300 thousand years (k.y.) calculated from about 300 new high-resolution uranium-series ages range from approximately 0.5 to 1.5 {micro}m/k.y. for 1- to 3-centimeter-thick coatings, whereas coatings less than about I-centimeter-thick have growth rates less than 0.5 {micro}m/k.y. At the depth of the proposed repository, correlations of uranium concentration and delta oxygen-18 values with regional climate records indicate that unsaturated zone percolation and seepage water chemistries have responded to changes in climate during the last several hundred thousand years.

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

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

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