1,2-Hydroxypyridinones (1,2-HOPO) form very stable lanthanide complexes that may be useful as contrast agents for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). X-ray diffraction of single crystals established that the solid state structures of the Eu(III) and the previously reported [Inorg. Chem. 2004, 43, 5452] Gd(III) complex are identical. The recently discovered sensitizing properties of 1,2-HOPO chelates for Eu(III) luminescence allow direct measurement of the number if water molecules in the metal complex. Fluorescence measurements of the Eu(III) complex corroborate that in solution two water molecules coordinate the lanthanide (q = 2) as proposed from the analysis of NMRD profiles. In addition, fluorescence measurements have verified the anion binding interactions of lanthanide TREN-1,2-HOPO complexes in solution, studied by relaxivity, revealing only very weak oxalate binding (K{sub A} = 82.7 {+-} 6.5 M{sup -1}). Solution thermodynamic studies of the metal complex and free ligand have been carried out using potentiometry, spectrophotometry and fluorescence spectroscopy. The metal ion selectivity of TREN-1,2-HOPO supports the feasibility of using 1,2-HOPO ligands for selective lanthanide binding [pGd = 19.3 (2); pZn = 15.2 (2), pCa = 8.8 (3)].

Bill introduced by the Texas Senate relating to allowing a student receiving special education services to participate in a graduation ceremony after the fourth year of high school.

Bill introduced by the Texas House of Representatives relating to issuance and renewal of a driver's license of an elderly person.

Bill introduced by the Texas House of Representatives relating to the acquisition of certain automated external defibrillators.

Bill introduced by the Texas House of Representatives relating to condemnation of historical sites at the direction of the Commission of Control for Texas Centennial Celebrations.

Bill introduced by the Texas House of Representatives relating to Celebrate Freedom Week in public schools.

Bill introduced by the Texas House of Representatives relating to publication of the annual financial statement by a school district.

Bill introduced by the Texas Senate relating to the qualifications to serve as an associate judge in certain family law proceedings.

Bill introduced by the Texas Senate relating to providing that a municipality may allow a municipal fire marshal or arson investigator to travel in an unmarked municipal vehicle when performing official duties.

Bill introduced by the Texas Senate relating to the submission of annual reports by farm mutual insurance companies.

Bill introduced by the Texas Senate relating to the regulation of consumer debt management services.

Bill introduced by the Texas Senate relating to regulation of emissions from residential water heaters.

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.

The kinetic nonlinear dispersion relation, and frequency shift {delta}{omega}{sub srs}, of a plasma wave driven by stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) are presented. Our theoretical calculations are fully electromagnetic, and use an adiabatic expression for the electron susceptibility which accounts for the change in phase velocity as the wave grows. When k{lambda}{sub D} {approx}> 0.35 (k being the plasma wave number and {lambda}{sub D} the Debye length), {delta}{omega}{sub srs} is significantly larger than could be inferred by assuming that the wave is freely propagating. Our theory is in excellent agreement with 1-D Eulerian Vlasov-Maxwell simulations when 0.3 {le} k{lambda}{sub D} {le} 0.58, and allows discussion of previously proposed mechanisms for Raman saturation. In particular, we find that no 'loss of resonance' of the plasma wave would limit the Raman growth rate, and that saturation through a phase detuning between the plasma wave and the laser drive is mitigated by wave number shifts.

The neutron background is created primarily by cosmic rays interactions. Of particular interest for SNM detection is an understanding of burst events that resemble fission chains. We have been studying the interaction of cosmic rays with a lead pile that is efficient at creating neutron bursts from cosmic ray interactions. The neutron burst size depends on the configuration of the lead. We have found that the largest bursts appear to have been created by primaries of energy over 100 GeV that have had a diffractive interaction with the atmosphere. The large events trigger muon coincidence paddles with very high efficiency, and the resulting interactions with the lead pile can create over 10, 000 neutrons in a burst.

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) transports second destination freight from over 600 locations to thousands of destinations throughout the continental United States each year at a cost of approximately $900 million. In 2001, DOD conducted a prototype program to better understand whether commercial best practices--specifically the use of a third-party logistics provider--could be applied to its freight transportation system and reduce costs. The prototype, which included a 1-year base agreement with two 1-year option periods, was conducted at selected Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) and military service shipping locations in the southeastern United States. At the conclusion of the first year, DLA exercised an option to extend the prototype at its shipping locations, whereas the military service shipping locations returned to DOD's previous freight shipping system due to dissatisfaction with the prototype's performance. On the basis of the prototype, DOD concluded that a third-party logistics provider could successfully integrate with DOD transportation processes if the program was designed and implemented correctly to capitalize on the benefits of using a third-party logistics provider while also addressing the performance problems that were experienced with the prototype. In 2004, the Under Secretary …

Algebraic multigrid (AMG) is one of the most efficient and scalable parallel algorithms for solving sparse linear systems on unstructured grids. However, for large three-dimensional problems, the coarse grids that are normally used in AMG often lead to growing complexity in terms of memory use and execution time per AMG V-cycle. Sparser coarse grids, such as those obtained by the Parallel Modified Independent Set coarsening algorithm (PMIS) [7], remedy this complexity growth, but lead to non-scalable AMG convergence factors when traditional distance-one interpolation methods are used. In this paper we study the scalability of AMG methods that combine PMIS coarse grids with long distance interpolation methods. AMG performance and scalability is compared for previously introduced interpolation methods as well as new variants of them for a variety of relevant test problems on parallel computers. It is shown that the increased interpolation accuracy largely restores the scalability of AMG convergence factors for PMIS-coarsened grids, and in combination with complexity reducing methods, such as interpolation truncation, one obtains a class of parallel AMG methods that enjoy excellent scalability properties on large parallel computers.

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Some workers do not receive worker protections to which they are entitled because employers misclassify them as independent contractors when they should be classified as employees. Key worker protections include minimum hourly wage and overtime pay and access to unemployment insurance. The Department of Labor (DOL) enforces several labor laws to protect workers, including the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Misclassification can also have a negative impact on tax collection for Social Security, unemployment insurance, and other programs. This testimony draws upon a previous GAO report and focuses specifically on (1) the number and characteristics of independent contractors, (2) the workforce protections and benefits provided to employees that typically are not available to independent contractors, and (3) the actions that DOL takes to detect and address employee misclassification."

This report provides Background and Policy Approaches about Excessive CEO Pay where average pay for non-management workers has stagnated after adjustment for inflation, falling slightly since the early 1970's.

Neutron stars in close binary star systems often accrete matter from their companion stars. Thermonuclear ignition of the accreted material in the atmosphere of the neutron star leads to a thermonuclear explosion which is observed as an X-ray burst occurring periodically between hours and days depending on the accretion rate. The ignition conditions are characterized by a sensitive interplay between the accretion rate of the fuel supply and its depletion rate by nuclear burning in the hot CNO cycle and the rp-process. For accretion rates close to stable burning the burst ignition therefore depends critically on the hot CNO breakout reaction {sup 15}O({alpha}, {gamma}){sup 19}Ne that regulates the flow between the hot CNO cycle and the rapid proton capture process. Until recently, the {sup 15}O({alpha}, {gamma}){sup 19}Ne reaction rate was not known experimentally and the theoretical estimates carried significant uncertainties. In this paper we perform a parameter study of the uncertainty of this reaction rate and determine the astrophysical consequences of the first measurement of this reaction rate. Our results corroborate earlier predictions and show that theoretically burning remains unstable up to accretion rates near the Eddington limit, in contrast to astronomical observations.

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

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.