A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Navy's depots provide critical maintenance support to operations around the world. The Department of Defense's (DOD) increased reliance on the private sector for depot maintenance support coupled with downsizing led to a deterioration of depots' capabilities and cost increases. In 2007, the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) directed each service to submit a depot maintenance strategic plan and provided direction for the content of those plans. The 2007 U.S. Navy Depot Maintenance Strategic Plan contained a separate plan for each of five functional areas and an executive summary. GAO used qualitative content analyses to determine the extent to which two of the plans address (1) elements of a results-oriented management framework and (2) OSD's direction for the plan's content. GAO examined the plans for Navy aviation (NAVAIR) and ships (NAVSEA), which account for 94 percent of Navy depot workload."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) was created as a private, nonprofit corporation to support legal assistance for low-income individuals on civil legal matters, primarily through federal grants and is primarily funded through federal appropriations. Effective internal controls over grant awards and oversight of grantees' performance are critical to LSC's mission. GAO and the LSC Inspector General have previously reported weaknesses and made recommendations. GAO's objectives for this report were to determine the extent to which LSC (1) implemented key internal controls in awarding and overseeing grantees, (2) measured its performance, (3) evaluated staffing needs, and (4) adhered to its budget execution processes. GAO analyzed key records and prior recommendations as well as interviewed LSC officials regarding LSC's internal control and performance frameworks, staffing, and contract processes."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "American Samoa is a U.S. insular area that operates its customs and immigration programs according to its own laws and independent of the United States. As such, U.S. agencies, such as U.S. Customs and Border Protection, have no roles in operating the customs or immigration programs in American Samoa. U.S. officials have raised questions about how American Samoa operates its customs and immigration programs, and if this introduces any risks to the security of American Samoa or the rest of the United States. GAO was asked to review American Samoa's customs and immigration programs and this report discusses (1) the operations of American Samoa's customs and immigration programs, and (2) the extent to which U.S. and American Samoa agencies have identified potential risks in American Samoa's customs and immigration programs. GAO reviewed available statutes, regulations, policies, and procedures governing American Samoa and U.S. customs and immigration programs. GAO also visited American Samoa and interviewed U.S. and American Samoan officials to obtain insights."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The 2003 Roadmap for Peace process sponsored by the United States and other nations obligates the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Government of Israel to undertake security efforts as a necessary precursor for achieving the long-standing objective of establishing a Palestinian state as part of the two-state solution for peace in the Middle East. In 2005 the Department of State (State) created the office of the United States Security Coordinator (USSC) to help the parties meet these obligations. GAO was asked to (1) describe the nature and extent of U.S. security assistance to the PA since 2007; (2) assess State's efforts to measure the effectiveness of its security assistance; and (3) describe factors that may affect the implementation of U.S. security assistance programs. GAO analyzed documents; interviewed officials and regional experts; and conducted fieldwork in Jerusalem, the West Bank, Israel, and Jordan."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 2001, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has been working to develop an electronic records archive (ERA) to preserve and provide access to massive volumes and all types of electronic records. NARA certified initial operating capability of the first two phases of ERA in June 2008 and December 2008 and plans to achieve full operating capability for the system by 2012. As required by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, NARA submitted an expenditure plan to Congress to support its request for fiscal year 2010 ERA funding. The act also requires that this plan meet six conditions, including a review by GAO. GAO's objectives in reviewing the fiscal year 2010 plan were to (1) determine whether the plan satisfies the legislative conditions, (2) determine the extent to which NARA has implemented prior GAO recommendations, and (3) provide any other observations on the plan or the ERA acquisition. To do this, GAO reviewed the expenditure plan and other agency documents and interviewed NARA officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Global hunger continues to worsen despite world leaders' 1996 pledge--reaffirmed in 2000 and 2009--to halve hunger by 2015. To reverse this trend, in 2009 major donor countries pledged $22 billion in a 3-year commitment to agriculture and food security in developing countries, of which $3.5 billion is the U.S. share. Through analysis of agency documents, interviews with agency officials and their development partners, and fieldwork in five recipient countries, GAO examined (1) the types and funding of food security programs and activities of relevant U.S. government agencies; and (2) progress in developing an integrated U.S. governmentwide strategy to address global food insecurity as well as potential vulnerabilities of that strategy."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Decisions by the military services on where to base their force structure can have significant strategic, socioeconomic, and cost implications for the Department of Defense (DOD) and the communities surrounding the bases. Each service uses its own process to make basing decisions. The House Committee on Armed Services directed GAO to review the services' basing decision processes. GAO examined the extent to which (1) the services have comprehensive processes in place that are designed to result in well-informed basing decisions and (2) DOD exercises management control of these processes. GAO reviewed and analyzed DOD and service guidance, studies, and relevant documents on implementation and oversight of the services' basing processes."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) procures and manages large supplies of spare parts to keep military equipment ready and operating. At a time when U.S. military forces and equipment are in high demand and the nation faces long-term fiscal challenges, it is critical that DLA ensure that the warfighter is supplied with the right items at the right time and exercise good stewardship over the billions of dollars invested in its inventories. GAO has identified supply chain management as a high-risk area due in part to high levels of inventory beyond what is needed to support requirements and problems in accurately forecasting demand for spare parts. GAO's objectives were to (1) determine the extent to which DLA's inventory of spare parts reflects the amount needed to support requirements; and (2) identify causes, if applicable, for DLA's having spare parts inventory that does not align with requirements. GAO analyzed DLA inventory data for fiscal years 2006 through 2008."

This report provides overview information on the proposed FY2011 budget request for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) programs that provide assistance to state and local governments. These programs are primarily used by first responders -- including firefighters, emergency medical personnel, emergency managers, and law enforcement officers -- to provide assistance for training, exercises, the purchase of equipment, and other support for terrorism and disaster preparedness and response activities.

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A process for removing aluminum from tank waste simulants by adding lithium and precipitating Li-Al-dihydroxide (Lithiumhydrotalcite, [LiAl{sub 2}(OH){sub 6}]{sup +}X{sup -}) has been verified. The tests involved a double-shell tank (DST) simulant and a single-shell tank (SST) simulant. In the case of the DST simulant, the product was the anticipated Li-hydrotalcite. For the SST simulant, the product formed was primarily Li-phosphate. However, adding excess Li to the solution did result in the formation of traces of Li-hydrotalcite. The Li-hydrotalcite from the DST supernate was an easily filterable solid. After four water washes the filter cake was a fluffy white material made of < 100 {micro}m particles made of smaller spheres. These spheres are agglomerates of {approx} 5 {micro}m diameter platelets with < 1 {micro}m thickness. Chemical and mineralogical analyses of the filtrate, filter cake, and wash waters indicate a removal of 90+ wt% of the dissolved Al for the DST simulant. For the SST simulant, the main competing reaction to the formation of lithium hydrotalcite appears to be the formation of lithium phosphate. In case of the DST simulant, phosphorus co-precipitated with the hydrotalcite. This would imply the added benefit of the removal of phosphorus along with aluminum in the …

On-site inspection (OSI) is one of the four verification provisions of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). Under the provisions of the CTBT, once the Treaty has entered into force, any signatory party can request an on-site inspection, which can then be carried out after approval (by majority voting) of the Executive Council. Once an OSI is approved, a team of 40 inspectors will be assembled to carry out an inspection to ''clarify whether a nuclear weapon test explosion or any other nuclear explosion has been carried out in violation of Article I''. One challenging aspect of carrying out an on-site inspection (OSI) in the case of a purported underground nuclear explosion is to detect and locate the underground effects of an explosion, which may include an explosion cavity, a zone of damaged rock, and/or a rubble zone associated with an underground collapsed cavity. The CTBT (Protocol, Section II part D, paragraph 69) prescribes several types of geophysical investigations that can be carried out for this purpose. One of the methods allowed by the CTBT for geophysical investigation is referred to in the Treaty Protocol as ''resonance seismometry''. This method, which was proposed and strongly promoted by Russia during …

As part of the 200-PO-1 Phase I geophysical surveys, Fugro Airborne Surveys was contracted to collect airborne electromagnetic (EM) and magnetic surveys of the Hanford Site 600 Area. Two helicopter survey systems were used with the HeliGEOTEM{reg_sign} time domain portion flown between June 19th and June 20th, 2008, and the RESOLVE{reg_sign} frequency domain portion was flown from June 29th to July 1st, 2008. Magnetic data were acquired contemporaneously with the electromagnetic surveys using a total-field cesium vapor magnetometer. Approximately 925 line kilometers (km) were flown using the HeliGEOTEM{reg_sign} II system and 412 line kilometers were flown using the RESOLVE{reg_sign} system. The HeliGEOTEM system has an effective penetration of roughly 250 meters into the ground and the RESOLVE system has an effective penetration of roughly 60 meters. Acquisition parameters and preliminary results are provided in SGW-39674, Airborne Electromagnetic Survey Report, 200-PO-1 Groundwater Operable Unit, 600 Area, Hanford Site. Airborne data are interpreted in this report in an attempt to identify areas of likely preferential groundwater flow within the aquifer system based on the presence of paleochannels or fault zones. The premise for the interpretation is that coarser-grained intervals have filled in scour channels created by episodic catastrophic flood events during the …

This standard operating procedure (SOP) provides uniform procedures for the collection of wipe samples of VX residues from surfaces. Personnel may use this procedure to collect and handle wipe samples in the field. Various surfaces, including building materials (wood, metal, tile, vinyl, etc.) and equipment, may be sampled based on this procedure. The purpose of such sampling is to determine whether or not the relevant surfaces are contaminated, to determine the extent of their contamination, to evaluate the effectiveness of decontamination procedures, and to determine the amount of contaminant that might present as a contact hazard.

The project objective was to optimize the performance of the Hi-Q Rotor. Early research funded by the California Energy Commission indicated the design might be advantageous over state-of-the-art turbines for collecting wind energy in low wind conditions. The Hi-Q Rotor is a new kind of rotor targeted for harvesting wind in Class 2, 3, and 4 sites, and has application in areas that are closer to cities, or 'load centers.' An advantage of the Hi-Q Rotor is that the rotor has non-conventional blade tips, producing less turbulence, and is quieter than standard wind turbine blades which is critical to the low-wind populated urban sites. Unlike state-of-the-art propeller type blades, the Hi-Q Rotor has six blades connected by end caps. In this phase of the research funded by DOE's Inventions and Innovation Program, the goal was to improve the current design by building a series of theoretical and numeric models, and composite prototypes to determine a best of class device. Development of the rotor was performed by aeronautical engineering and design firm, DARcorporation. From this investigation, an optimized design was determined and an 8-foot diameter, full-scale rotor was built and mounted using a Bergey LX-1 generator and furling system which were …

In this note I will prove that the impedance calculated for a small-angle collimator or taper, of arbitrary 3D profile, has a scaling property that can greatly simplify numerical calculations. This proof is based on the parabolic equation approach to solving Maxwell's equation developed in Refs. [1, 2]. We start from the parabolic equation formulated in [3]. As discussed in [1], in general case this equation is valid for frequencies {omega} >> c/a where a is a characteristic dimension of the obstacle. However, for small-angle tapers and collimators, the region of validity of this equation extends toward smaller frequencies and includes {omega} {approx} c/a.

Concern over the quality of environmental management and restoration has motivated the model development for predicting water and solute transport in the vadose zone. Soil hydraulic properties are required inputs to subsurface models of water flow and contaminant transport in the vadose zone. Computer models are now routinely used in research and management to predict the movement of water and solutes into and through the vadose zone of soils. Such models can be used successfully only if reliable estimates of the soil hydraulic parameters are available. The hydraulic parameters considered in this project consist of the saturated hydraulic conductivity and four parameters of the water retention curves. To quantify hydraulic parameters for heterogeneous soils is both difficult and time consuming. The overall objective of this project was to better quantify soil hydraulic parameters which are critical in predicting water flows and contaminant transport in the vadose zone through a comprehensive and quantitative study to predict heterogeneous soil hydraulic properties and the associated uncertainties. Systematic and quantitative consideration of the parametric heterogeneity and uncertainty can properly address and further reduce predictive uncertainty for contamination characterization and environmental restoration at DOE-managed sites. We conducted a comprehensive study to assess soil hydraulic parameter …

This report shows the extensive research on the mechanism responsible for the formation of single walled carbon nanotubes in order to get control over their structural parameters (diameter and chirality). Catalyst formulations, pre-treatment conditions, and reaction conditions are described in detail as well as mechanisms to produce nanotubes structures of specific arrays (vertical forest, nanotube pillars). Applications of SWNT in different fields are also described in this report. In relation to this project five students have graduated (3 PhD and 2 MS) and 35 papers have been published.

Integrating the Molecular Machines of Mercury Detoxification into Host Cell Biology The bacterial mercury resistance (mer) operon, one of the most evolutionarily successful genetic loci in any defined organism, detoxifies organic and inorganic mercury compounds. Several major biotic processes in the global Hg(II) cycle are carried out by bacteria with this highly mobile detoxification locus that occurs in Gram negative and high and low GC Gram positive bacteria. The functions of many individual mer operon components are well described, so we aim to dissect the higher order interactions of the enzymes, transporters, and regulators of this paradigm metal metabolizing system with each other and with the larger metabolism of the host cell. Understanding how this ubiquitous detoxification system fits into the biology and ecology of its bacterial host is essential to guide interventions that support and enhance Hg remediation. Specifically, we will test the hypotheses that: (a) the organomercurial lyase, MerB, and the mercuric reductase, MerA, act synergistically together and with the membrane-bound Hg(II) transporters, MerT and MerC, to detoxify mercurials; (b) the interaction of the metalloregulator MerR with RNA polymerase (RNAP) and with its DNA binding site, MerO, modulates its metal response, and interaction with its antagonist, MerD, prevents …

Our research program is broadly focused on activating CO{sub 2} through the use of organic and organometallic based catalysts. Some of our methods have centered on annulation reactions of unsaturated hydrocarbons (and carbonyl substrates) to provide a diverse array of carbocycles and heterocycles. We use a combination of catalyst discovery and optimization in conjunction with classical physical organic chemistry to elucidate the key mechanistic features of the cycloaddition reactions such that the next big advances in catalyst development can be made. Key to all of our cycloaddition reactions is the use of a sterically hindered, electron donating N heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligand, namely IPr (or SIPr), in conjunction with a low valent nickel pre-catalyst. The efficacy of this ligand is two-fold: (1) the high {delta}-donating ability of the NHC increases the nucleophilicity of the metal center which thereby facilitates interaction with the electrophilic carbonyl and (2) the steric hindrance prevents an otherwise competitive side reaction involving only the alkyne substrate. Such a system has allowed for the facile cycloaddition to prepare highly functionalized pyrones, pyridones, pyrans, as well as novel carbocycles. Importantly, all reactions proceed under extremely mild conditions (room temperature, atmospheric pressures, and short reaction times), require only catalytic …

An Integrated Multi-function Corrosion Probe (IMCP) was installed in Tank 241-AN-107 on September 20, 2006. A portion of the probe was retrieved on June 8, 2010 and the sections holding the detectors were delivered to the 222-S Laboratory for analysis. The examination and disassembly of the probe sections encountered a number of challenges. However, disassembly and relevant analyses were successfully completed. The following summarizes our observations. Brittle failure of the fiberglass probe in the middle of detector 2 resulted in the recovery of only three vapor space C-rings and six supernatant bullet specimens. The design of the bullets and how they were attached to the probe made the recovery of the components more difficult. The use of glue/epoxy on the bullets and the attachment of the flat bottom of the bullets to the curved surface of the fiberglass probe body meant that weight loss on cleaning and surface area of the specimens could not be determined with acceptable accuracy. Macrophotography of all specimens reveals that corrosion was slight in the vapor space and extremely slight in the supernatant. The one pre-cracked C-ring recovered from the vapor space still had the stress bulge visible on the polished surface, indicating that crack …

The use of crystalline silicotitanate (CST) is proposed for an at-tank process to treat High Level Waste at the Savannah River Site. The proposed configuration includes deployment of ion exchange columns suspended in the risers of existing tanks to process salt waste without building a new facility. The CST is available in an engineered form, designated as IE-911-CW, from UOP. Prior data indicates CST has a proclivity to agglomerate from deposits of silica rich compounds present in the alkaline waste solutions. This report documents the prior literature and provides guidance for the design and operations that include CST to mitigate that risk. The proposed operation will also add monosodium titanate (MST) to the supernate of the tank prior to the ion exchange operation to remove strontium and select alpha-emitting actinides. The cesium loaded CST is ground and then passed forward to the sludge washing tank as feed to the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF). Similarly, the MST will be transferred to the sludge washing tank. Sludge processing includes the potential to leach aluminum from the solids at elevated temperature (e.g., 65 C) using concentrated (3M) sodium hydroxide solutions. Prior literature indicates that both CST and MST will agglomerate and form …