This report describes the development of the necessary and needed wind and solar datasets used in the Western Wind and Solar Integration Study (WWSIS).

ABSTRACT Projects for the very high temperature reactor (VHTR) Technology Development Office (TDO) program provide data in support of Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing of the VHTR. Fuel and materials to be used in the reactor are tested and characterized to quantify performance in high temperature and high fluence environments. The VHTR program has established the NGNP Data Management and Analysis System (NDMAS) to ensure that VHTR data are (1) qualified for use, (2) stored in a readily accessible electronic form, and (3) analyzed to extract useful results. This document focuses on the first NDMAS objective. It describes the data streams associated with the first Advanced Gas Reactor experiment (AGR-1), the processing of these data within NDMAS, and reports the qualification status of the data. Data qualification activities within NDMAS for specific types of data are determined by the data qualification category assigned by the data generator. They include: (1) capture testing, to confirm that the data stored within NDMAS are identical to the raw data supplied, (2) accuracy testing, to confirm that the data are an accurate representation of the system or object being measured, and (3) documentation that the data were collected under an NQA-1 or equivalent quality assurance …

The first section of this report describes the status and primary motivations of the EU's preferential trade agreements (PTAs) currently in place or under negotiation. The second compares the content and trade coverage of Europe's PTAs to U.S. PTAs. A third section assesses the implications of the EU's PTA program for the multilateral trading system and U.S. trade policy. A concluding section evaluates future directions for Europe's PTA policy.

This report examines the role of the field of psychology in understanding and dealing with global climate change. The report explores the psychological drivers for contributing to climate change and the psychological barriers to action in response to the threat of climate change. The report makes policy recommendations based on its findings.

This report documents the progress made through FY 2009 on a project initiated in FY 2006 to help address uncertainties related to the rates of hydrolysis in groundwater for carbon tetrachloride (CT) and chloroform (CF). The study seeks also to explore the possible effects of contact with minerals and sediment (i.e., heterogeneous hydrolysis) on these rates. In previous years the work was funded as two separate projects by various sponsors, all of whom received their funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). In FY2009, the projects were combined and funded by CH2MHill Plateau Remediation Corporation (CHPRC). Work in FY2009 was performed by staff at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). Staff from the State University of New York at Cortland (SUNY–Cortland) contributed in previous years.

This report describes the use of thermo luminescent dosimeters for environmental surveillance of external radiation on and around the Hanford Site for the period of 1970 to 2005. It addresses changes in the technology and associated quality control and assurance used in this work and summarizes the results of the 35 year period of external radiation surveillance. The appendices to this report provide trend plots for each location that comprised the shoreline, onsite, perimeter, and offsite sample design.

This report represents findings of a design review team that evaluated construction documents (at the 70% level) and operating specifications for a new control tower and support building that will be built in Las Vegas, Nevada by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The focus of the review was to identify measures that could be incorporated into the final design and operating specification that would result in additional energy savings for the FAA that would not have otherwise occurred.

This report represents findings of a design review team that evaluated construction documents (at the 70% level) and operating specifications for a new control tower and support building that will be build at Oakland, California by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The focus of the review was to identify measures that could be incorporated into the final design and operating specification that would result in additional energy savings for the FAA that would not have otherwise occurred.

This report represents findings of a design review team that evaluated construction documents (at the 100% level) and operating specifications for a new control tower and support building that will be built in Palm Springs, California by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The focus of the review was to identify measures that could be incorporated into the final design and operating specifications that would result in additional energy savings for the FAA that would not have otherwise occurred.

This report discusses the current political conditions in Guinea, as well as the considerable changes to Guinea's political landscape that have taken place over the past two years. The report also discusses U.S. interests and associated policy challenges in Guinea, centering around democratization, counternarcotics issues, regional stability, and socioeconomic development, among other issues.

This report provides an overview of major budget estimates and projections for the FY2011 federal budget cycle. The report presents and compares budget projections calculated by the Obama Administration's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

This report discusses how deficit finance can help governments manage their economies and how large and persistent deficits can lead to severe economic problems.

This Panel was chartered to review and assess new evaluations of work on fission product data, as well as the evaluation process used by the two U.S. nuclear weapons physics laboratories. The work focuses on fission product yields resulting from fission spectrum neutrons incident on plutonium, and includes data from measurements that had not been previously published as well as new or revised fission product cumulative yield data, and related quantities such as Q values and R values. This report documents the Panel's assessment of the work presented by Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). Based on the work presented we have seven key observations: (1) Experiments conducted in the 1970s at LANL, some of which were performed in association with a larger, NIST-led, program, have recently been documented. A preliminary assessment of this work, which will be referred to in this document as ILRR-LANL, shows it to be technically sound. (2) LLNL has done a thorough, unbiased review and evaluation of the available literature and is in the process of incorporating the previously unavailable LANL data into its evaluation of key fission product yields. The results of the LLNL effort, which includes a preliminary …

Climate change is a long-term process that will trigger a range of multi-dimensional demographic, economic, geopolitical, and national security issues with many unknowns and significant uncertainties. At first glance, climate-change-related national security dimensions seem far removed from today's major national security threats. Yet climate change has already set in motion forces that will require U.S. attention and preparedness. The extent and uncertainty associated with these situations necessitate a move away from conventional security practices, toward a small but flexible portfolio of assets to maintain U.S. interests. Thoughtful action is required now if we are to acquire the capabilities, tools, systems, and institutions needed to meet U.S. national security requirements as they evolve with the emerging stresses and shifts of climate change.

Nearly all designs of accelerators for heavy ion fusion rely on a velocity (energy) ramp to compress the beam longitudinally from its length in the accelerator to the length required at the target. The size of the velocity ramp is constrained by the longitudinal emittance of the beam. For example, if the longitudinal emittance is 0.05 eV {center_dot} s and we wish to produce a pulse having a width of {+-}2.5 ns at the target, we must supply an energy tilt such that the energy spread at the target is at least {+-}0.05 eV {center_dot} s/2.5 ns = {+-}2 x 10{sup 7} eV. The minimal value of energy spread occurs when the beam has propagated to the point where there is no correlation between the time and energy variables of the beam particles. (In the simple approximation where the boundary of the longitudinal phase space containing the particles is an ellipse, the ellipse is erect at this point, i.e., not tilted with respect to the axes.) In any case, the energy spread can affect focusing. If, for example, the beam kinetic energy is of the order of 5 GeV, a tilt of {+-}2 x 10{sup 7} eV corresponds to a …

This report focuses on the process by which the Office of the Prosecutor investigates allegations of war crimes and second on U.S policy towards the International Criminal Court (ICC) and how the court might assert jurisdiction over U.S. nationals.

This volume archives the presentations at the RIKEN BNL Research Center workshop 'Progress in High-PT Physics at RHIC', held at BNL in March 2010. Much has been learned from high-p{sub T} physics after 10 years of RHIC operations for heavy-ion collisions, polarized proton collisions and d+Au collisions. The workshop focused on recent progress in these areas by both theory and experiment. The first morning saw review talks on the theory of RHIC high-p{sub T} physics by G. Sterman and J. Soffer, and on the experimental results by M. Tannenbaum. One of the most exciting recent results from the RHIC spin program is the first observation of W bosons and their associated single-spin asymmetry. The new preliminary data were reported on the first day of our workshop, along with a theoretical perspective. There also were detailed discussions on the global analysis of polarized parton distributions, including the knowledge on gluon polarization and the impact of the W-data. The main topic of the second workshop day were single-transverse spin asymmetries and their analysis in terms of transverse-momentum dependent parton distributions. There is currently much interest in a future Drell-Yan program at RHIC, thanks to the exciting physics opportunities this would offer. This …

This report provides an overview of the Stafford Act and Stafford Act declarations. The report discusses the types of assistance and eligibility, funding caps and cost shares, hazard mitigation assistance, disaster relief funds, and other issues for the 111th Congress.

This report discusses Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Task Forces, which have been certified, trained, and funded by the federal government. The task forces represent a partnership involving federal, local government, and private sector experts. Most recently, USAR teams received considerable publicity, and reportedly achieved life-saving results, in their mission to Haiti after the earthquakes of early 2010.

This report discusses the current U.S.-Puerto Rico relationship, the history of said relationship, and the current political state of Puerto Rico, as well as relevant pieces of U.S. Congressional legislation concerning Puerto Rico.

This report provides an overview of the background and selected issues of the meat and poultry inspection.

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A recent study concluded that serum prostate specific antigen (PSA)-based screening is beneficial for reducing the lethality of PCa, but was also associated with a high risk of 'overdiagnosis'. Nevertheless, also PCa patients who suffered from organ confined tumors and had negative bone scans succumb to distant metastases after complete tumor resection. It is reasonable to assume that those tumors spread to other organs long before the overt manifestation of metastases. Our current results confirm that prostate tumors are highly heterogeneous. Even a small subpopulation of cells bearing BRCA1 losses can initiate PCa cell regional and distant dissemination indicating those patients which might be at high risk of metastasis. A preliminary study performed on a small cohort of multifocal prostate cancer (PCa) detected BRCA1 allelic imbalances (AI) among circulating tumor cells (CTCs). The present analysis was aimed to elucidate the biological and clinical role of BRCA1 losses on metastatic spread and tumor progression in prostate cancer patients. Experimental Design: To map molecular progression in PCa outgrowth we used FISH analysis of tissue microarrays (TMA), lymph node sections and CTC from peripheral blood. We found that 14% of 133 tested patients carried monoallelic BRCA1 loss in at least one tumor focus. …

This report discusses the Earthquake in Chile, the current condition, the response from Chilean government, international humanitarian response, as well as the U.S. humanitarian response. The report provides background information on Chile and U.S. relations and policy issues.