Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) mandates GAO to review states' and localities' use of funds made available under the act. Since April 2009, GAO has published bimonthly reports on our findings related to federal, state, and local implementation of the Recovery Act. Currently, we are examining the efforts of selected states and local educational agencies (LEA) to ensure appropriate uses of Recovery Act funds. In North Carolina, we have been reviewing efforts undertaken by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI) and selected LEAs to administer and oversee the use of Recovery Act funds under the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF) education stabilization funds; Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA Title I), as amended; and Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA); as amended. As part of this effort, we met with various DPI staff and, from February 1 through 3, 2010, we visited Avery County Schools (ACS) to review and test the adequacy of controls and procedures in place pertaining to Recovery Act funds for these three federal programs. During our visit, …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since the late 1990s, life settlements have offered consumers benefits but also exposed them to risks, giving rise to regulatory concerns. A policy owner with unneeded life insurance can surrender the policy to the insurer for its cash surrender value. Or, the owner may receive more by selling the policy to a third-party investor through a life settlement. These transactions have involved high-dollar-amount policies covering older persons. Despite their potential benefits, life settlements can have unintended consequences for policy owners, such as unexpected tax liabilities. Also, policy owners commonly rely on intermediaries to help them, and some intermediaries may engage in abusive practices. As requested, this report addresses how the life settlement market is organized and regulated, and what challenges policy owners, investors, and others face in connection with life settlements. GAO reviewed and analyzed studies on life settlements and applicable state and federal laws; surveyed insurance regulators and life settlement providers; and interviewed relevant market participants, state and federal regulators, trade associations, and market observers."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) mandates GAO to review states' and localities' use of funds made available under the act. Currently, we are examining the efforts of selected states and local educational agencies (LEA) to ensure appropriate uses of Recovery Act funds. In North Carolina, we have been reviewing efforts undertaken by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI) and selected LEAs to administer and oversee the use of Recovery Act funds under the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF) education stabilization funds; Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA Title I), as amended; and Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), as amended. According to Education regulations, grant funds may only be used for allowable costs and reasonable fees or profit to cost-type contractors, and state and local governments must follow the cost principles set out in OMB Circular No. A-87 for determining allowable costs. North Carolina's Office of Economic Recovery & Investment (OERI) issued management directives regarding the use of Recovery Act funds for procurement of goods and services. According to state officials, …

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.

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In this two year program, UDC together with Armstrong World Industries, Professor Stephen Forrest (University of Michigan) and Professor Mark Thompson (University of Southern California) planned to develop and deliver high efficiency OLED lighting luminaires as part of an integrated ceiling illumination system that exceed the Department of Energy (DOE) 2010 performance projections. Specifically the UDC team in 2010 delivered two prototype OLED ceiling illumination systems, each consisting of four individual OLED lighting panels on glass integrated into Armstrong's novel TechZone open architecture ceiling systems, at an overall system efficacy of 51 lm/W, a CRI = 85 and a projected lifetime to 70% of initial luminance to exceed 10,000 hours. This accomplishment represents a 50% increase in luminaire efficacy and a factor of two in lifetime over that outlined in the solicitation. In addition, the team has also delivered one 15cm x 15cm lighting panel fabricated on a flexible metal foil substrate, demonstrating the possibility using OLEDs in a range of form factors. During this program, our Team has pursued the commercialization of these OLED based ceiling luminaires, with a goal to launch commercial products within the next three years. We have proven that our team is ideally suited to …

The 2010 Gordon Conference on Single-Molecule Approaches to Biology focuses on cutting-edge research in single-molecule science. Tremendous technical developments have made it possible to detect, identify, track, and manipulate single biomolecules in an ambient environment or even in a live cell. Single-molecule approaches have changed the way many biological problems are addressed, and new knowledge derived from these approaches continues to emerge. The ability of single-molecule approaches to avoid ensemble averaging and to capture transient intermediates and heterogeneous behavior renders them particularly powerful in elucidating mechanisms of biomolecular machines: what they do, how they work individually, how they work together, and finally, how they work inside live cells. The burgeoning use of single-molecule methods to elucidate biological problems is a highly multidisciplinary pursuit, involving both force- and fluorescence-based methods, the most up-to-date advances in microscopy, innovative biological and chemical approaches, and nanotechnology tools. This conference seeks to bring together top experts in molecular and cell biology with innovators in the measurement and manipulation of single molecules, and will provide opportunities for junior scientists and graduate students to present their work in poster format and to exchange ideas with leaders in the field. A number of excellent poster presenters will be …

5098-SR-02-0 PROJECT-SPECIFIC TYPE A VERIFICATION FOR THE HIGH FLUX BEAM REACTOR UNDERGROUND UTILITIES REMOVAL PHASE 2 DF WASTE LINE REMOVAL, BROOKHAVEN NATIONAL LABORATORY

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Individual raw datastreams from instrumentation at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility fixed and mobile sites are collected and sent to the Data Management Facility (DMF) at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) for processing in near real-time. Raw and processed data are then sent approximately daily to the ARM Archive, where they are made available to users. For each instrument, we calculate the ratio of the actual number of data records received daily at the Archive to the expected number of data records. The results are tabulated by (1) individual datastream, site, and month for the current year and (2) site and fiscal year (FY) dating back to 1998.

We discuss the results of SEM and TEM measurements with the BPRML test samples fabricated from a BPRML (WSi2/Si with fundamental layer thickness of 3 nm) with a Dual Beam FIB (focused ion beam)/SEM technique. In particular, we demonstrate that significant information about the metrological reliability of the TEM measurements can be extracted even when the fundamental frequency of the BPRML sample is smaller than the Nyquist frequency of the measurements. The measurements demonstrate a number of problems related to the interpretation of the SEM and TEM data. Note that similar BPRML test samples can be used to characterize x-ray microscopes. Corresponding work with x-ray microscopes is in progress.

Continuous, large-scale efforts to improve and develop third- and forth-generation synchrotron radiation light sources for unprecedented high-brightness, low emittance, and coherent x-ray beams demand diffracting and reflecting x-ray optics suitable for micro- and nano-focusing, brightness preservation, and super high resolution. One of the major impediments for development of x-ray optics with the required beamline performance comes from the inadequate present level of optical and at-wavelength metrology and insufficient integration of the metrology into the fabrication process and into beamlines. Based on our experience at the ALS Optical Metrology Laboratory, we review the experimental methods and techniques that allow us to mitigate significant optical metrology problems related to random, systematic, and drift errors with super-high-quality x-ray optics. Measurement errors below 0.2 mu rad have become routine. We present recent results from the ALS of temperature stabilized nano-focusing optics and dedicated at-wavelength metrology. The international effort to develop a next generation Optical Slope Measuring System (OSMS) to address these problems is also discussed. Finally, we analyze the remaining obstacles to further improvement of beamline x-ray optics and dedicated metrology, and highlight the ways we see to overcome the problems.

We overview the results of a broad US collaboration, including all DOE synchrotron labs (ALS, APS, BNL, NSLS-II, LLNL, LCLS), major industrial vendors of x-ray optics (InSync, Inc., SSG Precision Optronics-Tinsley, Inc., Optimax Systems, Inc.), and with active participation of HBZ-BESSY-II optics group, on development of a new generation slope measuring profiler -- the optical slope measuring system (OSMS). The desired surface slope measurement accuracy of the instrument is<50 nrad (absolute) that is adequate to the current and foreseeable future needs for metrology of x-ray optics for the next generation of light sources.

Test facilities for high-gradient superconducting RF cavities must be shielded for particle radiation, which is generated by field emitted electrons in the cavities. A major challenge for the shielding design is associated with uncertainty in modeling the field emission. In this work, a semi-empirical method that allows us to predict the intensity of the generated field emission is described. Spatial, angular and energy distributions of the generated radiation are calculated with the FISHPACT code. The Monte Carlo code MARS15 is used for modeling the radiation transport in matter. The detailed distributions of the generated field emission are used for studies with 9-cell 1.3 GHz superconducting RF cavities in the Fermilab Vertical Cavity Test Facility. This approach allows us to minimize the amount of shielding inside cryostat which is an essential operational feature.

A compact, versatile device for VUV beam characterization is presented. It combines the functionalities of a VUV spectrometer and a VUV beam profiler in one unit and is entirely supported by a standard DN200 CF flange. The spectrometer employs a silicon nitride transmission nanograting in combination with a micro-channel plate based imaging detector. This enables the simultaneous recording of wavelengths ranging from 10 nm to 80 nm with a resolution of 0.25 nm to 0.13 nm. Spatial beam profiles with diameters up to 10 mm are imaged with 0.1 mm resolution. The setup is equipped with an in-vacuum translation stage that allows for in situ switching between the spectrometer and beam profiler modes and for moving the setup out of the beam. The simple, robust design of the device is well suited for non-intrusive routine characterization of emerging laboratory- and accelerator-based VUV light sources. Operation of the device is demonstrated by characterizing the output of a femtosecond high-order harmonic generation light source.

This paper presents a summary of design and testing of material and composites for use in radioactive material packages. These materials provide thermal protection and provide structural integrity and energy absorption to the package during normal and hypothetical accident condition events as required by Title 10 Part 71 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Testing of packages comprising these materials is summarized.

This paper presents a summary of the design and testing of the containment vessel closure for the Bulk Tritium Shipping Package (BTSP). This package is a replacement for a package that has been used to ship tritium in a variety of content configurations and forms since the early 1970s. The containment vessel closure incorporates features specifically designed for the containment of tritium when subjected to the normal and hypothetical conditions required of Type B radioactive material shipping Packages. The paper discusses functional performance of the containment vessel closure of the BTSP prototype packages and separate testing that evaluated the performance of the metallic C-Rings used in a mock BTSP closure.

This paper presents the first control algorithm for the inner and outer strike point position for a Spherical Torus (ST) fusion experiment and the performance analysis of the controller. A liquid lithium divertor (LLD) will be installed on NSTX which is believed to provide better pumping than lithium coatings on carbon PFCs. The shape of the plasma dictates the pumping rate of the lithium by channeling the plasma to LLD, where strike point location is the most important shape parameter. Simulations show that the density reduction depends on the proximity of strike point to LLD. Experiments were performed to study the dynamics of the strike point, design a new controller to change the location of the strike point to desired location and stabilize it. The most effective PF coils in changing inner and outer strike points were identified using equilibrium code. The PF coil inputs were changed in a step fashion between various set points and the step response of the strike point position was obtained. From the analysis of the step responses, PID controllers for the strike points were obtained and the controller was tuned experimentally for better performance. The strike controller was extended to include the outer-strike point …

The comprehensive realization of the exciting advantages of new third- and forth-generation synchrotron radiation light sources requires concomitant development of reflecting and diffractive x-ray optics capable of micro- and nano-focusing, brightness preservation, and super high resolution. The fabrication, tuning, and alignment of the optics are impossible without adequate metrology instrumentation, methods, and techniques. While the accuracy of ex situ optical metrology at the Advanced Light Source (ALS) has reached a state-of-the-art level, wavefront control on beamlines is often limited by environmental and systematic alignment factors, and inadequate in situ feedback. At ALS beamline 5.3.1, we are developing broadly applicable, high-accuracy, in situ, at-wavelength wavefront measurement techniques to surpass 100-nrad slope measurement accuracy for Kirkpatrick-Baez (KB) mirrors. The at-wavelength methodology we are developing relies on a series of tests with increasing accuracy and sensitivity. Geometric Hartmann tests, performed with a scanning illuminated sub-aperture determine the wavefront slope across the full mirror aperture. Shearing interferometry techniques use coherent illumination and provide higher sensitivity wavefront measurements. Combining these techniques with high precision optical metrology and experimental methods will enable us to provide in situ setting and alignment of bendable x-ray optics to realize diffraction-limited, sub 50 nm focusing at beamlines. We describe here …

The two colliding beam experiments at the Tevatron proton-antiproton collider, CDF and D0, continue to publish world-leading measurements of CP Violation parameters in the B meson sector. I will present several recent results from both experiments, including measurements of direct CP violating parameters in decays of B{sup +}{sub u}, B{sup 0}{sub d} and B{sup 0}{sub s} mesons; a new D0 measurement of a{sup s}{sub sl} using time-dependent analysis of B{sub s} {yields} {mu}{sup +}{nu}D{sup -}{sub s}X decays; and the latest Tevatron combination of the CP violating phase {beta}{sub s}, measured in the 'golden mode' B{sub s} {yields} J/{psi}{phi}.

The dynamics of electronically excited helium nanodroplets are studied by femtosecond time-resolved photoelectron imaging. EUV excitation into a broad absorption band centered around 23.8 eV leads to an indirect photoemission process that generates ultraslow photoelectrons. A 1.58 eV probe pulse transiently depletes the indirect photoemission signal for pump-probe time delays <200 fs and enhances the signal beyond this delay. The depletion is due to suppression of the indirect ionization process by the probe photon, which generates a broad, isotropically emitted photoelectron band. Similar time scales in the decay of the high energy photoelectron signal and the enhancement of the indirect photoemission signal suggest an internal relaxation process that populates states in the range of a lower energy droplet absorption band located just below the droplet ionization potential (IP {approx} 23.0 eV). A nearly 70% enhancement of the ultraslow photoelectron signal indicates that interband relaxation plays a more dominant role for the droplet de-excitation mechanism than photoemission.

A weekly publication, the Texas Register serves as the journal of state agency rulemaking for Texas. Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents such as requests for proposals. After adoption, these rulemaking actions are codified into the Texas Administrative Code.