Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)--two joint federal-state health care programs for low-income families and children--play a critical role in addressing the health care needs of children. In 2008, more than 36 million children in the United States received health care coverage through Medicaid or CHIP. Like all children, children covered by Medicaid and CHIP may have health care conditions that could warrant care from primary care or specialist providers. At the same time, a significant number of children in Medicaid and CHIP may not be receiving basic preventive care, which these programs generally cover. For example, we reported in 2009 that, on the basis of parents' reports in national surveys, about 40 percent of children in Medicaid and CHIP had not had a well-child checkup over a 2-year period. Many state Medicaid and CHIP programs and other health care purchasers have started initiatives to improve care coordination for children and provide children with access to networks of care. For the purposes of this report, care coordination is broadly defined as a process in which an individual or group helps to arrange a patient's primary and …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Navy determined that its current hospital on Guam does not meet modern facility standards. Moreover, the military population on Guam is expected to grow from 15,000 to over 39,000 due to DOD plans to move Marine Corps units from Okinawa, Japan to Guam and expand other on- island capabilities. The Navy plans to construct a new hospital and two outpatient clinics as part of its facility solution to replace the current hospital and accommodate additional health care requirements. This report (1) describes the Navy's plans for developing its military treatment facility solution to meet the expected increases in the military population on Guam, and (2) examines the extent to which the Navy is assured that its proposed military treatment facility solution on Guam will sufficiently meet the requirements for the expected increase in military population. To address these objectives, GAO reviewed documentation including the Navy's plans for its military treatment facility solution and interviewed key officials within the Military Health System"

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has undertaken various planning efforts to realign its real property portfolio, including the Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services (CARES), creation of a 5-year capital plan, and its newest effort, the Strategic Capital Investment Planning process (SCIP). Through these efforts, VA has identified numerous real property priorities it believes should be completed if the agency's facilities are to meet veterans' needs for services now and in the future. In January 2011, GAO reported on the extent to which VA's capital planning efforts (1) have resulted in changes to its real property portfolio and (2) follow leading practices and provide information for informed decision making. This statement summarizes the results of this report. To perform the work for the report, GAO reviewed leading capital planning practices and data on VA's real property portfolio and future priorities. GAO also interviewed VA officials and veterans service organizations and visited sites in 5 of VA's 21 veterans integrated service networks."

Free weekly newspaper that includes business and classified advertising.

Free weekly newspaper that includes business and classified advertising.

This report discusses the recent political instability in Côte d'Ivoire, which has surfaced most recently in February 2011, and stems from a contested November 28, 2010 presidential election. This report discusses background information on Côte d'Ivoire's long struggle toward peace, political stability, and democratic governance. It also addresses U.S. interests regarding Côte d'Ivoire's stability and democratic progress.

This report includes background on the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) program, which is is currently being developed by the Army and the Marine Corps as a successor to the 11 different versions of the High Mobility, Multi-Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) that have been in service since 1985. It includes a discussion of recent program activities, foreign participants, budgetary issues, and potential issues for Congress.

This report presents scientific and technical aspects of human health issues related to the damage to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) caused by the Japanese earthquake and tsunami of March 2011. It includes an appendix of useful links.

The massive Tohoku earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011, caused extensive damage in northeastern Japan, including damage to the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power installation, which resulted in the release of radiation. This report discusses concerns about the potential effects of this released radiation on the U.S. marine environment and resources.

The report discusses the role of levees in flood risk reduction, the shared responsibilities for levees in the United States, and the role of three agencies: FEMA, the Corps, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). It also discusses federal assistance for levees, describes the debate about whether levees investments have a role in federal flood mitigation programs, and compares Corps, FEMA, and NRCS activities and authorities. Finally, the report outlines policy options for locally-operated levees that might be considered by the 112th Congress. Legislative proposals in the 111th Congress are discussed in an Appendix.

Daily student newspaper from the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas that includes local, state, and campus news along with advertising.

FACET, the Facility for Advanced Accelerator and Experimental Tests, is a new facility being constructed in sector 20 of the SLAC linac primarily to study beam driven plasma wakefield acceleration. The FACET beamline consists of a chicane and final focus system to compress the 23 GeV, 3.2 nC electron bunches to {approx}20 {micro}m long and {approx}10 {micro}m wide. Simulations of the FACET beamline indicate the short-duration and large, 1.5% rms energy spread beams may suffer a factor of four emittance growth from a combination of chromaticity, incoherent synchrotron radiation (ISR), and coherent synchrotron radiation (CSR). Emittance growth is directly correlated to head erosion in plasma wakefield acceleration and is a limiting factor in single stage performance. Studies of the geometric, CSR, and ISR components are presented. Numerical calculation of the rms emittance can be overwhelmed by long tails in the simulated phase space distributions; more useful definitions of emittance are given. A complete simulation of the beamline is presented as well, which agrees with design specifications.

The Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL) at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory is a 234 m circumference storage ring for 3 GeV electrons with its synchrotron radiation serving currently 13 beamlines with about 27 experimental stations. It operated for long time with 100 mA peak current provided by usually three injections per day. In July 2009, the maximum beam current was raised to 200 mA. Over the period from June 2009 to March 2010, Top-Off operation started at every beamline. Top-Off, i.e., the injection of electrons into the storage ring with injection stoppers open, is necessary for SSRL to reach its design current of 500 mA. In the future, the maximal power of the injection current will also soon be raised from currently 1.5 W to 5 W. The Radiation Protection Department at SLAC worked with SSRL on the specifications for the safety systems for operation with Top-Off injection and higher beam currents.

A new method that explores turn-by-turn BPM data to calibrate lattice models of accelerators is proposed. The turn-by-turn phase space coordinates at one location of the ring are first established using data from two BPMs separated by a simple section with a known transfer matrix, such as a drift space. The phase space coordinates are then tracked with the model to predict positions at other BPMs, which can be compared to measurements. The model is adjusted to minimize the difference between the measured and predicted orbit data. BPM gains and rolls are included as fitting variables. This technique can be applied to either the entire or a section of the ring. We have tested the method experimentally on a part of the SPEAR3 ring.

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Beam lifetime studies for the SPEAR3 storage ring are presented. The three lifetime components are separated with lifetime measurements under various combinations of beam currents and fill patterns and vertical scraper scans. Touschek lifetime is studied with rf voltage scans and with the horizontal or vertical scrapers inserted. The measurements are explained with calculations based on the calibrated lattice model. Quantum lifetime measurements are performed with reduced longitudinal and horizontal apertures, respectively, from which we deduce the radiation energy loss down to a few keV per revolution and the horizontal beam size.

Fast cameras already installed on the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) have be equipped with near-infrared (NIR) filters in order to measure the surface temperature in the lower divertor region. Such a system provides a unique combination of high speed (> 50 kHz) and wide fi eld-of-view (> 50% of the divertor). Benchtop calibrations demonstrated the system's ability to measure thermal emission down to 330 oC. There is also, however, signi cant plasma light background in NSTX. Without improvements in background reduction, the current system is incapable of measuring signals below the background equivalent temperature (600 - 700 oC). Thermal signatures have been detected in cases of extreme divertor heating. It is observed that the divertor can reach temperatures around 800 oC when high harmonic fast wave (HHFW) heating is used. These temperature profiles were fi t using a simple heat diffusion code, providing a measurement of the heat flux to the divertor. Comparisons to other infrared thermography systems on NSTX are made.

Z{sub eff}, a parameter representing an 'effective atomic number' for a material, plays an important role in the Electronic Baggage Scanning Program (EBSP) to detect threats in dual-energy computed tomography (CT) baggage-scanning systems. We believe that Z{sub eff}, as defined and used on this program, does not provide the accurate representation of a material's x-ray absorption properties that is needed by the EBSP. We present the case for a new method that defines an effective atomic number for compounds and mixtures, which we refer to as Z{sub e}. Unlike Z{sub eff}, Z{sub e} is tied by definition to the x-ray absorption properties of each specific material. Use of this alternative will provide a more accurate scale for calibrating Micro-CT and EDS systems against standard reference materials and will provide a more accurate physical characterization of the x-ray properties of materials evaluated on those systems. This document: (1) Describes the current usage of the Z{sub eff} parameter; (2) Details problems entailed in the use of the Z{sub eff} parameter; (3) Proposes a well-defined alternative - Z{sub e}; (4) Proposes and demonstrates an algorithm for optimally associating Z{sub e} with any specified compound or mixture; (5) Discusses issues that can impact the …

Email from David Taffet to Evans Harris discussing the GLBT history of Dallas possibly being televised.

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The federal government, often in concert with states, provides assistance to millions of individuals and families each year through a multiplicity of programs. These programs play a key role in supporting workers who have lost their jobs, families with low-incomes, and vulnerable children who have experienced abuse and neglect. However, given the fiscal pressures facing the federal government and the continued demands placed on assistance programs, it is critical that programs designed to serve those most in need provide benefits and services as effectively and efficiently as possible. In light of concerns about fragmentation, duplication, and overlap in government programs, this testimony addresses: (1) the key characteristics of some programs and tax expenditures that provide assistance to individuals and families; (2) problems in administering and providing services through multiple programs; and (3) actions that may help address these problems. We focused on programs under the jurisdiction of the Subcommittee of Human Resources and some related programs and tax expenditures for children and working-age adults; we developed an illustrative but not all-inclusive list of these programs. We relied on work conducted between 2001 and 2011, which employed an array …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2007 GAO reported on concerns with the independence and effectiveness of the Department of State Inspector General (State OIG). GAO was asked to provide testimony on the issues we raised and the status of recommendations made to the State OIG in that report. This testimony focuses on the importance of auditor and IG independence, GAO's prior concerns with the State OIG's independence and effectiveness, and the status of OIG actions to address GAO's recommendations. The testimony is primarily based on GAO's 2007 report conducted in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards, as well as the activities conducted to follow up on the status of our previous recommendations."

This report analyzes the constitutional issues associated with standing (a restraint on the power of federal courts to render decisions), specifically related to cases arising under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment regarding religion. It provides a background on the doctrine of standing, including the U.S. Supreme Court's interpretation of various types of standing: standing to sue as a citizen, as a taxpayer, and on behalf of another party. It also examines the current standing rules related to the Establishment Clause.

Daily newspaper from Sweetwater, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

A key problem in making precise perturbative QCD predictions is the uncertainty in determining the renormalization scale of the running coupling {alpha}{sub s}({mu}{sup 2}). It is common practice to guess a physical scale {mu} = Q which is of order of a typical momentum transfer Q in the process, and then vary the scale over a range Q/2 and 2Q. This procedure is clearly problematic since the resulting fixed-order pQCD prediction will depend on the renormalization scheme, and it can even predict negative QCD cross sections at next-to-leading-order. Other heuristic methods to set the renormalization scale, such as the 'principle of minimal sensitivity', give unphysical results for jet physics, sum physics into the running coupling not associated with renormalization, and violate the transitivity property of the renormalization group. Such scale-setting methods also give incorrect results when applied to Abelian QED. Note that the factorization scale in QCD is introduced to match nonperturbative and perturbative aspects of the parton distributions in hadrons; it is present even in conformal theory and thus is a completely separate issue from renormalization scale setting. The PMC provides a consistent method for determining the renormalization scale in pQCD. The PMC scale-fixed prediction is independent of the …