A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Drinking water in some metropolitan areas contains concentrations of pharmaceuticals, raising concerns about their potential impact on human health. The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate contaminants, including pharmaceuticals, in public drinking water systems if they may adversely affect human health among other criteria. Pharmaceuticals may enter drinking water supplies from several pathways, including discharge from wastewater facilities. GAO was asked to provide information on the (1) extent to which pharmaceuticals occur in drinking water and their effects, if any, on human health; (2) U.S. and other countries' approaches to reducing their occurrence; and (3) challenges, if any, that EPA faces in determining whether to regulate pharmaceuticals. GAO reviewed federal and peer-reviewed reports, and surveyed a nonprobability sample of five U.S. programs designed to properly dispose of pharmaceuticals. We selected these programs based on geographic diversity and program characteristics. We also researched such programs in two countries, and interviewed scientists and agency officials."

This report discusses the reasons that Iran is considered a threat to U.S. security, including Iran's nuclear program, involvement with terrorist organizations, and involvement with neighboring countries' local governments. The report also discusses ways which the U.S. hopes to modify Iran's behavior with sanctions, and the effectiveness of these sanctions.

This report provides an overview of Arctic-related issues for Congress, and refers readers to more in-depth CRS reports on specific Arctic-related issues. Congressional readers with questions about an issue discussed in this report should contact the author or authors of the section discussing that issue. The authors are identified by footnote at the start of each section.

This report discusses Pakistan's nuclear proliferation and security issues. It discusses the steps that could enable Pakistan to undertake both quantitative and qualitative improvements to its nuclear arsenal. Whether and to what extent Pakistan's current expansion of its nuclear weapons-related facilities is a response to the 2008 U.S.-India nuclear cooperation agreement is unclear.

This report describes nine rules in seven categories that are at the core of recent critical analyses, with background on the rule and its requirements and, where possible, a discussion of the rule's potential costs and benefits.

Epitaxial thin films of the half-metallic X{sub a}-compound Mn{sub 2}CoGa (Hg{sub 2}CuTi prototype) were prepared by dc magnetron co-sputtering with different heat treatments on MgO (001) substrates. High-quality #12;lms with a bulk magnetization of 1.95(5) {mu}{sub #22;}B per unit cell were obtained. The average Mn magnetic moment and the Co moment are parallel, in agreement with theory. The x-ray magnetic circular dichroism spectra agree with calculations based on density functional theory and reveal the antiparallel alignment of the two inequivalent Mn moments. X-ray magnetic linear dichroism allows to distinguish between itinerant and localized Mn moments. It is shown that one of the two Mn moments has localized character, whereas the other Mn moment and the Co moment are itinerant.

Impact of Ar gas pressure (1-4 mTorr) on the growth of amorphous interlayers in Mo/Si multilayers deposited by magnetron sputtering was investigated by small-angle x-ray scattering ({lambda} = 0.154 nm) and methods of cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy. Some reduction of thickness of the amorphous inter-layers with Ar pressure increase was found, while composition of the layers was enriched with molybdenum. The interface modification resulted in raise of EUV reflectance of the Mo/Si multilayers.

The immobilization of radioactive waste into glass waste forms is a baseline process of nuclear waste management not only in the United States, but worldwide. The rate of radionuclide release from these glasses is a critical measure of the quality of the waste form. Over long-term tests and using extrapolations of ancient analogues, it has been shown that well designed glasses exhibit a dissolution rate that quickly decreases to a slow residual rate for the lifetime of the glass. The mechanistic cause of this decreased corrosion rate is a subject of debate, with one of the major theories suggesting that the decrease is caused by the formation of corrosion products in such a manner as to present a diffusion barrier on the surface of the glass. Although there is much evidence of this type of mechanism, there has been no attempt to engineer the effect to maximize the passivating qualities of the corrosion products. This study represents the first attempt to engineer the creation of passivating phases on the surface of glasses. Our approach utilizes interactions between the dissolving glass and elements from the disposal environment to create impermeable capping layers. By drawing from other corrosion studies in areas where …

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

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Social Security Disability Insurance and Veterans Disability Compensation- administered by the Social Security Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs respectively- are two of the largest federal disability programs, but strongly differ along several dimensions, including the populations served, how each program defines a "disability," as well as varying eligibility requirements. This report provides a description and comparative analysis of the Social Security Disability Administration and the Veterans Disability Compensation program claims.

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This article presents the biological effects of a novel hydrogel based quantum dot nano-structure on E. coli bacteria.

Recording of Muneem Dawar reciting the story of "Ghawu Kanguli"

Funeral program for Andrea Tyrance-Fernandez, born November 14, 1972 and died July 28, 2011. The funeral was held August 8, 2011 at Redeeming Grace Christian Church, officiated by Rev. Gary C. Patterson. Funeral arrangements were made through Lewis Funeral Home and she was buried in Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, near San Antonio, Texas.

Daily publication of the U.S. Office of the Federal Register contains rules and regulations, proposed legislation and rule changes, and other notices, including "Presidential proclamations and Executive Orders, Federal agency documents having general applicability and legal effect, documents required to be published by act of Congress, and other Federal agency documents of public interest" (p. ii). Table of Contents starts on page iii.

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