A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA) directed the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop a program to give physicians confidential feedback on the resources used to provide care to Medicare beneficiaries. In response, HHS's Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has established and implemented the Physician Feedback Program by distributing feedback reports to an increasing number of physicians that provided data on resources used and the quality of care. MIPPA mandated that GAO conduct a study of this program. To address this mandate, GAO identified (1) methodological challenges CMS faces in developing feedback reports and approaches CMS has tested to address them and (2) challenges CMS faces in distributing feedback reports and CMS's plans to address them. GAO interviewed CMS officials and representatives from the program contractor and reviewed relevant documentation."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has a demanding responsibility enforcing banking laws, regulating financial institutions, and protecting depositors. Because of the importance of FDIC's work, effective information security controls are essential to ensure that the corporation's systems and information are adequately protected from inadvertent misuse, fraudulent use, or improper disclosure. As part of its audits of the 2010 financial statements of the Deposit Insurance Fund and the Federal Savings & Loan Insurance Corporation Resolution Fund administrated by FDIC, GAO assessed the effectiveness of the corporation's controls in protecting the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of its financial systems and information. To perform the audit, GAO examined security policies, procedures, reports, and other documents; tested controls over key financial applications; and interviewed key FDIC personnel."

This document provides information on the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) area and regional office locations.

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 Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents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.

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Construction of section 7.103(c), Education Code, regarding the eligibility of a registered lobbyist for membership on the State Board of Education (RQ-0948-GA)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Responsibility for an individual who is the subject of an emergency detention order (RQ-0952-GA)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Authority of an independent school district to defray the legal expenses of an administator who files an action for deformation (RQ-0953-GA)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Whether a law enforcement agency is required to furnish information about alleged child abuse or neglected by a person responsible for the child's care, custody, or welfare to the Departmetn of Family and Protective Services (RQ-0957-GA)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Whether a member of the Legislature may serve as the state chairman of a political party (RQ-0965-GA)

None

To minimize emittance growth in a long linac, it is necessary to control the wakefields by correcting the beam orbit excursions. In addition, the particle energy is made to vary along the length of the bunch to introduce a damping, known as the BNS damping, to the beam break-up effect. In this paper, we use a two-particle model to examine the relative magnitudes of the various orbit and dispersion functions involved. The results are applied to calculate the effect of a closed orbit bump and a misaligned structure. It is shown that wake-induced dispersion is an important contribution to the beam dynamics in long linacs with strong wakefields like SLC.

We report the observation of the decay B{sup -} {yields} D{sub s}{sup (*)+} K{sup -}{ell}{sup -}{bar {nu}}{sub {ell}} based on 342 fb{sup -1} of data collected at the {Upsilon}(4S) resonance with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II e{sup +}e{sup -} storage rings at SLAC. A simultaneous fit to three D{sub s}{sup +} decay chains is performed to extract the signal yield from measurements of the squared missing mass in the B meson decay. We observe the decay B{sup -} {yields} D{sub s}{sup (*)+} K{sup -}{ell}{sup -}{bar {nu}}{sub {ell}} with a significance greater than five standard deviations (including systematic uncertainties) and measure its branching fraction to be {Beta}(B{sup -} {yields} D{sub s}{sup (*)+} K{sup -}{ell}{sup -}{bar {nu}}{sub {ell}}) = [6.13{sub -1.03}{sup +1.04}(stat.) {+-} 0.43(syst.) {+-} 0.51({Beta}(D{sub s}))] x 10{sup -4}, where the last error reflects the limited knowledge of the D{sub s} branching fractions.

We introduce field theory techniques through which the deconfinement transition of four-dimensional Yang-Mills theory can be moved to a semi-classical domain where it becomes calculable using two-dimensional field theory. We achieve this through a double-trace deformation of toroidally compactified Yang-Mills theory on R{sup 2} x S{sub L}{sup 1} x S{sub {beta}}{sup 1}. At large N, fixed-L, and arbitrary {beta}, the thermodynamics of the deformed theory is equivalent to that of ordinary Yang-Mills theory at leading order in the large N expansion. At fixed-N, small L and a range of {beta}, the deformed theory maps to a two-dimensional theory with electric and magnetic (order and disorder) perturbations, analogs of which appear in planar spin-systems and statistical physics. We show that in this regime the deconfinement transition is driven by the competition between electric and magnetic perturbations in this two-dimensional theory. This appears to support the scenario proposed by Liao and Shuryak regarding the magnetic component of the quark-gluon plasma at RHIC.

Diffraction from the individual molecules of a molecular beam, aligned parallel to a single axis by a strong electric field or other means, has been proposed as a means of structure determination of individual molecules. As in fiber diffraction, all the information extractable is contained in a diffraction pattern from incidence of the diffracting beam normal to the molecular alignment axis. We present two methods of structure solution for this case. One is based on the iterative projection algorithms for phase retrieval applied to the coefficients of the cylindrical harmonic expansion of the molecular electron density. Another is the holographic approach utilizing presence of the strongly scattering reference atom for a specific molecule.

A brief review of the experimental situation concerning the electrically charged charmoniumlike meson candidates, Z{sup -}, is presented. The Belle Collaboration reported peaks in the {psi}{prime}{pi}{sup -} and {chi}{sub c1}{pi}{sup -} invariant mass distributions in B {yields} {psi}{prime}{pi}{sup -}K and B {yields} {chi}{sub c1}{pi}{sup -}K, respectively. If these peaks are meson resonances, they would have a minimal quark substructure of c{bar c}d{bar u} and be unmistakeably exotic. However, even though the Belle signals have more than 5{sigma} statistical significance, the experimental situation remains uncertain in that none of these peaks have yet been confirmed by other experiments. An analysis by the BABAR Collaboration of B {yields} {psi}{prime}{pi}{sup -}K neither confirms nor contradicts the Belle claim for the Z(4430){sup -} {yields} {psi}{prime}{pi}{sup -}. In the BABAR analysis, B {yields} J/{psi}{pi}{sup -}K decays were also studied, and no evidence for Z(4430){sup -} {yields} J/{psi}{pi}{sup -} was found. In this paper, we review and compare Belle and BABAR results on searches for charged charmonium-like states.

In e{sup +}e{sup -} collisions, transverse beam polarization can be a useful tool in studying the properties of particles associated with new physics beyond the Standard Model(SM). However, unlike in the case of measurements associated with longitudinal polarization, the formation of azimuthal asymmetries used to probe this physics in the case of transverse polarization requires both e{sup {+-}} beams to be simultaneously polarized. In this paper we discuss the further use of transverse polarization as a probe of new physics models at a high energy, {radical}s = 3 TeV version of CLIC. In particular, we show (i) how measurements of the sign of these asymmetries is sufficient to discriminate the production of spin-0 supersymmetric states from the spin-1/2 Kaluza-Klein excitations of Universal Extra Dimensions. Simultaneously, the contribution to this asymmetry arising from the potentially large SM W{sup +}W{sup -} background can be made negligibly small. We then show (ii) how measurements of such asymmetries and their associated angular distributions on the peak of a new resonant Z{prime}-like state can be used to extract precision information on the Z{prime} couplings to the SM fermions.

The first search for supersymmetry from ATLAS with 70 nb{sup -1} of integrated luminosity extends the Tevatron's reach for colored particles that decay into jets plus missing transverse energy. For gluinos that decay directly or through a one step cascade into the LSP and two jets, the mass range m{sub {bar g}} {le} 205 GeV is disfavored by the ATLAS searches, regardless of the mass of the LSP. In some cases the coverage extends up to m{sub {bar g}} {approx_equal} 295 GeV, already surpassing the Tevatron's reach for compressed supersymmetry spectra.

Low energy ultrahigh momentum resolution angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy study on four-layer self-doped high T{sub c} superconductor Ba{sub 2}Ca{sub 3}Cu{sub 4}O{sub 8}F{sub 2} (F0234) revealed fine structure in the band dispersion, identifying the unconventional association of hole and electron doping with the inner and outer CuO{sub 2} layers, respectively. For the states originating from two inequivalent CuO{sub 2} layers, different energy scales are observed in dispersion kinks associated with the collective mode coupling, with the larger energy scale found in the electron (n-) doped state which also has stronger coupling strength. Given the earlier finding that the superconducting gap is substantially larger along the n-type Fermi surface, our observations connect the mode coupling energy and strength with magnitude of the pairing gap.

We measure the penetration depth {lambda}{sub ab}(T) in Ba(Fe{sub 1-x}Co{sub x}){sub 2}As{sub 2} using local techniques that do not average over the sample. The superfluid density {rho}{sub s}(T) {triple_bond} 1/{lambda}{sub ab}(T){sup 2} has three main features. First, {rho}{sub s}(T = 0) falls sharply on the underdoped side of the dome. Second, {lambda}{sub ab}(T) is flat at low T at optimal doping, indicating fully gapped superconductivity, but varies more strongly in underdoped and overdoped samples, consistent with either a power law or a small second gap. Third, {rho}{sub s}(T) varies steeply near T{sub c} for optimal and underdoping. These observations are consistent with an interplay between magnetic and superconducting phases.

We extend our previous studies of the neutrino fluxes expected from neutralino LSP annihilations inside the Sun to include variants of the minimal supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model (MSSM) with squark, slepton and gaugino masses constrained to be universal at the GUT scale, but allowing one or two non-universal supersymmetry-breaking parameters contributing to the Higgs masses (NUHM1,2). As in the constrained MSSM (CMSSM) with universal Higgs masses, there are large regions of the NUHM parameter space where the LSP density inside the Sun is not in equilibrium, so that the annihilation rate may be far below the capture rate, and there are also large regions where the capture rate is not dominated by spin-dependent LSP-proton scattering. The spectra possible in the NUHM are qualitatively similar to those in the CMSSM. We calculate neutrino-induced muon fluxes above a threshold energy of 10 GeV, appropriate for the IceCube/DeepCore detector, for points where the NUHM yields the correct cosmological relic density for representative choices of the NUHM parameters. We find that the IceCube/DeepCore detector can probe regions of the NUHM parameter space in addition to analogues of the focus-point strip and the tip of the coannihilation strip familiar from the CMSSM. These …

We examine the implications of the recent CDF measurement of the top-quark forward-backward asymmetry, focusing on a scenario with a new color octet vector boson at 1-3 TeV. We study several models, as well as a general effective field theory, and determine the parameter space which provides the best simultaneous fit to the CDF asymmetry, the Tevatron top pair production cross section, and the exclusion regions from LHC dijet resonance and contact interaction searches. Flavor constraints on these models are more subtle and less severe than the literature indicates. We find a large region of allowed parameter space at high axigluon mass and a smaller region at low mass; we match the latter to an SU(3){sub 1} x SU(3){sub 2}/SU(3){sub c} coset model with a heavy vector-like fermion. Our scenario produces discoverable effects at the LHC with only 1-2 inverse femtobarns of luminosity at 7-8 TeV. Lastly, we point out that a Tevatron measurement of the b-quark forward-backward asymmetry would be very helpful in characterizing the physics underlying the top-quark asymmetry.

A new jet observable, dipolarity, is introduced that can distinguish whether a pair of subjets arises from a color singlet source. This observable is incorporated into the HEPTopTagger and is shown to improve discrimination between top jets and QCD jets for moderate to high p{sub T}. The impressive resolution of the ATLAS and CMS detectors means that a typical QCD jet at the LHC deposits energy in {Omicron}(10-100) calorimeter cells. Such fine-grained calorimetry allows for jets to be studied in much greater detail than previously, with sophisticated versions of current techniques making it possible to measure more than just the bulk properties of jets (e.g. event jet multiplicities or jet masses). One goal of the LHC is to employ these techniques to extend the amount of information available from each jet, allowing for a broader probe of the properties of QCD. The past several years have seen significant progress in developing such jet substructure techniques. A number of general purpose tools have been developed, including: (i) top-tagging algorithms designed for use at both lower and higher p{sub T} as well as (ii) jet grooming techniques such as filtering, pruning, and trimming, which are designed to improve jet mass resolution. Jet …

The U.S. Department of Energy conducts radiological operations in south-central Washington State. Population dose estimates must be performed to provide a measure of the impact from site radiological releases. Results of the U.S. 2010 Census were used to determine counts and distributions for the residential population located within 50-miles of several operating areas of the Hanford Site. Year 2010 was the first census year that a 50-mile population of a Hanford Site operational area exceeded the half-million mark.

The derived concentration guideline level (DCGL) is the allowable residual radionuclide concentration that can remain in soil after remediation of the site without radiological restrictions on the use of the site. It is sometimes called the single radionuclide soil guideline or the soil cleanup criteria. This report documents the methodology, scenarios, and parameters used in the analysis to support establishing radionuclide DCGLs for Argonne National Laboratory's Building 310 area.