Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In summary, based on our work to date, we have found that"

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For the third consecutive year, the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Federal Housing Administration (FHA) reported that the capital ratio for the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund—the ratio of the fund’s economic value to insurance obligations—has not met the 2 percent statutory minimum. FHA cites declines in the fund’s economic value due to higher-than-expected defaults, claims, and losses. At the same time, the other component of the ratio, insurance obligations, grew rapidly. The fund’s condition also worsened from a budgetary perspective, with balances in the fund’s capital reserve account reaching new lows. If the account were depleted, FHA would require more funds to help cover costs on insurance issued to date. FHA has indicated that it will narrowly avoid this scenario in fiscal year 2012. FHA enhanced methods for assessing the fund’s financial condition but has not fully addressed GAO’s 2010 recommendation for improving the reliability of its estimates. It relies on a single economic forecast, which does not fully account for variability in future house prices and interest rates. The approach GAO recommended would simulate numerous economic paths for house prices and interest rates would improve …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) and Department of Transportation (DOT) and Department of Energy (DOE) guidance require officials to check for duplication prior to filing a charter to establish a new or renew an existing FACA advisory group. However, GAO found that DOT and DOE’s processes for assessing duplication are often informal, and neither agency has specific steps identified for making such an assessment. Using an informal approach without specific steps makes it more likely that agency assessments for duplication will be inconsistent or incomplete. In addition, while basic information about the 15 DOT and 21 DOE fiscal year 2010 FACA advisory groups is publicly available in the FACA database, including designated points of contact and the objectives of the groups, no such information is readily available for non-FACA advisory groups. This limits the agencies’ ability to fully assess the universe of advisory groups for particular topic areas. DOT and DOE officials faced some challenges identifying and collecting information for the 19 DOT and 33 DOE non-FACA advisory groups GAO reviewed, relying on various sources and Internet searches to gather basic information, since neither agency maintains …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) has taken steps to enhance its existing training program for contracting officer’s representatives (CORs), but the required training does not fully prepare them to perform their contract oversight duties in contingency areas such as Afghanistan. DOD requires that CORs be qualified by training and experience commensurate with the responsibilities to be delegated to them. DOD took several actions to enhance its training program, such as developing a CORs training course with a focus on contingency operations. However, GAO found that CORs are not prepared to oversee contracts because the required training does not include specifics on how to complete written statements of work and how to operate in Afghanistan’s unique contracting environment. For example, DOD contracting personnel told GAO about opening delays and additional expenses related to the construction of a dining facility, which was originally constructed without a kitchen because it was not included in the original statement of work. In some cases, contract-specific training was not provided at all. In addition, not all oversight personnel such as commanders and senior leaders receive training to perform contract oversight and management …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense’s (DOD) evolving strategy for meeting airborne electronic attack requirements centers on acquiring a family of systems, including traditional fixed wing aircraft, low observable aircraft, unmanned aerial systems, and related mission systems and weapons. DOD analyses dating back a decade have identified capability gaps and provided a basis for service investments, but budget realities and lessons learned from operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have driven changes in strategic direction and program content. Most notably, DOD canceled some acquisitions, after which the services revised their operating concepts for airborne electronic attack. These decisions saved money, allowing DOD to fund other priorities, but reduced the planned level of synergy among systems during operations. As acquisition plans have evolved, capability limitations and sustainment challenges facing existing systems have grown, prompting the department to invest in system improvements to mitigate shortfalls."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "HUD has made progress in implementing prior GAO recommendations on modernizing its IT environment; however more actions are needed. In 2009, GAO reported that HUD lacked key IT management controls; which are essential to achieving successful outcomes. Specifically,"

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Funding the Nation’s Transportation System:"

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The total estimated cost of the Department of Defense’s (DOD) 2011 portfolio of 96 major defense acquisition programs stands at $1.58 trillion. In the past year, the total acquisition cost of these programs has grown by over $74.4 billion or 5 percent, of which about $31.1 billion can be attributed to factors such as inefficiencies in production, $29.6 billion to quantity changes, and $13.7 billion to research and development cost growth. DOD’s portfolio is dominated by a small number of programs, with the Joint Strike Fighter accounting for the most cost growth in the last year, and the largest projected future funding needs. The majority of the programs in the portfolio have lost buying power in the last year as their program acquisition unit costs have increased. The number of programs in the portfolio has decreased from 98 to 96 in the past year and, looking forward, is projected to decrease again next fiscal year to its lowest level since 2004."

Free weekly newspaper that includes business and classified advertising.

Free weekly newspaper that includes business and classified advertising.

Weekly newspaper from Port Aransas, Texas on Mustang Island that includes local, state and national news along with extensive advertising.

Interview with Vivian Castleberry,a journalist in Dallas, Texas. The interview includes biographical information about her life growing up, her educational background, family life raising her children, and her international peace work. She also discusses her career at The Dallas Times Herald and the field of journalism.

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As facilities look for permanent storage of toxic materials, they are forced to address the long-term impacts to the environment as well as any individuals living in affected area. As these materials are stored underground, modeling of the contaminant transport through the ground is an essential part of the evaluation. The contaminant transport model must address the long-term degradation of the containment system as well as any movement of the contaminant through the soil and into the groundwater. In order for disposal facilities to meet their performance objectives, engineered and natural barriers are relied upon. Engineered barriers include things like the design of the disposal unit, while natural barriers include things like the depth of soil between the disposal unit and the water table. The Saltstone Disposal Facility (SDF) at the Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina is an example of a waste disposal unit that must be evaluated over a timeframe of thousands of years. The engineered and natural barriers for the SDF allow it to meet its performance objective over the long time frame. Some waste disposal facilities are required to meet certain standards to ensure public safety. These type of facilities require an engineered containment system …

The physics of coherent synchrotron radiation (CSR) emitted by ultra-relativistic electron bunches, known since the last century, has become increasingly important with the development of high peak current free electron lasers and shorter bunch lengths in storage rings. Coherent radiation can be described as a low frequency part of the familiar synchrotron radiation in bending magnets. As this part is independent of the electron energy, the fields of different electrons of a short bunch can be in phase and the total power of the radiation will be quadratic with the number of electrons. Naturally the frequency spectrum of the longitudinal electron distribution in a bunch is of the same importance as the overall electron bunch length. The interest in the utilization of high power radiation from the terahertz and far infrared region in the field of chemical, physical and biological processes has led synchrotron radiation facilities to pay more attention to the production of coherent radiation. Several laboratories have proposed the construction of a facility wholly dedicated to terahertz production using the coherent radiation in bending magnets initiated by the longitudinal instabilities in the ring. Existing synchrotron radiation facilities also consider such a possibility among their future plans. There is …

We report the detection of {gamma}-ray pulsations ({ge}0.1 GeV) from PSR J2229+6114 and PSR J1048-5832, the latter having been detected as a low-significance pulsar by EGRET. Data in the {gamma}-ray band were acquired by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) aboard the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, while the radio rotational ephemerides used to fold the {gamma}-ray light curves were obtained using the Green Bank Telescope, the Lovell telescope at Jodrell Bank, and the Parkes Telescope. The two young radio pulsars, located within the error circles of the previously unidentified EGRET sources 3EG J1048-5840 and 3EG J2227+6122, present spin-down characteristics similar to the Vela pulsar. PSR J1048-5832 shows two sharp peaks at phases 0.15 {+-} 0.01 and 0.57 {+-} 0.01 relative to the radio pulse confirming the EGRET light curve, while PSR J2229+6114 presents a very broad peak at phase 0.49 {+-} 0.01. The {gamma}-ray spectra above 0.1 GeV of both pulsars are fit with power laws having exponential cutoffs near 3 GeV, leading to integral photon fluxes of (2.19 {+-} 0.22 {+-} 0.32) x 10{sup -7} cm{sup -2} s{sup -1} for PSR J1048-5832 and (3.77 {+-} 0.22 {+-} 0.44) x 10{sup -7} cm{sup -2} s{sup -1} for PSR J2229+6114. The first …

Completed in 2011, Albright's new Science Center includes three independent student and faculty research labs in Biology, Chemistry/Biochemistry, and Physics (separate from teaching labs). Providing independent research facilities, they eliminate disruptions in classrooms and teaching labs, encourage and accommodate increased student interest, and stimulate advanced research. The DOE grant of $369,943 enabled Albright to equip these advanced labs for 21st century science research, with much instrumentation shared among departments. The specialty labs will enable Albright to expand its student-faculty research program to meet growing interest, help attract superior science students, maximize faculty expertise, and continue exceeding its already high rates of acceptance for students applying for postgraduate education or pharmaceutical research positions. Biology instrumentation/equipment supports coursework and independent and collaborative research by students and faculty. The digital shaker, CO{sub 2} and water bath incubators (for controlled cell growth), balance, and micropipettes support cellular biology research in the advanced cell biology course and student-faculty research into heavy metal induction of heat shock proteins in cultured mammalian cells and the development of PCR markers from different populations of the native tree, Franklinia. The gravity convection oven and lyophilizer support research into physical and chemical analysis of floodplain sediments used in assessment of …

Implanted medical devices such as pacemakers and neural prosthetics require that the electronic components that power these devices are protected from the harsh chemical and biological environment of the body. Typically, the electronics are hermetically sealed inside a bio-compatible package containing feedthroughs that transmit electrical signals, while being impermeable to particles or moisture. We present a novel approach for fabricating one of the highest densities of biocompatible hermetic feedthroughs in alumina (Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}). Alumina substrates with laser machined vias of 200 {mu}m pitch were conformally metallized and lithographically patterned. Hermetic electrical feedthroughs were formed by extruding metal studbumps partially through the vias. Hermeticity testing showed leak rates better than 9x10{sup -10} torr-l/s. Based on our preliminary results and process optimization, this extruded metal via approach is a high-density, low temperature, cost-effective, and robust method of miniaturizing electrical feedthroughs for a wide range of implantable bio-medical device applications.

We report the results from a study of the full sample of {approx}6.031 x 10{sup 7} K{sup {+-}} {yields} {pi}{sup {+-}}{pi}{sup 0}{pi}{sup 0} decays recorded by the NA48/2 experiment at the CERN SPS. As first observed in this experiment, the {pi}{sup 0}{pi}{sup 0} invariant mass (M{sub 00}) distribution shows a cusp-like anomaly in the region around M{sub 00} = 2m{sub +}, where m{sub +} is the charged pion mass. This anomaly has been interpreted as an effect due mainly to the final state charge exchange scattering process {pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -} {yields} {pi}{sup 0}{pi}{sup 0} in K{sup {+-}} {yields} {pi}{sup {+-}}{pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -} decay. Fits to the M{sub 00} distribution using two different theoretical formulations provide the presently most precise determination of a{sub 0} - a{sub 2}, the difference between the {pi}{pi} S-wave scattering lengths in the isospin I = 0 and I = 2 states. Higher-order {pi}{pi} rescattering terms, included in the two formulations, allow also an independent, though less precise, determination of a{sub 2}.

The overall objective of this study was to select chemical processing equipment, install and operate that equipment to directly convert algae to biodiesel via a reaction patented by Old Dominion University (Pat. No. US 8,080,679B2). This reaction is a high temperature (250- 330{degrees}C) methylation reaction utilizing tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) to produce biodiesel. As originally envisioned, algal biomass could be treated with TMAH in methanol without the need to separately extract triacylglycerides (TAG). The reactor temperature allows volatilization and condensation of the methyl esters whereas the spent algae solids can be utilized as a high-value fertilizer because they are minimally charred. During the course of this work and immediately prior to commencing, we discovered that glycerol, a major by-product of the conventional transesterification reaction for biofuels, is not formed but rather three methoxylated glycerol derivatives are produced. These derivatives are high-value specialty green chemicals that strongly upgrade the economics of the process, rendering this approach as one that now values the biofuel only as a by-product, the main value products being the methoxylated glycerols. A horizontal agitated thin-film evaporator (one square foot heat transfer area) proved effective as the primary reactor facilitating the reaction and vaporization of the products, and subsequent …

This report tabulates the chemical analysis of the 3H, 2H and 2F evaporator overhead samples including the inorganic, organic, and radionuclide species according the ETP WAC (rev.4). In addition, the physical properties including pH, total suspended solids, and average particle size are listed for each sample. The report identifies all sample receipt dates, preparation methods, and analyses completed to accumulate these values. All values were found to be within the ETP WAC specifications for WWCT except for the {sup 137}Cs concentration for the 2F sample which was slightly above the limit ({approx}5%). However, tank farm personnel sample each tank overhead for beta/gamma prior to transfer using a pulse height analyzer and these field readings were all well within limits. Additional actions will be taken to help understand the reason in the discrepancy of the field measurement versus laboratory analysis.

The first results from observations of the high-mass X-ray binary LS 5039 using the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope data between 2008 August and 2009 June are presented. Our results indicate variability that is consistent with the binary period, with the emission being modulated with a period of 3.903 {+-} 0.005 days; the first detection of this modulation at GeV energies. The light curve is characterized by a broad peak around superior conjunction in agreement with inverse Compton scattering models. The spectrum is represented by a power law with an exponential cutoff, yielding an overall flux (100 MeV-300 GeV) of 4.9 {+-} 0.5(stat) {+-} 1.8(syst) x 10{sup -7} photon cm{sup -2} s{sup -1}, with a cutoff at 2.1 {+-} 0.3(stat) {+-} 1.1(syst) GeV and photon index {Gamma} = 1.9 {+-} 0.1(stat) {+-} 0.3(syst). The spectrum is observed to vary with orbital phase, specifically between inferior and superior conjunction. We suggest that the presence of a cutoff in the spectrum may be indicative of magnetospheric emission similar to the emission seen in many pulsars by Fermi.