The Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Safeguards and Security (NA-241) is supporting the project Coincidence Counting With Boron-Based Alternative Neutron Detection Technology at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) for the development of a 3He proportional counter alternative neutron coincidence counter. The goal of this project is to design, build and demonstrate a system based upon 10B-lined proportional tubes in a configuration typical for 3He-based coincidence counter applications. This report provides results from testing of the active mode of the General Electric Reuter-Stokes Alternative Boron-Based Uranium Neutron Coincidence Collar (ABUNCL) at Los Alamos National Laboratory using sources and fuel pins.

This report consists of the buy American act in brief with preferences for "Domestic" supplies and construction materials in federal procurement's.

Brief "avalanches" of toroidal Alfven eigenmodes (TAEs) are observed in NSTX plasmas with several different n numbers simultaneously present. These affect the neutral beam ion distribution as evidenced by a concurrent drop in the neutron rate and, sometimes, beam ion loss. Guiding center orbit modeling has shown that the modes can transiently render portions of the beam ion phase space stochastic. The resulting redistribution of beam ions can also create a broader beam-driven current profile and produce other changes in the beam ion distribution function

For several years, some Members of Congress have favored "comprehensive immigration reform", a label that commonly refers to omnibus legislation that includes increased border security and immigration enforcement, expanded employment eligibility verification, revision of nonimmigrant visas and legal permanent immigration, and legalization for some unauthorized immigrants residing in the country. This report provides a detailed discussion of major legislation related to these issues.

This report describes who will be eligible for the premium tax credits and cost-sharing subsidies, and how the credit and subsidy amounts will be calculated. It also highlights selected issues addressed in the final regulation on premium credits.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The 2013 Sustainable Ranges Report of the Department of Defense (DOD) met the annual statutory reporting requirements for the department to describe its progress in implementing its sustainable ranges plan and any additional actions taken or planned for addressing training constraints caused by limitations on the use of military lands, marine areas, or airspace. DOD's 2013 report provides updates to several elements of the plan that the act required it to include in its annual progress reports, including (1) proposals to enhance training range capabilities and address any shortfalls; (2) goals and milestones for tracking progress in the implementation of its sustainment plan; and (3) projected funding requirements for each of the military services to implement their planned actions. DOD reported that there were no significant changes in range capability or encroachment since 2012. It identified emerging challenges to training range sustainability, and reported on actions being taken to mitigate them. It used goals and milestones in its progress updates, and reported its projected funding requirements for implementing planned actions. Together these elements describe DOD's progress in implementing its comprehensive plan and addressing training constraints at …

Report that discusses the responsibility of four federal agencies for long-term earthquake risk reduction: the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funds five key grant programs that encourage resident self-sufficiency. In fiscal year 2011, HUD awarded $113 million to the Housing Choice Voucher Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS), Public Housing FSS, and Resident Opportunity and Self-Sufficiency Service Coordinators (ROSS SC) programs. Public housing agencies (PHA) with HOPE VI grants or designated as Moving to Work (MTW) agencies spent a portion of their funds on activities that encourage self-sufficiency, but the amounts MTW agencies spent are not known for the program as a whole. Additionally, data on resident participation in the five programs were limited. The number of families that participated in the FSS programs and ROSS SC cannot be reliably assessed due to missing start dates, end dates, and annual updates, and a lack of reporting guidance. HOPE VI data on residents' participation does not include information on the elderly or persons with disabilities. Programwide MTW data on participation generally were unavailable. Internal control standards for the federal government state that program managers need operational data to determine whether they are meeting goals for accountability (effective and efficient use of resources). …

The research took advantage of our capabilities to perform in-situ and operando Raman spectroscopy on complex systems along with our developing expertise in the synthesis of uniform, supported metal oxide materials to investigate relationships between the catalytically active oxide composition, atomic structure, and support and the corresponding chemical and catalytic properties. The project was organized into two efforts: 1) Synthesis of novel catalyst materials by atomic layer deposition (ALD). 2) Spectroscopic and chemical investigations of coke formation and catalyst deactivation. ALD synthesis was combined with conventional physical characterization, Raman spectroscopy, and probe molecule chemisorption to study the effect of supported metal oxide composition and atomic structure on acid-base and catalytic properties. Operando Raman spectroscopy studies of olefin polymerization leading to coke formation and catalyst deactivation clarified the mechanism of coke formation by acid catalysts.