Berylliosis or Chronic Beryllium Disease is a chronic granulomatous disorder primarily involving the lung associated with the exposition to low doses of Beryllium (Be) in the workplace. Berylliosis risk has been associated with the presence of a glutamate at position 69 of the HLA-DP beta chain (HLA-DPbetaGlu69) that is expressed in about 97% of disease cases and in 27% of the unaffected Be-exposed controls (p<0.0001) (Richeldi et al. Science 1993; 262: 242-244.12). Since this first observation of an immunogenetic association between berylliosis and HLA-DPbetaGlu69 a number of studies have confirmed the role of this marker as the primary gene of susceptibility of berylliosis (Richeldi et al Am J Ind Med. 1997; 32:337-40; Wang et al J. Immunol. 1999; 163: 1647-53; Saltini et al Eur Respir J. 2001 18:677-84; Rossman et al Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2002 165:788-94). Moreover, a structure/function interaction between HLA-DP molecules carrying Glu69 and beryllium in driving and developing the immune response against beryllium itself has been observed as: (1) Be-specific T-cells clones obtained from berylliosis patients recognize beryllium as antigen only when presented in the context of the HLA-DP{beta}Glu69 molecules but not in the context of HLA-DP allelic variants carrying Lys69 (Lombardi G et …

Intense beams of heavy ions are well suited for heating matter to regimes of emerging interest. A new facility, NDCX-II, will enable studies of warm dense matter at {approx}1 eV and near-solid density, and of heavy-ion inertial fusion target physics relevant to electric power production. For these applications the beam must deposit its energy rapidly, before the target can expand significantly. To form such pulses, ion beams are temporally compressed in neutralizing plasma; current amplification factors of {approx}50-100 are routinely obtained on the Neutralized Drift Compression Experiment (NDCX) at LBNL. In the NDCX-II physics design, an initial non-neutralized compression renders the pulse short enough that existing high-voltage pulsed power can be employed. This compression is first halted and then reversed by the beam's longitudinal space-charge field. Downstream induction cells provide acceleration and impose the head-to-tail velocity gradient that leads to the final neutralized compression onto the target. This paper describes the discrete-particle simulation models (1-D, 2-D, and 3-D) employed and the space-charge-dominated beam dynamics being realized.

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This report discusses the risks accompanying establishment of carbon control policies, in the absence of similar policies among competing nations. It also points out the three basic approaches of trade-exposed industries.

Congressional advisory commissions are formal groups established to provide independent advice; make recommendations for changes in public policy; study or investigate a particular problem, issue, or event; or perform a duty. This report provides an overview and analysis of congressional advisory commissions, information on the general statutory structure of a congressional commission, and a catalog of congressional commissions created since the 101st Congress.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2001, the Department of Defense (DOD) identified performance based logistics (PBL) as the preferred weapon system support strategy. Within DOD, PBL is the purchase of performance outcomes, such as system availability, rather than the purchase of individual elements of logistics support--such as parts, repairs, and engineering support. Although PBL initially arose from efforts to reduce support costs, questions have arisen about whether PBL has reduced support costs as originally intended. GAO was asked to evaluate the extent to which DOD has used business case analyses to guide decisions related to PBL arrangements and the impact PBL arrangements have had on weapon system support costs. In conducting the review, GAO analyzed the implementation of PBL arrangements for 29 weapon system programs. GAO also looked at the use and characteristics of performance-based contracting in the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence."

This report is categorized into three categories: (I) Introduction, (II) Key Issue and (III) Congressional Action. It also consist a figure for F-22A Weapons Loadout.

This report discusses bills introduced into the 110th Congress pertaining to food safety that could affect farmers and ranchers. Several of these bills would expressly have required enforceable on-farm safety standards. Others that focused primarily on post-harvest food safety measures nonetheless might have led to changes in on-farm practices if the regulated sectors (handlers and processors of agricultural products) placed new demands on their suppliers in order to comply. Similar proposals are re-emerging in the 111th Congress, where food safety reform is expected to be on the agenda.

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This project proposes to develop cyclotron targets that produce F-18 for clinical Positron Emission Tomography (PET) at significantly higher rates than that available from current targetry. This production rate of 18F is directly proportional to the beam current. Higher beam currents would result in increased 18F production but would be accompanied by higher heat loads to the target. The beam power available in most commercial cyclotrons exceeds the heat removal capacity of current target technology by a factor of two to four, significantly limiting the production rate of Fluorine-18.

This project presents the outcome of an effort made by a consortium of six universities in the State of New York to develop a Center for Advanced technology (CAT) in the emerging field of Nano-Bio-Molecular Information Technology. The effort consists of activities such as organization of the NYNBIT incubator, collaborative research projects, development of courses, an educational program for high schools, and commercial start-up programs.

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A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act of 1990 (CARE Act) makes federal funds available to assist those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. Through the CARE Act, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), part of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), awards grants (known as Part D grants) to provide services to women, infants, children, and youth with HIV/AIDS and their families. These grantees incur administrative expenses and indirect costs, such as rent and utilities. The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment and Modernization Act of 2006 (RWTMA), which took effect in fiscal year 2007, capped at 10 percent the amount that Part D grantees could spend on administrative expenses. According to HRSA, there is no cap on indirect costs, but grantees must have an indirect cost rate to use funds for indirect costs. RWTMA directed GAO to examine Part D spending. In this report GAO describes (1) the services that Part D grantees provide and what effect, if any, the administrative expense cap has had on those services and on grantee programs; (2) how Part D grantees report on administrative expenses, indirect costs, …

The seismic survey was successful in imaging the water table and underlying structures at the site. The configuration of the water table reflector confirms the general southeast horizontal flow direction in the alluvial aquifer. Offsets in the water table reflector, both at known faults that reach the surface and at subsurface faults not previously recognized, indicate that both extension and blast-related faults are barriers to lateral groundwater flow. The results from this study have been used to optimally locate two new wells designed to monitor head levels and possible contaminant migration in the alluvial aquifer at CTNA.

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This report examines the November 26, 2008 terrorist attack on Mumbai, India that left 174 people dead and hundreds more injured. The report assesses the resulting tension between India and Pakistan, due to possible links between the attackers and the Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist group, who are believed to have past ties with Pakistan's military and intelligence services. The report also examines the implications of the attack on U.S. foreign policy.

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A report about the effects of the end of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

This report addresses political developments and implications for U.S. interests regarding Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.

Increases in atmospheric CO{sub 2} concentration during the last 250 years are unequivocal, and CO{sub 2} will continue to increase at least for the next several decades (Houghton et al. 2001, Keeling & Whorf 2002). Arid ecosystems are some of the most important biomes globally on a land surface area basis, are increasing in area at an alarming pace (Dregne 1991), and have a strong coupling with regional climate (Asner & Heidebrecht 2005). These water-limited ecosystems also are predicted to be the most sensitive to elevated CO{sub 2}, in part because they are stressful environments where plant responses to elevated CO{sub 2} may be amplified (Strain & Bazzaz 1983). Indeed, all C{sub 3} species examined at the Nevada Desert FACE Facility (NDFF) have shown increased A{sub net} under elevated CO{sub 2} (Ellsworth et al. 2004, Naumburg et al. 2003, Nowak et al. 2004). Furthermore, increased shoot growth for individual species under elevated CO{sub 2} was spectacular in a very wet year (Smith et al. 2000), although the response in low to average precipitation years has been smaller (Housman et al. 2006). Increases in perennial cover and biomass at the NDFF are consistent with long term trends in the Mojave Desert …

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