A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In July 2002, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued two memorandums directing agencies expected to be part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to temporarily cease funding for new information technology (IT) infrastructure and business systems investments and submit information to OMB on current or planned investments in these areas. GAO was asked to (1) explain OMB's implementation of these memorandums, (2) identify any resulting changes to applicable IT investments, and (3) ascertain if DHS has initiated its own investment management reviews and, if so, what the results of these reviews have been."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The anthrax incidents during the fall of 2001 raised concerns about the nation's ability to respond to bioterrorist events and other public health threats. The incidents strained the public health system, including surveillance and laboratory workforce capacities, at the state and local levels. Several months after the incidents, the Congress appropriated funds to strengthen state and local bioterrorism preparedness. The Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) distributed the funds in 2002 through two cooperative agreement programs with state, municipal, and territorial governments. To strengthen preparedness, the two cooperative agreement programs--CDC's Public Health Preparedness and Response for Bioterrorism Program and HRSA's National Bioterrorism Hospital Preparedness Program--require participants to complete specific activities designed to build public health and health care capacities. The 2002 cooperative agreements for both programs ended on August 30, 2003. For the 2002 cooperative agreements, CDC's and HRSA's programs distributed approximately $918 million and approximately $125 million, respectively. The Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 directs us to report on federal programs that support preparedness efforts at …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Congress established government sponsored enterprises (GSE)-- such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the FHLBank System, and the Farm Credit System--to facilitate the development of mortgage and agricultural lending in the United States. Although the federal government does not explicitly guarantee the GSEs' approximately $4.4 trillion in financial obligations, the potential exists that the government would provide financial assistance in an emergency as it has done in the past. Recent financial reporting problems at Freddie Mac have raised concerns about the quality of the GSEs' corporate governance and regulatory oversight. To assist Congress in reviewing the adequacy of GSE oversight, this testimony provides information on GSE corporate governance, regulatory oversight, and mission compliance measures."

Daily student newspaper from the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas that includes local, state and campus news along with advertising.

Double-shell ignition is complementary to the baseline approach by virtue of not requiring: (1) cryogenic preparation and fielding, (2) high-contrast pulse-shaping for shock-timing, and (3) demanding x-ray flux symmetry control. The use of simpler low-contrast pulse-shaping potentially allows more benign hohlraum conditions by reducing the risk of laser backscatter. In addition, the associated higher laser fluence threshold for optics damage initiation allows the possibility of more routine high-fluence shots with 2{omega} on the NIF. Based on LDRD-sponsored research in FY01-03 on NIF double-shell ignition target designs, the feasibility of this approach was advanced through both a highly successful implosion campaign on the Omega laser facility and a variety of design improvements for mitigating instability. The double-shell implosion campaign on Omega achieved the important milestone of repeatably demonstrating dominant primary (2.45 MeV) neutron production from the mix-susceptible compressional phase of a double-shell implosion, using fall-line design optimization and exacting fabrication standards. Showing effective control of fuel-pusher mix during final compression is an essential element for achieving ignition. In our studies to control mix by reducing hydrodynamic instability a new pathway for destructive Rayleigh-Taylor growth on the outer surface of the inner shell at ignition scales was identified. However, highly resolved multi-mode …

This report assesses the impact of the September 11, 2001 attacks on public and private information infrastructures in the context of critical infrastructure protection, continuity of operations (COOP) planning, and homeland security.

Weekly newspaper from Emory, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

A viable thermophotovoltaic power conversion system requires an electrically connected network of diodes that is designed to be fault tolerant for a prescribed power rating and generator life. This paper describes simulation studies investigating the sensitivity of various series/parallel network configurations to diode variability. The results show the effect of diode mismatch and reverse breakdown behavior on network performance.

The rapid development of the Chinese economy over the past two decades has led to significant growth in China's energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Between 1980 and 2000, China's energy consumption more than doubled from 602 million to 1.3 billion tons of coal-equivalent (NBS, 2003). In 2000, China's GHG emissions were about 12% of the global total, ranked second behind only the US. According to the latest national development plan issued by the Chinese government, China's energy demand is likely to double again by 2020 (DRC, 2004), based on a quadrupling of its gross domestic product (GDP). The objectives of the national development plan imply that China needs to significantly raise the energy efficiency of its economy, i.e., cutting the energy intensity of its economy by half. Such goals are extremely ambitious, but not infeasible. China has achieved such reductions in the past, and its current overall level of energy efficiency remains far behind those observed in other developed economies. However, challenges remain whether China can put together an appropriate policy framework and the institutions needed to improve the energy efficiency of its economy under a more market-based economy today. Shanghai, located at the heart of the Yangtze …

This report describes the geological component of the interdisciplinary study of the experimental aquifer at Oyster, Virginia, by the NABIR program, Department of Energy (Natural and Accelerated Bioremediation Research), between 1997 and 2003, as conducted by the Sediment dynamics group of Old Dominion University. The Geological component of the Oyster study was designed to (1) predict patterns of physical heterogeneity in sedimentary aquifers that control groundwater flow by application of geological first principles, (2) determine the geophysical imaging signatures of these patterns, and (3) relate patterns of physical heterogeneity thus sampled to observed microbial populations. The geological study began in 1997 at the North Oyster site, but in 2002, moved to the South Oyster site.

This report compares the predicted behavior of several radionuclides disposed in grouted trenches or vaults that exhibited higher aquifer concentrations than if they were disposed in shallow trenches. The general modeling approach is first presented for the vaults and the shallow trenches, then the details for the radionuclides are presented along with explanations or suggestions for the behavior.

To monitor the groundwater contamination and the effectiveness of remedial actions, over a thousand monitoring wells are in active operation (i.e., require quarterly or semi-annual sampling) at SRS. Most wells are expected to continue in operation for another 20 to 40 more years. Required sample volumes can range from a less than a liter to 10 liters. To support the long-term groundwater monitoring requirements of these wells, SRS actively seeks technologies that can maximize data acquisition and minimize costs. To meet this end, SRS has implemented the Purge Water Management System (PWMS). The key attributes of this system lie in its ability to reduce or eliminate the generation of purged groundwater, which is costly in terms of the time and management.

F-Area is a large nuclear complex located near the center of the Department of Energy's (DOEs) Savannah River Site in South Carolina. The present closure strategy for F-Area is based on established SRS protocol for a site-specific, graded approach to deactivation and decommissioning. Uncontaminated facilities will be closed under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Facilities requiring removal or in-situ disposition of residual chemical and/or radiological inventories will be decommissioned under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). The F-Area Tank Farm, which is permitted under the Clean Water Act, will be closed in accordance with an industrial wastewater closure plan. F-Area closure will also involve the near- and long-term remediation of contaminated soil and groundwater resources. The proposed holistic F-Area closure strategy would enhance the existing project-specific SRS closure protocol by incorporating a comprehensive area-wide groundwater modeling tool, or Composite Analysis. The use of this methodology would allow for the assessment of the relative impacts of individual projects, as well as the cumulative effect of all F-Area closure actions, on area groundwater resources. Other critical elements of the proposed strategy include (i) the consistent use of site-specific Risk Assessments (RAs) and Performance Assessments (PAs), (ii) the closer …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, were a dramatic reminder of the importance of our need to cultivate a better public opinion of the United States abroad. Yet recent opinion research indicates that foreign publics, especially in countries with large Muslim populations, view the United States unfavorably. GAO issued two studies in 2003 that examined changes in U.S. public diplomacy resources and programs since September 11 within the State Department (State) and the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG); the U.S. government's strategies for its public diplomacy programs and how it measures their effectiveness; and the challenges that remain in executing U.S. public diplomacy efforts. Although the studies did not focus exclusively on the Middle East, they identified systemic problems that would apply to public diplomacy activities there."

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

In ongoing experiments performed on the OMEGA laser [J. M. Soures et al., Phys. Plasmas 5, 2108 (1996)] at the University of Rochester Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE), nanosecond laser pulses are used to drive strong blast waves into two-layer targets. Perturbations on the interface between the two materials are unstable to the Richtmyer-Meshkov instability as a result of shock transit and the Rayleigh-Taylor instability during the deceleration-phase behind the shock front. These experiments are designed to produce a strongly shocked interface whose evolution is a scaled version of the unstable hydrogen-helium interface in core-collapse supernovae such as SN 1987A. The ultimate goal of this research is to develop an understanding of the effect of hydrodynamic instabilities and the resulting transition to turbulence on supernovae observables that remain as yet unexplained. The authors are, at present, particularly interested in the development of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability through the late nonlinear stage, the transition to turbulence, and the subsequent transport of material within the turbulent region. In this paper, the results of numerical simulations of 2D single and multimode experiments are presented. These simulations are run using the 2D Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) radiation hydrodynamics code CALE [R. T. Barton, Numerical Astrophysics …

The scaling behavior of basic earthquake source parameters such as the energy release per unit area of fault slip, quantitatively measured as the apparent stress, is currently in dispute. There are compelling studies that show apparent stress is constant over a wide range of moments (e.g. Choy and Boatwright, 1995; McGarr, 1999; Ide and Beroza, 2001, Ide et al. 2003). Other equally compelling studies find the apparent stress increases with moment (e.g. Kanamori et al., 1993; Abercrombie, 1995; Mayeda and Walter, 1996; Izutani and Kanamori, 2001; Richardson and Jordan, 2002). The resolution of this issue is complicated by the difficulty of accurately accounting for attenuation, radiation inhomogeneities, bandwidth and determining the seismic energy radiated by earthquakes over a wide range of event sizes in a consistent manner. As one part of our LDRD project we convened a one-day workshop on July 24, 2003 in Livermore to review the current state of knowledge on this topic and discuss possible methods of resolution with many of the world's foremost experts.

Carbon atoms occupying specific positions within fuel molecules can be labeled and followed in emissions. Renewable bio-derived fuels possess a natural uniform carbon-14 ({sup 14}C) tracer several orders of magnitude above petroleum-derived fuels. These fuels can be used to specify sources of carbon in particulate matter (PM) or other emissions. Differences in emissions from variations in the distribution of a fuel component within a blend can also be measured. Using Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS), we traced fuel components with biological {sup 14}C/C levels of 1 part in 10{sup 12} against a {sup 14}C-free petroleum background in PM and CO{sub 2}. Different carbon atoms in the ester structure of the diesel oxygenate dibutyl maleate displayed far different propensities to produce PM. Homogeneous cosolvent and heterogeneous emulsified ethanol-in-diesel blends produced significantly different PM despite having the same oxygen content in the fuel. Emulsified blends produced PM with significantly more volatile species. Although ethanol-derived carbon was less likely to produce PM than diesel fuel, it formed non-volatile structures when it resided in PM. The contribution of lubrication oil to PM was determined by measuring an isotopic difference between 100% bio-diesel and the PM it produced. Data produced by the experiments provides validation for …

Concert presented at the UNT College of Music Winspear Performance Hall.

This version of the communication primer comprises two interlocking parts: Pat 1, a practical section, intended to prepare you for public interactions, and Part 2, a theoretical section that provides social and technical bases for the practices recommended in Part 1. The mutual support of practice and theory is very familiar in science and clearly requires a willingness to observe and revise our prior assumptions--in this document, we invoke both. We hope that is offering will represent a step both towards improving practice and maturing the theory of practical science communication.

Document about the McKinney chapter of the Texas Society, Sons of the American Revolution.

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

After a five year upgrade period, the Fermilab experiments CDF and D0 are taking high quality data in Run II of the Tevatron Collider. We report on the start-up of both detectors and present a selection of first B physics results from the Tevatron. We also compare different B hadron producers such as the {Upsilon}(4S) with the hadron collider environment and discuss general features of B physics at a hadron collider.

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