This document comprises the Operational Test Report for the 241-AZ-101 Ultrasonic Interface Level Analyzer. The objective of the testing was to verify that all equipment and components functioned as designed following construction completion and turnover to operations.

This report provides background on ten selected questions related to public aid for faith-based organization. Despite the ongoing controversy about charitable choice, not until the 107th Congress were there full hearings and extended debates on its constitutionality, efficacy, and public policy implications.

The convective period leading up to a Type Ia supernova (SNIa) explosion is characterized by very low Mach number flows, requiringhydrodynamical methods well-suited to long-time integration. We continuethe development of the low Mach number equation set for stellar scaleflows by incorporating the effects of heat release due to externalsources. Low Mach number hydrodynamics equations with a time-dependentbackground state are derived, and a numerical method based on theapproximate projection formalism is presented. We demonstrate throughvalidation with a fully compressible hydrodynamics code that this lowMach number model accurately captures the expansion of the stellaratmosphere as well as the local dynamics due to external heat sources.This algorithm provides the basis for an efficient simulation tool forstudying the ignition of SNe Ia.

We report the results of a CP violation analysis of the decay B{sup {+-}} {yields} D{sub {pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -}{pi}{sup 0}}K{sup {+-}}, where D{sub {pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -}{pi}{sup 0}} indicates a neutral D meson detected in the final state {pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -}{pi}{sup 0}, excluding K{sub S}{sup 0}{pi}{sup 0}. The analysis makes use of 324 million e{sup +}e{sup -} {yields} B{bar B} events recorded by the BABAR experiment at the PEP-II e{sup +}e{sup -} storage ring. By analyzing the {pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -}{pi}{sup 0} Dalitz plot distribution and the B{sup {+-}} {yields} D{sub {pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -}{pi}{sup 0}} K{sup {+-}} branching fraction and decay rate asymmetry, we calculate parameters related to the phase {gamma} of the CKM unitarity triangle. We also measure the magnitudes and phases of the components of the D{sup 0} {yields} {pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -}{pi}{sup 0} decay amplitude.

A temperature dependent D2O density model has been developed for the 3-D hydraulics module in the near real-time plant analysis code ULTRASIM. By replacing the constant density, ULTRASIM is improved in two ways. First, all 3-D hydraulic analyses performed are more physically realistic now that the temperature dependence of the D2O density is accounted for. Secondly, simple temperature driven process water transients can now be modeled and investigated, including natural circulation tests. This report describes results in both of these areas.

This report describes the experimental procedure for Type 304 Stainless Steel fracture toughness measurements and the application of results. Typical toughness values are given based on the completed test program for the Reactor Materials Program (RMP). Test specimen size effects and limitations of the applicability in the fracture mechanics methodology are outlined as well as a brief discussion on irradiation effects.

In aerobic aquifers typical of many Department of Energy (DOE) legacy waste sites, uranium is present in the oxidized U(VI) form which is more soluble and thus more mobile. Field experiments at the Old Rifle UMTRA site have demonstrated that biostimulation by electron donor addition (acetate) promotes biological U(VI) reduction (2). However, U(VI) reduction is reversible and oxidative dissolution of precipitated U(IV) after the cessation of electron donor addition remains a critical issue for the application of biostimulation as a treatment technology. Despite the potential for oxidative dissolution, field experiments at the Old Rifle site have shown that rapid reoxidation of bio-reduced uranium does not occur and U(VI) concentrations can remain at approximately 20% of background levels for more than one year. The extent of post-amendment U(VI) removal and the maintenance of bioreduced uranium may result from many factors including U(VI) sorption to iron-containing mineral phases, generation of H2S or FeS0.9, or the preferential sorption of U(VI) by microbial cells or biopolymers, but the processes controlling the reduction and in situ reoxidation rates are not known. To investigate the role of microbial community composition in the maintenance of bioreduced uranium, in-well sediment incubators (ISIs) were developed allowing field deployment of …

The meteorological monitoring and analysis program has three overall objectives. First, the program will acquire qualified meteorological data from monitoring activities in the Environmental Safety and Health (ES&H) network, including appropriate controls on measuring and test equipment. All work will be completed in accordance with U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Repository Development (ORD) administrative procedures and Bechtel SAIC Co., LLC (BSC) line procedures. The continuously operating monitoring program includes measuring and test equipment calibrations, operational checks, preventive and corrective maintenance, and data collection. Second, the program will process the raw monitoring data collected in the field and submit technically reviewed, traceable data to the Technical Data Management System (TDMS) and the Records Processing Center. Third, reports containing analyses or calculations could be created to provide information to data requesters.

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This report discusses major aspects of Senate procedure related to filibusters and cloture. The two, however, are not always as closely linked in practice as they are in popular conception. Even when opponents of a measure resort to extended debate or other tactics of delay, supporters may not decide to seek cloture (although this situation seems to have been more common in earlier decades than today). In recent times, conversely, the Senate leadership has increasingly utilized cloture as a routine tool to manage the flow of business, even in the absence of any apparent filibuster.

This version of the RPM-SIM User's Guide supersedes the October 1999 edition. Using the VisSimTM visual environment, researchers developed a modular simulation system to facilitate an application-specific, low-cost study of the system dynamics for wind-diesel hybrid power systems. This manual presents the principal modules of the simulator and, using case studies of a hybrid system, demonstrates some of the benefits that can be gained from understanding the effects of the designer's modifications to these complex dynamic systems.

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Local farmers, towns, schools, and individual investors are, however, beginning to invest in wind power. With the help of state policy and clean energy fund support, new federal incentives, and creative local wind developers who have devised ownership structures that maximize the value of both state and federal support, community wind power is beginning to take a foothold in parts of the US, in particular the upper Midwest. The purpose of this report is to describe that foothold, as well as the state support that helped to create it. There are a number of reasons why states are becoming increasingly interested in community wind power. In rural Midwestern states such as Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Illinois, community wind is seen as a way to help supplement and stabilize farmer income, and thereby contribute to the preservation of farming communities and the rural landscapes and values they create. In the Northeast, densely populated states such as Massachusetts are turning to community-scale wind development to increase not only the amount of wind power on the grid, but also the public's knowledge, perception, and acceptance of wind power. In still other areas--such as the Pacific Northwest, which is already home to several large …

The market for grid-connected photovoltaics (PV) in the US has grown dramatically in recent years, driven in large part by PV grant or ''buy-down'' programs in California, New Jersey, and many other states. The recent announcement of a new 11-year, $3.2 billion PV program in California suggests that state policy will continue to drive even faster growth over the next decade. Federal policy has also played a role, primarily by providing commercial PV systems access to tax benefits, including accelerated depreciation (5-year MACRS schedule) and a business energy investment tax credit (ITC). With the signing of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) on August 8, the federal government is poised to play a much more significant future role in supporting both commercial and residential PV systems. Specifically, EPAct increased the federal ITC for commercial PV systems from 10% to 30% of system costs, and also created a new 30% ITC (capped at $2000) for residential solar systems. Both changes went into effect on January 1, 2006, and--absent an extension (for which the solar industry has already begun lobbying)--will last for a period of two years: the new residential ITC will expire, and the 30% commercial ITC will revert back …

Understanding the causes of observed regional temperature trends is essential to projecting the human influences on climate, and the societal impacts of these influences. In their recent study, Christy et al. (2006, hereinafter CRNG06) hypothesized that the presence of irrigated soils is responsible for rapid warming of summer nights occurring in California's Central Valley over the last century (1910-2003), an assumption that rules out any significant effect due to increased greenhouse gases, urbanization, or other factors in this region. We question this interpretation, which is based on an apparent contrast in summer nighttime temperature trends between the San Joaquin Valley ({approx} +0.3 {+-} 0.1 C/decade) and the adjacent western slopes of the Sierra Nevada (-0.25 {+-} 0.15 C/decade), as well as the amplitude, sign and uncertainty of the Sierra nighttime temperature trend itself. We, however, do not dispute the finding of other Sierra and Valley trends. Regarding the veracity of the apparent Sierra nighttime temperature trend, CRNG06 generated the Valley and Sierra time-series using a meticulous procedure that eliminates discontinuities and isolates homogeneous segments in temperature records from 41 weather stations. This procedure yields an apparent cooling of about -0.25 {+-} 0.15 C/decade in the Sierra region. However, because removal …

This report discusses open ocean aquaculture, which is defined as the rearing of marine organisms under controlled conditions in exposed, high-energy ocean environments beyond significant coastal influence, is one possible option for meeting increasing consumer demand for marine products and offering new and alternative employment opportunities.

While a significant fraction of silicate dust in stellar winds has a crystalline structure, in the interstellar medium nearly all of it is amorphous. One possible explanation for this observation is the amorphization of crystalline silicates by relatively 'low' energy, heavy ion cosmic rays. Here we present the results of multiple laboratory experiments showing that single-crystal synthetic forsterite (Mg{sub 2}SiO{sub 4}) amorphizes when irradiated by 10 MeV Xe{sup ++} ions at large enough fluences. Using modeling, we extrapolate these results to show that 0.1-5.0 GeV heavy ion cosmic rays can rapidly ({approx}70 Million yrs) amorphize crystalline silicate grains ejected by stars into the interstellar medium.

Montana’s state program began its sixth year in 2006. The project’s research cluster focused on physical, chemical, and biological materials that exhibit unique electron-transfer properties. Our investigators have filed several patents and have also have established five spin-off businesses (3 MSU, 2 UM) and a research center (MT Tech). In addition, this project involved faculty and students at three campuses (MSU, UM, MT Tech) and has a number of under-represented students, including 10 women and 5 Native Americans. In 2006, there was an added emphasis on exporting seminars and speakers via the Internet from UM to Chief Dull Knife Community College, as well as work with the MT Department of Commerce to better educate our faculty regarding establishing small businesses, licensing and patent issues, and SBIR program opportunities.

We present an overview of the technical objectives of the Terascale Simulation Tools and Technologies center. The primary goal of this multi-institution collaboration is to develop technologies that enable application scientists to easily use multiple mesh and discretization strategies within a single simulation on terascale computers. The discussion focuses on our efforts to create interoperable mesh generation tools, high-order discretization techniques, and adaptive meshing strategies.

This report provides background and analysis and discusses the most recent regarding the law of the sea convention.

The examination of which protective measures are the most appropriate to be implemented in order to prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from attacks on critical infrastructures and key resources typically involves a comparison of the consequences that could occur when the protective measure is implemented to those that could occur when it is not. This report describes a framework for evaluation that provides some additional capabilities for comparing optional protective measures. It illustrates some potentially important time-dependent factors, such as the implementation rate, that affect the relative pros and cons associated with widespread implementation of protective measures. It presents example results from the use of protective measures, such as detectors and pretrained responders, for an illustrative biological incident. Results show that the choice of an alternative measure can depend on whether or not policy and financial support can be maintained for extended periods of time. Choice of a time horizon greatly influences the comparison of alternatives.

The MultiScale ThermoHydrologic Model (MSTHM) predicts thermal-hydrologic (TH) conditions within emplacement tunnels (drifts) and in the adjoining host rock at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, which is the proposed site for a radioactive waste repository in the US. Because these predictions are used in the performance assessment of the Yucca Mountain repository, they must address the influence of variability and uncertainty of the engineered- and natural-system parameters that significantly influence those predictions. Parameter-sensitivity studies show that the MSTHM predictions adequately propagate the influence of parametric variability and uncertainty. Model-validation studies show that the influence of conceptual-model uncertainty on the MSTHM predictions is insignificant compared to that of parametric uncertainty, which is propagated through the MSTHM.

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