A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In the face of growing demand for veterans' health care, GAO and the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (OIG) have raised concerns about the Veterans Health Administration's (VHA) ability to maximize its third-party collections to supplement its medical care appropriation. GAO has testified that inadequate patient intake procedures, insufficient documentation by physicians, a shortage of qualified billing coders, and insufficient automation diminished VA's collections. In turn, the OIG reported that VA missed opportunities to bill, had billing backlogs, and did inadequate follow-up on bills. While VA has made improvements in these areas, GAO was asked to review internal control activities over third-party billings and collections at selected medical centers to assess whether they were designed and implemented effectively."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In its contingency operations since the early 1990s, the Department of Defense (DOD) has relied extensively on logistics support contractors to provide many of the supplies and services needed by deployed U.S. forces. As requested, GAO assessed DOD's planning in its use of logistics support contracts in contingency operations; determined whether DOD has had contract oversight processes that are adequate to ensure that quality services were provided in an economical and efficient manner; and assessed the extent to which DOD provided trained personnel qualified to oversee its contractors. GAO focused its efforts on four logistics support contracts chosen because of their size and chosen to represent more than one military service--the Army's Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP) and Balkans Support Contract, the Navy's Construction Capabilities Augmentation Program, and the Air Force's Contract Augmentation Program."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Missing among the Department of Defense's (DOD) portfolio of systems is a capability to track stationary and moving enemy vehicles on land or at sea in any type of weather, day or night, from space. To meet this need, DOD and the intelligence community are collaborating on the ambitious Space-Based Radar (SBR) program. By leveraging the newest generation of radar technologies, the SBR concept promises to deliver high-quality data to a wide array of users. DOD intends to start product development in 2006 and to field SBR satellites as quickly as possible so that warfighters, the intelligence community, and national decision makers can gain a better understanding of what adversaries are doing in specific locations around the world. GAO reviewed the SBR program to assess DOD's progress in attaining the knowledge it needs by 2006 in terms of customer needs (or requirements) and resources."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "When the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began operations in March 2003, it faced the daunting task of bringing together 22 diverse agencies. This transformation poses significant management and leadership challenges, including integrating a myriad of redundant financial management systems and addressing the existing weaknesses in the inherited components, as well as newly identified weaknesses. This review was performed to (1) identify the financial management systems' weaknesses DHS inherited from the 22 component agencies, (2) assess DHS's progress in addressing those weaknesses, (3) identify plans DHS has to integrate its financial management systems, and (4) review whether the planned systems DHS is developing will meet the requirements of relevant financial management improvement laws."

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Whether chapter 716 of the Health and Safety Code permits a person authorized to dispose of the remains of a deceased individual to contract directly for cremation services (RQ-0169-GA)

We use the eight year light curve database from the MACHO (MAssive Compact Halo Objects) project together with infrared colors and magnitudes from 2MASS (the Two Micron All Sky Survey) to identify a sample of 22,000 long period variables in the Large Magellanic Cloud (referred to hereafter as LMC LPVs). A period luminosity diagram of these stars reveals six well defined sequences, in substantial agreement with previous analyses of samples from OGLE (Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment). In our analysis we identify analogues to galactic LPVs in the LMC LPV sample. We find that carbon dominated AGB stars populate only two of the sequences, one of which includes the Mira variables. The high luminosity end of the same two sequences are also the location of the only stars with J K{sub s} > 2, indicating that they are enshrouded in dust. The unknown mechanism that produces the variability of the last sequence--those stars with long secondary periods--produces different morphology in the period luminosity diagram than what is seen in the first four sequences, which are thought to be caused by pulsation. In particular, the last sequence extends to lower luminosity RGB stars and the luminosity function does not peak among the …

A large-acceptance, highly segmented electromagnetic lead glass calorimeter for Experiment E781 (SELEX) at Fermi National Acceleration Laboratory was designed and built. This detector has been used to reconstruct photons and electrons with energies ranging from few GeV up to 500 GeV in the collisions of the 650 GeV {Sigma}{sup -} hyperons and {pi}{sup -} mesons with the target nucleons. The design, calibration and performance of the calorimeter are described. Energy resolution and position resolution are assessed using both calibration electron beams and {pi}{sup 0} mesons reconstructed in 650 GeV hadron-hadron interactions. The performance of the calorimeter in selecting resonant states that involve photons is demonstrated.

Unlike the common belief that crack propagation behavior can be predicted successfully by employing fracture criteria based on a constant crack tip opening displacement or angle (CTOD/CTOA), this paper shows that the initially non-constant portion of the CTOD/CTOA plays an essential role in predicting the fracture load for a growing crack. Three- and two-dimensional finite element analyses indicate that a severe underestimate of the experimental load vs. crack extension curve would occur if a constant CTOD/CTOA criterion is used. However, the use of a simplified, bilinear CTOD/CTOA criterion including its non-constant portion will closely duplicate the test data. Furthermore, as a result of using the experimental data from J-integral test with various crack length to specimen width ratios (a/W), it is demonstrated that the CTOD/CTOA is crack tip constraint dependent. The initially higher values of the CTOD/CTOA are in fact a natural consequence of crack growth process which is refl ected by the J-resistance curve and its slope (tearing modulus).

In previous years, with support from the U.S. Department of Energy, we developed methods for construction of normalized and subtracted cDNA libraries, and constructed hundreds of high-quality libraries for production of Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs). Our clones were made widely available to the scientific community through the IMAGE Consortium, and millions of ESTs were produced from our libraries either by collaborators or by our own sequencing laboratory at the University of Iowa. During this grant period, we focused on (1) the development of a method for preferential cloning of tissue-specific and/or rare transcripts, (2) its utilization to expedite EST-based gene discovery for the NIH Mouse Brain Molecular Anatomy Project, (3) further development and optimization of a method for construction of full-length-enriched cDNA libraries, and (4) modification of a plasmid vector to maximize efficiency of full-length cDNA sequencing by the transposon-mediated approach. It is noteworthy that the technology developed for preferential cloning of rare mRNAs enabled identification of over 2,000 mouse transcripts differentially expressed in the hippocampus. In addition, the method that we optimized for construction of full-length-enriched cDNA libraries was successfully utilized for the production of approximately fifty libraries from the developing mouse nervous system, from which over 2,500 full-ORF-containing …

We developed a linear-scaling semiempirical quantum mechanical (QM) program (DivCon). Using DivCon we can now routinely carry out calculations at the fully QM level on systems containing up to about 15 thousand atoms. We also implemented a Poisson-Boltzmann (PM) method into DivCon in order to compute solvation free energies and electrostatic properties of macromolecules in solution. This new suite of programs has allowed us to bring the power of quantum mechanics to bear on important biological problems associated with protein folding, drug design and enzyme catalysis. Hence, we have garnered insights into biological systems that have been heretofore impossible to obtain using classical simulation techniques.

Expanded details and additional results are presented on two methods for estimating fracture orientation and density in subsurface reservoirs from scattered seismic wavefield signals. In the first, fracture density is estimated from the wavenumber spectra of the integrated amplitudes of the scattered waves as a function of offset in pre-stack data. Spectral peaks correctly identified the 50m, 35m, and 25m fracture spacings from numerical model data using a 40Hz source wavelet. The second method, referred to as the Transfer Function-Scattering Index Method, is based upon observations from 3D finite difference modeling that regularly spaced, discrete vertical fractures impart a ringing coda-type signature to any seismic energy that is transmitted through or reflected off of them. This coda energy is greatest when the acquisition direction is parallel to the fractures, the seismic wavelengths are tuned to the fracture spacing, and when the fractures have low stiffness. The method uses surface seismic reflection traces to derive a transfer function, which quantifies the change in an apparent source wavelet propagating through a fractured interval. The transfer function for an interval with low scattering will be more spike-like and temporally compact. The transfer function for an interval with high scattering will ring and be …

The Stockpile Stewardship Program (SSP) is a single, highly integrated technical program for maintaining the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile. The SSP uses past nuclear test data along with future non-nuclear test data, computational modeling and simulation, and experimental facilities to advance understanding of nuclear weapons. It includes stockpile surveillance, experimental research, development and engineering programs, and an appropriately scaled production capability to support stockpile requirements. This integrated national program will require the continued use of current facilities and programs along with new experimental facilities and computational enhancements to support these programs. The Advanced Simulation and Computing program (ASC) is a cornerstone of the SSP, providing simulation capabilities and computational resources to support the annual stockpile assessment and certification, to study advanced nuclear weapon design and manufacturing processes, to analyze accident scenarios and weapons aging, and to provide the tools to enable stockpile life extension programs and the resolution of significant finding investigations (SFIs). This requires a balanced system of technical staff, hardware, simulation software, and computer science solutions.

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

Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology has proven to be useful in short range, high data rate, robust, and low power communications. These features can make UWB systems ideal candidates for reliable data communications between nodes of a wireless sensor network (WSN). However, the low powered UWB pulses can be significantly degraded by channel noise, inter-node interference, and intentional jamming. In this paper we present a novel interference suppression technique for UWB based WSNs that promises self-organization in terms of power conservation, scalability, and channel estimation for the entire distributed network.

This report discusses hearings in the U.S. Senate and is divided into four main sections: (1) the role of hearings in the committee process, types of hearings, and broad organizational issues, (2) a discussion of the planning process, (3) how a hearing is held, and (4) activities committees often undertake following a hearing.

Raman spectroscopy has been used to study fluid water at approximately 1000 K and 2 to 60 GPa in a laser heated diamond anvil cell. First principles molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have also been employed to simulate water under similar conditions. The experimental Raman intensity of the O-H stretch mode was observed to decrease with pressure, and beyond 50 GPa this mode was no longer visible. At approximately the same pressure we inferred a change in the slope of the melting curve. Consistent with these experimental observations, the MD simulations show that water under these conditions forms a dynamically ionized liquid state, which is dominated by very short lived (<10 fs) H{sub 2}O, H{sub 3}O{sup +} and O{sup 2-} species.

Gas desorption and electron emission coefficients were measured for 1 MeV potassium ions incident on stainless steel at grazing angles (between 80 and 88 from normal incidence) using a new gas-electron source diagnostic (GESD). Issues addressed in design and commissioning of the GESD include effects from backscattering of ions at the surface, space-charge limited emission current, and reproducibility of desorption measurements. We find that electron emission coefficients {gamma}{sub e} scale as 1/cos({theta}) up to angles of 86, where {gamma}{sub e} = 90. Nearer grazing incidence, {gamma}{sub e} is reduced below the 1/cos({theta}) scaling by nuclear scattering of ions through large angles, reaching {gamma}{sub e} = 135 at 88. Electrons were emitted with a measured temperature of {approx}30 eV. Gas desorption coefficients {gamma}{sub sigma} were much larger, of order {gamma}{sub sigma} = 104. They also varied with angle, but much more slowly than 1/cos({theta}). From this we conclude that the desorption was not entirely from adsorbed layers of gas on the surface. Two mitigation techniques were investigated: rough surfaces reduced electron emission by a factor of ten and gas desorption by a factor of two; a mild bake to 230 had no effect on electron emission, but decreased gas desorption by …

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The interaction of water with Si- and C- terminated {beta}-SiC(001) surfaces was investigated by means of ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. Irrespective of coverage, varied from 1/4 to 1 monolayer, we found that water dissociates on the Si-terminated surface, substantially modifying the clean surface reconstruction, while the C-terminated surface is nonreactive and hydrophobic. Based on our results, we propose that STM images and photoemission experiments may detect specific changes induced by water on both the structural and electronic properties of SiC(001) surfaces.

This report contains a guide for preparation and procedure on the Hearings in the U.S. Senate.

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

This CRADA project involved the cooperative research of investigators in ORNL's Center for Engineering Science Advanced Research (CESAR) with researchers at Caterpillar, Inc. The subject of the research was the development of cooperative control strategies for autonomous vehicles performing applications of interest to Caterpillar customers. The project involved three Phases of research, conducted over the time period of November 1998 through December 2001. This project led to the successful development of several technologies and demonstrations in realistic simulation that illustrated the effectiveness of our control approaches for distributed planning and cooperation in multi-robot teams. The primary objectives of this research project were to: (1) Develop autonomous control technologies to enable multiple vehicles to work together cooperatively, (2) Provide the foundational capabilities for a human operator to exercise oversight and guidance during the multi-vehicle task execution, and (3) Integrate these capabilities to the ALLIANCE-based autonomous control approach for multi-robot teams. These objectives have been successfully met with the results implemented and demonstrated in a near real-time multi-vehicle simulation of up to four vehicles performing mission-relevant tasks.

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

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