A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The National Military Strategy calls for the Department of Defense (DOD) to maintain the transportation capability to quickly move the large amounts of personnel and equipment needed to win two nearly simultaneous major theater wars anywhere in the world. To provide this mobility, DOD relies on a transportation system--the En Route System (ERS)--that includes an airlift fleet of cargo aircraft and a critical network of overseas airfields that provide logistical support to aircraft on their way to the war zones. Although the two-war requirement and other aspects of the National Military Strategy are now under review by the new administration, the ERS remains critically important as the primary means of quickly moving U.S. soldiers and equipment to areas of conflict around the world. This report addresses (1) whether en-route airfields have the capacity to meet the requirements of the National Military Strategy, (2) the causes of any shortfalls and DOD's plans to correct them, and (3) whether DOD has the information and management structure needed to ensure that the operations of the ERS can be carried out efficiently and effectively."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report reviews the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) resolution of accounting issues submitted by companies that have or are contemplating publicly traded securities. Companies are required by law to register their securities with SEC by filing a registration statement. This statement must contain financial and other information on the securities and the issuer. SEC's Office of the Chief Accountant (OCA) is responsible for providing guidance to companies to ensure that they comply with the reporting requirements of the law. Generally, registrants submit issues to OCA for which there is no authoritative guidance. These issues tend to involve unusual, complex, or innovative transactions. Some of the accounting issues frequently reviewed include business mergers and issues surrounding revenue recognition and financial instruments. Representatives of registrants and the accounting profession have had both positive and negative experiences with SEC's handling of accounting issues. Several representatives expressed concerns over the transparency of SEC's decision making process and SEC's use of accounting sources outside of generally accepted accounting procedures."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Voluntary compliance with tax laws, the foundation of the U.S. tax system, could be undermined if the public perceives that federal workers and former federal workers successfully evade their tax obligations. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) records indicate that federal workers and annuitants, and IRS workers in particular, appear to be more compliant in meeting their tax responsibilities than the general population. Nonetheless, IRS records indicate that some federal workers and annuitants are not fulfilling their tax responsibilities and owe the federal government about $2.5 billion in outstanding taxes. In its attempt to improve management and collection of federal taxes owed by federal workers and annuitants, IRS faces the same issues hindering its ability to manage and collect unpaid taxes of the general population. With respect to IRS' efforts to improve compliance among federal workers and annuitants, IRS must first be able to determine how effective its program for this purpose has been and what, if any, modifications are needed to ensure that the program meets its objectives."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This interim report reviews the implementation of the Department of Defense (DOD) Medicare Subvention Demonstration. GAO found that the demonstration sites were successful in operating Medicare managed care plans. Officials put substantial effort into meeting Medicare managed care requirements and, according to Health Care Financing Administration reviewers, were generally as successful as other new Medicare managed care plans in this regard. Most sites reached the enrollment limits they had established for retirees already covered by Medicare. DOD officials indicated that the demonstration's effect was positive. Enrollees received a broader range of services from DOD than in the past, when they got care only when space was available in DOD facilities. Officials also noted that providing more comprehensive care to seniors helped sharpen the skills of military clinical staff, which contributed to their readiness for supporting combat or other military missions. Some challenges encountered in the demonstration reflect larger DOD managed care issues and may have implications for DOD managed care generally. Although access to care was generally good, the demonstration experienced some problems in maintaining adequate clinical staff."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Medicare faces many challenges. The overarching issue is how to sustain the program for future generations. Meeting that challenge will require difficult decisions that will affect beneficiaries, providers, and taxpayers. However, the financing issue should not obscure other important challenges. Medicare's current cost-sharing arrangements do not encourage the efficient use of services without discouraging necessary care. Moreover, the lack of catastrophic coverage can leave some beneficiaries liable for substantial Medicare expenses. Finally, some aspects of Medicare's program management are inefficient and lag behind modern private sector practices. Changes in Medicare's program management could improve both the delivery of health care to beneficiaries and the program's ability to pay providers appropriately. Some view restructuring of the relationship between parts A and B as an important element of overall Medicare reform. Fundamentally, assessing the program as a whole is an important first step in addressing Medicare's challenges. Solutions to many of these challenges could be crafted without restructuring. However, restructuring may provide opportunities to implement desired reforms--with or without unifying the Hospital Insurance and Supplemental Medical Insurance trust funds--while undoubtedly raising issues that will have to be considered."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the procedural and analytical rulemaking requirements applicable to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and other federal regulatory agencies. GAO found that the rulemaking requirements that have been placed on OSHA and other agencies are voluminous and require a wide range of procedural, consultative, and analytical actions on the part of the agencies. Federal agencies sometimes take years to develop final rules, and the requirements are not as effective as expected or as they could be. This lack of effectiveness can be traced to how the requirements have been implemented and the requirements themselves."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Three years ago, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) characterized hepatitis C as a serious national health problem that needs early detection to reduce transmission risks, ensure timely treatment, and prevent progression of liver disease. In a 1988 letter, VA outlined the process clinicians should use when (1) screening veterans for known risk factors for exposure to hepatitis C and (2) ordering tests to detect antibodies and diagnose hepatitis C infection as part of a plan to evaluate and assess risk factors for VA patients. This testimony discusses VA's progress in screening and testing veterans for hepatitis C during fiscal years 1999 and 2000. GAO found that VA missed opportunities to screen as many as three million veterans when they visited medical facilities during fiscal years 1999 and 2000, potentially leaving as many as 200,000 veterans unaware that they have hepatitis C infections. Of those screened, an unknown number likely remain undiagnosed because of flawed procedures. Although the pace of screening and testing appears to be improving, many currently undiagnosed veterans may not be identified expeditiously unless VA (1) establishes early detection of hepatitis C as a standard …

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

Weekly newspaper published in Duncanville, Texas that includes local Cedar Hill, state, and national news along with advertising.

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

Supplementary publication outlining events and information for the 25th International Forest of Friendship celebration, which memorializes contributors to aviation and aerospace with engraved plaques in the forest. It includes portraits and biographical sketches for the 40 people to be honored in 2001.

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

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

A proposed stave design for the D0 Run IIb silicon tracker outer layers featuring central cooling channels and a composite shell mechanical structure is evaluated for self-deflection and deflection due to external loads. This paper contains an introduction to the stave structure, a section devoted to composite lamina and laminate properties and finally a section discussing the beam deflections expected for assembled staves using these laminates.

Our goal is to improve geophysical imaging of the vadose zone. We will achieve this goal by providing new methods to improve interpretation of field data. The purpose of this EMSP project is to develop relationships between laboratory measured geophysical properties and porosity, saturation, and fluid distribution, for partially saturated soils. Algorithms for relationships between soil composition, saturation, and geophysical measurements will provide new methods to interpret geophysical field data collected in the vadose zone at sites such as Hanford, WA.

An assessment of the potential energy savings associated with the use of full-spectrum polarized lighting in a work space was initiated as part of the Department of Energy's (DOE) Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) New Technology Demonstration Program (NTDP) in 1997. This project was intended to provide information on the effectiveness and application of this technology that could help federal energy managers and other interested individuals determine whether this technology had benefits for their occupied spaces. The use of an actual mail processing/office work area provided the capability of evaluating the technologies effectiveness in the real world.

An assessment of the potential energy savings associated with the use of multi-layer light polarizing panels in an office space was initiated as part of the Department of Energy's (DOE) Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) New Technology Demonstration Program (NTDP) in 1997. This project was intended to provide information on the effectiveness and application of this technology that could help federal energy managers and other interested individuals determine whether this technology had benefits for their occupied spaces. The use of an actual working office area provided the capability of evaluating the technology's effectiveness in the real world.

Weekly Jewish newspaper from Fort Worth, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with extensive advertising.

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

Historical releases and subsequent migration of toxic metals and radionuclides within the soil and vadose zone at various sites over the DOE Complex pose serious technological challenges, including the design and implementation of cost-effective remediation and/or monitoring strategies. This requires knowledge of the fundamental processes that govern contaminant mobility and reactivity with their host materials. The main research objective of this project is to assess the effectiveness of uptake and retention of selected contaminants (Co, Cs, Pb, Sr, U, and Cr) on calcium carbonate (primarily calcite), with a focus on conditions and sorbent materials relevant to the Hanford Site. This includes detailed microscopic and spectroscopic characterization of carbonate coatings and caliche from the Hanford Site, combined with experimental determination of the uptake behavior of selected contaminants on calcite surfaces and consideration of factors influencing uptake behavior and retention. The methodology relies on spectroscopic, microscopic, mineralogical, and geochemical characterization of natural and analog materials, including spatially resolved X-ray fluorescence (micro- XRF) and X-ray absorption fine-structure (XAFS) spectroscopy of uptake products. A primary goal is to determine the reaction mechanisms that govern contaminant uptake by carbonates. The expected results will have direct application for assessing the role that calcium carbonate phases play …

Develop and test advanced near vertical to wide-angle seismic methods for structural imaging and material properties estimation of the shallow subsurface for environmental characterization efforts.

High-energy colliders complementing and expanding the physics reach of LHC are presently under study in the United States, Europe and Japan. The magnet system is a major cost driver for hadron colliders at the energy frontier, and critical to the successful operation of muon colliders. Under most scenarios, magnet design as well as vacuum and cryogenic systems are complicated by high radiation loads. Magnet R&D programs are underway worldwide to take advantage of new developments in superconducting materials, achieve higher efficiency and simplify fabrication while preserving accelerator-class field quality. A review of recent progress in magnet technology for future colliders is presented, with emphasis on the most innovative design concepts and fabrication techniques.

The overall goal of the proposed research is to provide an improved understanding and predictive capability of the mechanisms that allow metal-reducing bacteria to be effective in the bioremediation of redox sensitive toxic metals and radionuclides. The study is motivated by the likelihood that subsurface metal-reducing bacteria can be stimulated to effectively alter the redox state of contaminants so that they are immobilized in situ for long time periods. The work described in this proposal will advance the technological and scientific needs associated with the long-term management of the enormous in-ground inventories of Cr, U, Tc, and Co present at numerous DOE installations throughout the country. The objectives of our project are to (1) develop an improved understanding and predictive capability of the rates and mechanisms controlling microbially mediated reduction of toxic metals and radionuclides in heterogeneous field settings, (2) quantify the impacts of hydrological and geochemical processes on the effectiveness of indigenous microorganisms to transform and immobilize radionuclides and metals in situ, (3) provide an improved understanding of the importance of microbial consortia interactions in the bacterial immobilization of radionuclides and toxic metals, and (4) determine intrinsic bioreduction rate parameters to improve our generic predictive capability of in situ …

In this work, the system U(VI)-HNO{sub 3}-tributylphosphate (TBP)-n-dodecane has been revisited with the objective of gaining coordination chemistry and structural information on the species that are formed in the organic phase before and after third phase formation. Chemical analyses, spectroscopic and EXAFS data indicate that U(VI) is extracted as the UO{sub 2}(NO{sub 3}){sub 2} {center_dot} 2TBP adduct, while the third phase species has the composition UO{sub 2}(NO{sub 3}){sub 2} {center_dot} 2TBP {center_dot} HNO{sub 3}. Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) data reveal the presence in the organic phase, both before and after phase splitting, of ellipsoidal aggregates whose formation seems to depend more on the extraction of HNO{sub 3} than that of U(VI).