A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since the early 1990s, the General Services Administration (GSA) and the federal judiciary have been carrying out a multibillion dollar courthouse construction initiative to address the judiciary's growing space needs. To plan for and make funding decisions on projects, Congress, the Office of Management and Budget, and GSA have relied on a rolling 5-year plan prepared annually by the judiciary that prioritizes new courthouse projects based on an urgency score. The urgency score is based on the year a courthouse runs out of space, the number of judges without courtrooms, security concerns, and operational inefficiencies. In recent years, the L.A. courthouse had the highest urgency score in the judiciary's 5-year plan. At a cost of approximately $400 million, the new courthouse is expected to be one of the most expensive projects in the federal government's courthouse construction program to date. In light of the project's significance, GAO was asked: (1) To what extent does GSA's current L.A. courthouse project proposal address the underlying conditions that led to Los Angeles's high urgency score and (2) what construction and other costs, if any, may be required to meet …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In the 2004 Defense Appropriations Act, Congress mandated that GAO examine and report on the oversight of prime contractors by the Department of Defense (DOD) and the oversight of subcontractors by the prime contractors. Contract quality assurance oversight is intended to assess whether contractors are capable of and are providing supplies or services that meet contract quality and technical requirements. Providing effective oversight is challenging. DCMA recognizes that the risk of nonconforming parts reaching end users exists, given the diversity of contracts, parts, and products used to meet weapon systems requirements and uses a risk management process to guide its efforts. For fiscal year 2003, government quality assurance oversight was required for approximately 273,000 contracts. GAO determined (1) whether DOD provided quality assurance oversight and enforcement over its spare parts prime contractors, (2) if prime contractors provided quality assurance oversight over their subcontractors, and (3) how DOD held prime contractors accountable for overseeing the subcontractors' work. To address these objectives, GAO judgmentally selected and reviewed 15 contracts awarded to 11 prime contractors by the services and the Defense Logistics Agency. In commenting on a draft of …

Photograph used for a newspaper owned by the Oklahoma Publishing Company.

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; Proper construction of Occupations Code section 155.051, which establishes a time period for applicants to take the medical license examination, and section 155.056, which limits the number of times an applicant may take the examination (RQ-0248-GA)

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 the Texas Racing Commission may grant a license for a racetrack without a formal certification of election results to the Secretary of State; and whether the Commission may initiate a license application process for a country following a formal election certification that occurs more than ten days after the canvass of returns (RQ-0258-GA)

Detection and tracking of moving objects is important in the analysis of video data. One approach is to maintain a background model of the scene and subtract it from each frame to detect the moving objects which can then be tracked using Kalman or particle filters. In this paper, we consider simple techniques based on salient points to identify moving objects which are tracked using motion correspondence. We focus on video with a large field of view, such as a traffic intersection with several buildings nearby. Such scenes can contain several salient points, not all of which move between frames. Using public domain video and two types of salient points, we consider how to make these techniques computationally efficient for detection and tracking. Our early results indicate that salient regions obtained using the Lowe keypoints algorithm and the Scale-Saliency algorithm can be used successfully to track vehicles in moderate resolution video.

This report addresses defense transformation from a Department of Defense (DOD)-wide perspective.It provides the background and oversight issues for Congress regarding Defense Transformation.

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The Risk Based End State Vision Report for the Savannah River Site includes a variance that proposes on-site near surface disposal of waste from the program to produce Pu-238 heat sources for deep space probes. On-site disposal would greatly reduce the risk to workers by eliminating the need to repackage the waste in order to characterize it and ship it to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. Significant cost savings can also be realized. A legacy inventory of 6145 m3 containing 590,000 curies of Heat Source plutonium exists at the Savannah River Site. Our plan is to ship as much of this material as possible to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant using currently available facilities and equipment. We estimate that most of the volume can be safely packaged and transported to WIPP. The remainder, 1813 m3 containing 280,000 curies, is proposed to be disposed of at the SRS after demonstrating that all applicable environmental protection regulations can be met. A technical analysis has been done u sing the overall methodology developed for low-level waste disposal performance assessments. The results to date show that groundwater protection will be maintained, but that enhanced engineering measures are needed to meet the performance measures for …

The goal of this project has been to develop a quantitative predictive capability for explosion-generated Lg phases with a sound and unambiguous physical basis. The research program consisted of a theoretical investigation of explosion-generated Lg combined with an observational study. The specific question addressed by this research program is how the Lg phase is generated by underground nuclear explosions. This question is fundamental to how Lg phases are interpreted for use in explosion yield estimation and earthquake/explosion discrimination. To constrain modeling, we have extensively reviewed the existing literature and complemented that work with an examination of several explosion data sets, most notably: (1) Degelen Mountain explosions recorded between 7 and 57 km, with corresponding recordings at Borovoye, at approximately 650 km; (2) recordings from Russian deep seismic sounding experiments; (3) NTS explosion sources including the NPE and nuclear tests covering a range of source depths and media properties. A simple point explosion in an infinite medium generates no shear waves, so the Lg phase is generated entirely by non-spherical components of the source and conversions through reflections and scattering. We find that the most important contributors to the Lg phase are: (1) P to S conversion at the free surface …

YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7-{delta}} (YBCO) coated conductors are promising materials for large-scale superconductivity applications. One version of a YBCO coated conductor is based on ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD) of magnesium oxide (MgO) onto polycrystalline metal substrates. SrTiO{sub 3} (STO) is often deposited by physical vapor deposition (PVD) methods as a buffer layer between the YBCO and IBAD MgO due to its chemical stability and lattice mismatch of only {approx}1.5% with YBCO. In this work, some aspects of the stability of STO with respect to copper (Cu) and chemical solution deposition of STO on IBAD MgO templates were examined. Solubility limits of Cu in STO were established by processing Cu-doped STO powders by conventional bulk preparation techniques. The maximum solubility of Cu in STO was {approx}1% as determined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Rietveld refinements of x-ray diffraction (XRD) data. XRD analysis, performed in collaboration with NIST, on powder compositions on the STO/SrCuO{sub 2} tie line did not identify any ternary phases. SrCu{sub 0.10}Ti{sub 0.90}O{sub y} buffer layers were prepared by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and CSD on IBAD MgO flexible metallic textured tapes. TEM analysis of a {approx}100 nm thick SrCu{sub 0.10}Ti{sub 0.90}O{sub y} buffer layer deposited by …

The aim of this research project was to develop a preliminary ''conceptual design'' for a radically smaller, highly adaptive and application-flexible underground coal mining machine, for performing non-production utility work and/or also undertake limited production mining for the recovery of reserves that would otherwise be lost. Whereas historically, mining philosophies have reflected a shift to increasing larger mechanized systems [such as the continuous miner (CM)], specific mining operations that do not benefit from the economy of the large mining equipment are often ignored or addressed with significant inefficiencies. Developing this prototype concept will create a new class of equipment that can provide opportunities to re-think the very structure of the mining system across a broad range of possibilities, not able to be met by existing machinery. The approach involved pooling the collective input from mining professionals, using a structured listing of desired inputs in the form of a questionnaire, which was used to define the range of desired design specifications. From these inputs, a conceptual specification was blended, by the author, to embody the general concurrence of mission concepts for this machine.

The design and operation of a recirculating flow reactor designed to convert isotopically enriched silane to polycrystalline Si with high efficiency and chemical purity is described. The starting material is SiF{sub 4}, which is enriched in the desired isotope by a centrifuge method and subsequently converted to silane. In the reactor, the silane is decomposed to silicon on the surface of a graphite starter rod (3 mm diameter) heated to 700-750 C. Flow and gas composition (0.3-0.5% silane in hydrogen) are chosen to minimize the generation of particles by homogeneous nucleation of silane and to attain uniform deposition along the length of the rod. Growth rates are 5 {micro}m/min, and the conversion efficiency is greater than 95%. A typical run produces 35 gm of polycrystalline Si deposited along a 150 mm length of the rod. After removal of the starter rod, dislocation-free single crystals are formed by the floating zone method. Crystals enriched in all 3 stable isotopes of Si have been made: {sup 28}Si (99.92%), {sup 29}Si (91.37%), and {sup 30}Si (88.25%). Concentrations of electrically active impurities (P and B) are as low as mid-10{sup 13} cm{sup -3}. Concentrations of C and O lie below 10{sup 16} and 10{sup …

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

This report examines the trend in the male-female wage gap and the explanations offered for its existence. Remedies proposed for the gender wage gap's amelioration are addressed, with an in-depth focus on the comparable worth approach to achieving "pay equity" or "fair pay" between women and men.

The silicone elastomer Dow Corning DC 745U is used in two major components in the W80. We have investigated a number of issues concerning this material. Our studies have accomplished a baseline study of the chemical composition of DC745 and LLNL now has a good understanding of the chemical composition of this material. DC745 crystallizes within the system STS. Two potential means identified to mitigate the risk associated with this phenomenon are to (1) change material formulation and (2) predose the parts to {approx} 25 MRad {gamma}-radiation. A candidate material identified by Gordon Spellman has been studied for composition and the lack of crystallization within the STS has been verified. A sensitivity study of the effects of relevant aging mechanisms also has been performed. The extent of aging due to radiation exposure or elevated temperatures is minimal over the expected course of the LEP. In addition, since the DC745 parts are expected to be replaced at rebuild, the aging clock is essentially being reset. No significant aging issues seem likely to develop for these parts. DC745 parts are also subject to permanent deformation in service. Our studies have shown that the deformation is likely due to incomplete mixing of the …

The authors have analyzed magnetic effects which may occur in rapidly rotating core collapse supernovae. They consider effects from both magnetic turbulence and the formation of magnetic bubbles. For magnetic turbulence they have made a perturbative analysis for the spherically symmetric core-collapse supernova model that incorporates the build up of magnetic field energy in the matter accreting onto the proto-neutron star shortly after collapse and bounce. This significantly modifies the pressure profile and increases the heating of the material above the proto-neutron star resulting in an explosion even in rotating stars which would not explode otherwise. Regarding magnetic bubbles it is shown that a model with an initial uniform magnetic field ({approx} 10{sup 8}) gauss and uniform angular velocity of ({approx} 0.1 rad sec{sup -1}) can form magnetic bubbles due to the very non homologous nature of the collapse. It is estimated that the buoyancy of the bubbles causes matter in the proto-neutron star to rise, carrying neutrino-rich material to the neutron-star surface. This increases the neutrino luminosity sufficiently at early times to achieve a successful neutrino-driven explosion. Both magnetic mechanisms thus provide new means for initiating a Type II core-collapse supernova.

This report reviews the connection between the exact expression for the scattering amplitude and its approximation by the nuclear Ramsauer model. This approximation is well defined only for integral values of kR, the product of the neutron wave number and a nuclear radius parameter. Using the model between these integral values requires the introduction of an interpolation scheme. We show the effects on physical observables of adding an extra term to the scattering amplitude. By choosing the functional form of this term it is possible to obtain smooth behavior with energy of some of the physical observables, but not all.

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We thank H. Lough for her interest in our data set and the attempt to re-analyze our results (Kollet and Zlotnik, 2003) using the recent model by Hunt (2003). We welcome others to share our unique data set of the pumping test from the Prairie Creek site, Nebraska, USA. Nevertheless we believe that this particular attempt failed, because H. Lough selected a wrong model of semi-confined aquifer conditions for the interpretation of the pumping test data, which was collected in an unconfined aquifer. H. Lough based her selection on the three distinct drawdown segments observed during the test. It is well known that geologically distinct aquifers can yield a three-segment drawdown response under pumping conditions (e.g., Streltsova, 1988). Examples include unconfined aquifers (e.g., Neuman, 1972; Moench, 1997), aquifers with double porosity or fractures (e.g., Barenblatt et al., 1960; Boulton and Streltsova-Adams, 1978), and (semi-) confined aquifers in contact with aquitards (e.g. Cooley and Case, 1973; Moench, 1985). At the Prairie Creek site the aquifer is unconfined. The interpretation of the pumping test data collected at the site using type curves that are valid for an aquifer-aquitard system is a mistake. In fact, this approach illustrates a typical problem associated with …

Some of the global warming effect of anthropogenic greenhouse gases is offset by increased solar reflection from clouds with smaller droplets that form on increased numbers of cloud condensation nuclei in polluted air. The global magnitude of the resulting indirect aerosol climate forcing is estimated to be comparable (and opposed) to the anthropogenic carbon dioxide forcing, but estimates are highly uncertain because of complexities in characterizing the physical process that determine global aerosol and cloud populations and their interactions. Beyond reflecting sunlight more effectively, smaller droplets are less efficient at producing precipitation, and decreased precipitation is expected to result in increased cloud water and cloud cover, further increasing the indirect forcing. Yet polluted marine boundary-layer clouds are not generally observed to hold more water. Here we use model simulations of stratocumulus clouds to show that suppression of precipitation from increased droplet concentrations leads to increased cloud water only when sufficient precipitation reaches the surface, a condition favored when the overlying air is moist. Otherwise, aerosol induced suppression of precipitation enhances entrainment of overlying dry air, thereby reducing cloud water and diminishing the indirect climate forcing.

Photograph of a scene at a Downtown Oklahoma City ice skating rink.