A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) established its Training Transformation Program to ensure combatant commanders that forces deploying to their theaters have had experience operating jointly. The centerpiece of this effort is the Joint National Training Capability (JNTC) initiative, which accounts for 84 percent of the $2 billion the department plans to invest by 2011 to provide a persistent global network that will increase the level of joint training. GAO assessed the extent to which (1) JNTC has improved the ability of the services and combatant commands to train jointly, (2) the reserve components are benefiting from the JNTC initiative, and (3) the Joint Forces Command has developed an accreditation process to facilitate program goals. To address these objectives, GAO obtained and analyzed key DOD and JNTC documents. GAO also reviewed and analyzed 5 of 16 events selected in 2005 as JNTC training events, and observed 2 of those events firsthand."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Within the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), the Office of the Chief Immigration Judge (OCIJ) is responsible for managing the 53 immigration courts located throughout the United States where over 200 immigration judges adjudicate individual cases involving alleged immigration law violations. This report addresses: (1) in recent years, what has been the trend in immigration courts' caseload; (2) how does OCIJ assign and manage the immigration court caseload; and (3) how does EOIR/OCIJ evaluate the immigration courts' performance? To address these issues, GAO interviewed EOIR officials; reviewed information on caseload trends, caseload management, and court evaluations; and analyzed caseload data, case completion goal data, and OCIJ court evaluation reports."

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Research in Question Answering has focused on the quality of information retrieval or extraction using the metrics of precision and recall to judge success; these metrics drive toward finding the specific best answer(s) and are best supportive of a lookup type of search. These do not address the opportunity that users? natural language questions present for exploratory interactions. In this paper, we present an integrated Question Answering environment that combines a visual analytics tool for unstructured text and a state-of-the-art query expansion tool designed to compliment the cognitive processes associated with an information analysts work flow. Analysts are seldom looking for factoid answers to simple questions; their information needs are much more complex in that they may be interested in patterns of answers over time, conflicting information, and even related non-answer data may be critical to learning about a problem or reaching prudent conclusions. In our visual analytics tool, questions result in a comprehensive answer space that allows users to explore the variety within the answers and spot related information in the rest of the data. The exploratory nature of the dialog between the user and this system requires tailored evaluation methods that better address the evolving user goals and …

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This report describes the results of an experimental study to measure the sorption of fissile acinides on monosodium titanate (MST) at conditions relevant to operation of Actinide Removal Process (ARP). The study examined the effect of a single contact of a large volume of radionuclide-spiked simulant solution with a small mass of MST.

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The original goal of this Phase II Superconductivity Partnership Initiative project was to build and operate a prototype Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) system using high temperature superconductor (HTS) coils wound from continuously processed dip-coated BSCCO 2212 tape conductor. Using dip-coated tape, the plan was for MRI magnet coils to be wound to fit an established commercial open geometry, 0.2 Tesla permanent magnet system. New electronics and imaging software for a prototype higher field superconducting system would have added significantly to the cost. However, the use of the 0.2 T platform would allow the technical feasibility and the cost issues for HTS systems to be fully established. Also it would establish the energy efficiency and savings of HTS open MRI compared with resistive and permanent magnet systems. The commercial goal was an open geometry HTS MRI running at 0.5 T and 20 K. This low field open magnet was using resistive normal metal conductor and its heat loss was rather high around 15 kolwatts. It was expected that an HTS magnet would dissipate around 1 watt, significantly reduce power consumption. The SPI team assembled to achieve this goal was led by Oxford Instruments, Superconducting Technology (OST), who developed the method of …

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The Efficient Windows Collaborative (EWC) is a coalition of manufacturers, component suppliers, government agencies, research institutions, and others who partner to expand the market for energy efficient window products. Funded through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy, the EWC provides education, communication and outreach in order to transform the residential window market to 70% energy efficient products by 2005. Implementation of the EWC is managed by the Alliance to Save Energy, with support from the University of Minnesota and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Flash X-Ray (FXR) machine is a linear induction accelerator used to produce a nominal 18 MeV, 3 kA, 65 ns pulse width electron beam for hydrodynamic radiographs. A common figure of merit for this type of radiographic machine is the x-ray dose divided by the spot area on the bremsstrahlung converter where a higher FOM is desired. Several characteristics of the beam affect the minimum attainable x-ray spot size. The most significant are emittance (chaotic transverse energy), chromatic aberration (energy variation), and beam motion (transverse instabilities and corkscrew motion). FXR is in the midst of a multi-year optimization project to reduce the spot size. This paper describes the effort to reduce beam emittance by adjusting the fields of the transport solenoids and position of the cathode. If the magnetic transport is not correct, the beam will be mismatched and undergo envelope oscillations increasing the emittance. We measure the divergence and radius of the beam in a drift section after the accelerator by imaging the optical transition radiation (OTR) and beam envelope on a foil. These measurements are used to determine an emittance. Relative changes in the emittance can be quickly estimated from the foil measurements …

This report provides information about "Falun Gong" also known as " Falun Dafa" that combines an exercise regimen with meditation and moral guidelines.

It is often the case that naive introduction of the messenger sector to supersymmetry breaking models causes the supersymmetry restoration. We discuss a possibility of stabilizing the supersymmetry broken vacuum by the gravitational interaction.

The objectives of the study are to: (1) determine the degree to which physical and chemical wood properties vary in association with environmental and silvicultural practices in Populus and loblolly pine and (2) develop and verify species-specific empirical models in an effort to create a framework for understanding environmental influences on wood quality.

We present several alternative techniques used by the BABAR Collaboration in order to measure the Unitarity Triangle angle {gamma}. We also present the results of two searches designed to improve the measurements of sin(2{beta}) using penguin B decay modes by reducing the hadronic corrections uncertainties.

Linac-to Ring beamline for positron beam injection into damping ring at the energy of 5 GeV is considered. The beamline performs spin rotation and energy compression of the positron beam extracted from the booster linac. The lattice includes four 90{sup o} phase-advance FODO cells with bending magnets placed between them, a solenoid, and the RF structure. An analytical treatment of the beamline is performed. Basic parameters and optimal configuration are discussed.

Adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscope (AO SLO) has demonstrated superior optical quality of non-invasive view of the living retina, but with limited capability of aberration compensation. In this paper, we demonstrate that the use of dual deformable mirrors can effectively compensate large aberrations in the human retina. We used a bimorph mirror to correct large-stroke, low-order aberrations and a MEMS mirror to correct low-stroke, high-order aberration. The measured ocular RMS wavefront error of a test subject was 240 nm without AO compensation. We were able to reduce the RMS wavefront error to 90 nm in clinical settings using one deformable mirror for the phase compensation and further reduced the wavefront error to 48 nm using two deformable mirrors. Compared with that of a single-deformable-mirror SLO system, dual AO SLO offers much improved dynamic range and better correction of the wavefront aberrations. The use of large-stroke deformable mirrors provided the system with the capability of axial sectioning different layers of the retina. We have achieved diffraction-limited in-vivo retinal images of targeted retinal layers such as photoreceptor layer, blood vessel layer and nerve fiber layers with the combined phase compensation of the two deformable mirrors in the AO SLO.

A weekly publication, the Texas Register serves as the journal of state agency rulemaking for Texas. Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents such as requests for proposals. After adoption, these rulemaking actions are codified into the Texas Administrative Code.

This report provides information about the Farm and Food Support Under USDA’s Section 32 Program which is funded by a permanent appropriation of 30% of previous year' s custom receipts to support the farm sector.

Leading markets for U.S. agricultural exports are Canada, Mexico, Japan, China, the European Union (EU), Taiwan, and Korea. The United States dominates world markets for corn, wheat, and cotton. Most U.S. agricultural imports are high-value products. The biggest import suppliers are Canada and the EU. Among the fastest-growing markets for U.S. agricultural exports are Canada and Mexico. Both the EU and the U.S. subsidize their agricultural sectors, but overall the EU out subsidizes the U.S. The U.S. has the most diverse food aid programs; others limit food aid to development assistance and emergencies.

This report provides historical background on the enactment of declarations of war and authorizations for the use of force and analyzes their legal effects under international and domestic law. It also sets forth their texts in two appendices. Because the statutes that confer standby authority on the President and the executive branch potentially play such a large role in an armed conflict to which the United States is a party, the report includes an extensive listing and summary of the statutes that are triggered by a declaration of war, a declaration of national emergency, and/or the existence of a state of war. The report concludes with a summary of the congressional procedures applicable to the enactment of a declaration of war or authorization for the use of force and to measures under the War Powers Resolution.

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This report provides historical background on the enactment of declarations of war and authorizations for the use of force and analyzes their legal effects under international and domestic law. It also sets forth their texts in two appendices. Because the statutes that confer standby authority on the President and the executive branch potentially play such a large role in an armed conflict to which the United States is a party, the report includes an extensive listing and summary of the statutes that are triggered by a declaration of war, a declaration of national emergency, and/or the existence of a state of war. The report concludes with a summary of the Congressional procedures applicable to the enactment of a declaration of war or authorization for the use of force and to measures under the War Powers Resolution.

Crime is ordinarily proscribed, tried and punished according to the laws on the place where it occurs. American criminal law applies beyond the geographical confines of the United States, however, under some limited circumstances. The federal exceptions to the general rule usually involve crimes like drug trafficking, terrorism, or crimes committed aboard a ship or airplane. State prosecution for overseas misconduct is limited almost exclusively to multijurisdictional crimes, i.e., crimes where some elements of the offense are committed within the state and others are committed abroad. The Constitution, Congress, and state law define the circumstances under which American criminal law may be used against crimes occurring, in whole or in part, outside the United States