Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Health Care Financing Administration's (HCFA) new rule on inpatient hospital deductible and hospital extended care services coinsurance amounts for 2000. GAO noted that: (1) the rule would announce the inpatient hospital deductible and the hospital and extended care services coinsurance amounts for services furnished in calendar year 2000 under Medicare's hospital insurance program; (2) the Medicare statute specifies the formula used to determine these amounts; and (3) HCFA complied with applicable requirements in promulgating the rule."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control (HCFAC) program, focusing on : (1) the amounts deposited to the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund pursuant to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and the sources of such amounts; (2) the amounts appropriated from the trust fund for HCFAC program and the justification for the expenditures of such amounts; (3) expenditures from the trust fund for HCFAC activities not related to Medicare; (4) any savings to the trust fund, as well as other savings, resulting from expenditures from the trust fund for the HCFAC program; and (5) other aspects of the operation of the trust fund."

This is a Test Report for Acceptance Test Procedure (ATP) RPP-5073. This test report provides the results of the inspection and testing of the new Pumping Instrumentation and Control (PIC) skid designed as ''M''. The ATP was successfully completed. A copy of the completed ATP is in the Appendix of this document.

The Tank Waste Remediation System (TWRS) Characterization Equipment Group requested that the Numatec Hanford Corporation--Engineering Testing Laboratory (ETL) perform Rotary Mode Core Sampling (RMCS) Operating Envelope (OE) testing. This testing was based upon Witwer 1998a and was performed at different time periods between May and September 1998. The purpose of this testing was to raise the maximum down force limit for rotary mode core sampling as outlined in the current OE. If testing could show that a higher down force could be used while drilling into a concrete/pumice block simulant while still remaining below the 60 C limitation, then the current OE could be revised to include the new, higher, down force limit. Although the Test Plan discussed varying the purge flow rate and rotation rate to find ''optimal'' drilling conditions, the number of drill bits that could be destructively tested was limited. Testing was subsequently limited in scope such that only the down force would be varied while the purge flow rate and rotation rate were kept constant at 30 scfm and 55 rpm respectively. A second objective, which was not part of the original test plan, was added prior to testing. The Bit Improvement testing, mentioned previously, revealed …

This Acceptance Test Procedure (ATP) provides for the inspection and testing of the new Pumping and Instrumentation Control (PIC) skid designed as ''N''. The ATP will be performed after the construction of the PIC skid in the shop.

Between 1992 to 1996, the CDF experiment has collected a data sample of 110 pb{sup -1} of p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.8 TeV at the Fermilab Tevatron. In the year 2001 the Tevatron will commence p{bar p} collisions again at {radical}s = 2.0 TeV delivering an integrated luminosity of 1 fb{sup -1} per year. In the mean time the CDF detector will have undergone substantial upgrades which will allow for a rich B physics program with unique capabilities. In this paper we discuss the B physics prospects at CDF with the data that will be collected during this upcoming Tevatron run.

Microstructure-level residual stresses arise in polycrystalline ceramics during processing as a result of thermal expansion anisotropy and crystallographic disorientation across the grain boundaries. Depending upon the grain size, the magnitude of these stresses can be sufficiently high to cause spontaneous microcracking during the processing of these materials. They are also likely to affect where cracks initiate and propagate under macroscopic loading. The magnitudes of residual stresses in untextured and textured alumina samples were predicted using object oriented finite (OOF) element analysis and experimentally determined grain orientations. The crystallographic orientations were obtained by electron-backscattered diffraction (EBSD). The residual stresses were lower and the stress distributions were narrower in the textured samples compared to those in the untextured samples. Crack initiation and propagation were also simulated using the Griffith fracture criterion. The grain boundary to surface energy ratios required for computations were estimated using AFM groove measurements.

Monte Carlo simulation of radiotherapy is now available for routine clinical use. It brings improved accuracy of dose calculations for treatments where important physics comes into play, and provides a robust, general tool for planning where empirical solutions have not been implemented. Through the use of Monte Carlo, new information, including the effects of the composition of materials in the patient, the effects of electron transport, and the details of the distribution of energy deposition, can be applied to the field. PEREGRINE{trademark} is a Monte Carlo dose calculation solution that was designed and built specifically for the purpose of providing a practical, affordable Monte Carlo capability to the clinic. The system solution was crafted to facilitate insertion of this powerful tool into day-to-day treatment planning, while being extensible to accommodate improvements in techniques, computers, and interfaces.

Although Congress authorizes most federal programs for multiple years, it annually authorizes programs for national defense as well as appropriating funding for them each fiscal year. Of the activities traditionally authorized and funded, the Department of Defense (DOD) administers the following six environmental programs: environmental restoration, compliance, cleanup at base closure sites, pollution prevention, environmental technology, and natural resource conservation.

One problem of interest to the oceanic engineering community is the detection and enhancement of internal wakes in open water synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images. Internal wakes, which occur when a ship travels in a stratified medium, have a V shape extending from the ship, and a chirp-like feature across each arm. The Radon transform has been applied to the detection and the enhancement problems in internal wake images to account for the linear features while the wavelet transform has been applied to the enhancement problem in internal wake images to account for the chirp-like features. In this paper, a new transform, a localized Radon transform with a wavelet filter (LRTWF), is developed which accounts for both the linear and the chirp-like features of the internal wake. This transform is then incorporated into optimal and sub-optimal detection schemes for images (with these features) which are contaminated by additive Gaussian noise.

In support of the U.S. Department of Energy's development and deployment of alternative fuels for environmental and national security reasons, NREL has managed a series of light-duty vehicle emissions tests on alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs). The purpose of this report is to give a detailed evaluation of the final emissions test results on vehicles tested on methanol, ethanol, and compressed natural gas.

Understanding the fate of heavy-metal contaminants in the environment is of fundamental importance in the development and evaluation of effective remediation and sequestration strategies. Among the factors influencing the transport of these contaminants are their chemical speciation and the chemical and physical attributes of the surrounding medium. Bacteria and the extracellular material associated with them are thought to play a key role in determining a contaminant's speciation and thus its mobility in the environment. In addition, the microenvironment at and adjacent to actively metabolizing cell surfaces can be significantly different from the bulk environment. Thus, the spatial distribution and chemical speciation of contaminants and elements that are key to biological processes must be characterized at micron and submicron resolution in order to understand the microscopic physical, geological, chemical, and biological interfaces that determine a contaminant's macroscopic fate. Hard x-ray microimaging is a powerful technique for the element-specific investigation of complex environmental samples at the needed micron and submicron resolution. An important advantage of this technique results from the large penetration depth of hard X-rays in water. This advantage minimizes the requirements for sample preparation and allows the detailed study of hydrated samples. This paper presents results of studies of the …

None

The authors report on the first known growth of high-quality epitaxial Si via the hot wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD) method. This method yields device-quality epitaxial Si at the comparatively low temperatures of 195 to 450 C, and relatively high growth rates of 3 to 20 {angstrom}/sec. Layers up to 4,500-{angstrom} thick have been grown. These epitaxial layers have been characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), indicating large regions of nearly perfect atomic registration. Electron channeling patterns (ECPs) generated on a scanning electron microscope (SEM) have been used to characterize as well as optimize the growth process. Electron beam induced current (EBIC) characterization has also been performed, indicating defect densities as low as 5 x 104/cm{sup 2}. Secondary ion beam mass spectrometry (SIMS) data shows that these layers have reasonable impurity levels within the constraints of the current deposition system. Both n and p-type layers were grown, and p/n diodes have been fabricated.

Reactive transport simulations are being used to evaluate the nature and extent of radionuclide contamination within alluvium surrounding an underground nuclear test at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). Simulations are focused on determining the abundance and chemical nature of radionuclides that are introduced into groundwater, as well as the rate and extent of radionuclide migration and reaction in groundwater surrounding the working point of the test. Transport simulations based upon a streamline-based numerical model are used to illustrate the nature of radionuclide elution out of the near-field environment and illustrate the conceptual modeling process. The numerical approach allowed for relatively complex flow and chemical reactions to be considered in a computationally efficient manner. The results are particularly sensitive to the rate of melt glass dissolution, distribution of reactive minerals in the alluvium, and overall groundwater flow configuration. They provide a rational basis from which defensible migration assessments can proceed.

As described in its multiyear program plan for 1998-2000, the Office of Heavy Vehicle Technologies (OHVT) envisions the development of a fuel-flexible, energy-efficient, near-zero-emissions, heavy-duty U.S. diesel engine technology devolving into all truck classes as a real and viable strategy for reducing energy requirements for commercial transport services and the rapidly growing multipurpose vehicle market (pickups, vans, and sport utility vehicles). Implementation of the OHVT program plan will have significant national benefits in energy savings, cleaner air, more jobs, and increased gross domestic product (GDP). Successful implementation will reduce the petroleum consumption of Class 1-8 trucks by 1.4 million barrels of oil per day by 2020 and over 1.8 million by 2030, amounting to a reduction in highway petroleum consumption of 13.2% and 18.6%, respectively. All types of regulated emissions will be reduced, that is, 20% drop in PM10 emissions (41,000 metric tons per year) by 203 0, 17% reduction in CO2 greenhouse gases (205 million metric tons per year), 7% reduction in NOx, 20% reduction in NMHC, and 30% reduction in CO. An increase of 15,000 jobs by 2020 is expected, as is an increase of $24 billion in GDP. The strategy of OHVT is to focus primarily on …

Pyro-metallurgical refining techniques are being developed for use with molten metallurgical-grade (MG) silicon so that directionally solidified refined MG silicon can be used as solar-grade (SoG) silicon feedstock for photovoltaic applications. The most problematic impurity elements are B and P because of their high segregation coefficients. Refining processes such as evacuation, formation of impurity complexes, oxidation of impurities, and slagging have been effective in removal of impurities from MG silicon. Charge sizes have been scaled up to 60 kg. Impurity analysis of 60-kg charges after refining and directional solidification has shown reduction of most impurities to <1 ppma and B and P to the 10-ppma level. It has been demonstrated that B and P, as well as other impurities, can be reduced from MG silicon. Further reduction of impurities will be necessary for use as SoG silicon. The procedures developed are simple and scaleable to larger charge sizes and carried out in a foundry or MG silicon production plant. Therefore, SoG silicon production using these procedures should be at low cost.

The People's Republic of China has undergone many changes over the past decade that have led to new growth and created opportunities for many industries, including the renewable energy industry. China has consistently had one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia. This report is a continuation of a market assessment done in 1997, which analyzed six provinces (Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Shandong, Qinghai, Xinjiang, and Zhejiang) in China. The information contained in this report comes mainly from interviews conducted with central and local government officials, state and local power bureau officials, and various company executives. The report provides valuable market information necessary for any company interested in entering China's renewable energy market. It also details the legal, competitive, sociocultural, technological, geographic, and economic environments of four provinces in China: Guangdong, Jiangxi, Jilin, and Yunnan. In addition, it outlines the major central government policies and contacts important to renewable energy development within China.

In situ transmission electron microscopy (150 kV) has been employed to study the evolution of dislocation microstructure during relatively rapid thermal cycling of a 200 nm Al thin film on Si substrate. After a few thermal cycles between 150 and 500 C, nearly stable Al columnar grain structure is established with average grain less than a {micro}m. On rapid cooling (3--30+ C/s) from 500 C, dislocations first appear at a nominal temperature of 360--380 C, quickly multiplying and forming planar glide plane arrays on further cooling. From a large number of such experiments the authors have attempted to deduce the dislocation evolution during thermal cycling in these polycrystalline Al films and to account qualitatively for the results on a simple dislocation model.

A novel, cost-effective, and environmentally benign process was developed to produce highly efficient carbon-based adsorbents (CBAs) from paper mill sludge. The production process required chemical activation of sludge using zinc chloride and pyrolysis at 750 C in N{sub 2} gas. The produced CBAs were characterized according to their surface area and pore size distribution using N{sub 2}-BET adsorption isotherm data. Further characterization of the surface and pore structure was conducted using a unified exponential/power law approach applied to small angle neutron scattering (SANS) data. The structural features analyzed by SANS revealed the dependence of porosity with zinc chloride concentration. The presence of inaccessible pores was also determined by contrast-match experiments.

The authors have probed the 48-hr crystallization of a magnesium silicate clay called hectorite. Small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) at the Advanced Photon Source using aliquots ex situ has revealed that data is consistent with ex situ XRD, TGA, AFM, and IR data in that all these techniques see clay crystallite beginning to form in the first few hours of reaction. Tetraethylammonium (TEA) ions are used to aid crystallization and become incorporated as the exchange cations within the interlayers. {sup 13}C NMR shows that 80% of the final TEA loading is accomplished in the first 10 hrs. {sup 29}Si NMR displays a visible clay silicate peak after just 1 hr. In addition, the first in situ study of clay crystallization of any kind was performed by in situ SAXS. Results are consistent with the ex situ data as well as showing the sensitivity of SAXS to sol gel reactions occurring on the order of minutes.

We report recent studies of CP-violation and mixing in neutral B mesons from the CDF experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. Results of a direct measurement of the CP-violation parameter sin 2{beta} using B{sup 0} {yields} J/{psi}K{sub S}{sup 0} with multi flavor tagging algorithms, a search for B{sub s}{sup 0} - {bar B}{sub s}{sup 0} mixing using semileptonic decays, and the updated precision measurements of the B{sup 0} - {bar B}{sup 0} mixing parameter will be presented. The prospects for B physics with the upgraded CDF detector in the next Tevatron Collider run will also be discussed.

Synchrotron radiation is a very bright, broadband, polarized, pulsed source of electromagnetic radiation extending from the infrared to the x-ray region. Brightness, defined as flux per unit area per unit solid angle, is normally a more important quantity than flux or intensity, particularly in throughput limited applications which include those in which monochromators are used. The authors have attempted to compile the formulae needed to calculate the flux, brightness, polarization and power produced by the three standard storage ring synchrotron radiation sources: bending magnets, wigglers and undulators. Where necessary, these formulae have contained reference to the emittance of the electron beam, as well as to the electron beam size and its divergence. For all three type sources, the source phase space area, i.e. the spatial and angular extent of the effective (real) source, is a convolution of its electron and photon components.