Calibration of a seismic monitoring system remains a major issue due to the lack of ground truth information and uncertainties in the regional geological parameters. Rapid and accurate identification of seismic events is currently not feasible due to the absence of a fundamental framework allowing immediate access to ground truth information for many parts of the world. Precise location and high-confidence identification of regional seismic events are the primary objectives of monitoring research in seismology. In the Department of Energy Knowledge Base (KB), ground truth information addresses these objectives and will play a critical role for event relocation and identification using advanced seismic analysis tools. Maintaining the KB with systematic compilation and analysis of comprehensive sets of geophysical data from various parts of the world is vital. The goal of this project is to identify a comprehensive database for China using digital seismic waveform data that are currently unavailable. These data may be analyzed along with ground truth information that becomes available. To date, arrival times for all regional phases are determined on all events above Mb 4.5 that occurred in China in 2000 and 2001. Travel-time models are constructed to compare with existing models. Seismic attenuation models may be …

The Muon Ionization Cooling Experiment (MICE) is a channel of superconducting solenoid magnets. The magnets in MICE are around the RF cavities, absorbers (liquid or solid) and the primary particle detectors [1], [2]. The MICE superconducting solenoid system consists of eighteen coils that are grouped in three types of magnet assemblies. The cooling channel consists of two complete cell of an SFOFO cooling channel. Each cell consists of a focusing coil pair around an absorber and a coupling coil around a RF cavity that re-accelerates the muons to their original momentum. At the ends of the experiment are uniform field solenoids for the particle detectors and a set of matching coils used to match the muon beam to the cooling cells. Three absorbers are used instead of two in order to shield the detectors from dark currents generated by the RF cavities at high operating acceleration gradients.

The Engineered Barrier System (EBS) represents the system of human engineered barriers in the isolation of high-level radioactive waste in the proposed repository at Yucca Mountain. It is designed to complement and enhance the natural barriers to isolate and prevent the transport of radionuclides into the surrounding environment. The transport mechanism most frequently postulated for radionuclides is liquid water flux that has penetrated the EBS through corrosion breaches in the drip shield and waste packages (WP). A water flux-splitting model is used to predict flow through WP and drip shield breaches and is documented in the ''EBS Radionuclide Transport Abstraction''. A future revision of the ''EBS Radionuclide Transport Abstraction'' will be one component of the total system performance assessment--license application (TSPA-LA) for the Yucca Mountain repository. The flux-splitting model is conservative based on the following assumptions: (1) Drip impact occurs without a loss of water mass. (2) Dripping flux falls exactly at the crown of the drip shield as opposed to different locations on the curved surface, which will effect splashing and flow patterns. (3) The flux passing through a drip shield patch is proportional to the ratio of the length of the penetration in the axial direction to the …

This document is the final report on Grant No. DE-FG02-98ER45714, ''Alabama-ORNL Collaboration: Adaptation of Fast Multipole Code for Atomic-scale Micromagnetics.'' It describes the development of a new and efficient code for the calculation of magnetostatic interactions in simulation of magnetic media and disks.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The aviation industry and business traveler groups have proposed the registered traveler concept as a way to reduce long waits in airport security lines caused by heightened security screening measures implemented after the September 11 terrorist attacks. In addition, aviation security experts have advocated this concept as a way to better target security resources to those travelers who might pose greater security risks. The Aviation and Transportation Security Act of November 2001 allows the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to consider developing a registered traveler program as a way to address these two issues. GAO completed this review to inform Congress and TSA of policy and implementation issues related to the concept of a registered traveler program."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the U.S. Congress, the administration, law enforcement officials, and the public have questioned the effectiveness of U.S. visa programs in protecting national security. Some have voiced concern that terrorists or other criminals may exploit one of these programs--the Visa Waiver Program--to enter the United States. The program enables citizens of 28 participating countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business for 90 days or less without first obtaining a visa. It was created, in part, to promote the effective use of government resources and to facilitate international travel without threatening U.S. security. GAO was asked to review the Visa Waiver Program, including the process for assessing countries' eligibility to participate in the program. GAO was also asked to determine the implications--specifically those affecting national security, foreign relations, tourism, and State Department resources--of eliminating the program. GAO analysts traveled to several visa waiver countries, including Belgium, Italy, Slovenia, Spain, and Uruguay, as well as to Argentina, whose participation in the program was recently revoked."

This report discusses the president's FY2003 budget that was proposed tax cuts and spending increases to stimulate the economy, rapid increases in defense and homeland security spending, and a selection of other spending increases and decreases in discretionary spending.

U.S.-China economic ties have expanded substantially over the past several years. China is now the third largest U.S. trading partner, its second largest source of imports, and its fourth largest export market. However, U.S.-China commercial ties have been strained by a number of issues, including a surging U.S. trade deficit with China, China's refusal to float its currency, and failure to fully comply with its World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments, especially its failure to provide protection for U.S. intellectual property rights (IPR). This report explores these issues in detail, especially concerning the lack of protection for U.S. IPR.

China’s economy continues to be a concern to U.S. policymakers. On the one hand, China’s economic growth presents huge opportunities for U.S. exporters. On the other hand, the surge in Chinese exports to the United States has put competitive pressures on many U.S. industries. Many U.S. policymakers have argued that greater efforts should be made to pressure China to fully implement its WTO commitments and to change various economic policies deemed harmful to U.S. economic interests, such as its currency peg and its use of subsidies to support its SOEs. In addition, recent bids by Chinese state-owned firms to purchase various U.S. firms have raised concerns among Members over the impact such acquisitions could have on U.S. national and economic security.

Electroluminescent devices such as light-emitting diodes (LED) and high-energy density batteries. These new polymers offer cost savings, weight reduction, ease of processing, and inherent rugged design compared to conventional semiconductor materials. The photovoltaic industry has grown more than 30% during the past three years. Lightweight, flexible solar modules are being used by the U.S. Army and Marine Corps for field power units. LEDs historically used for indicator lights are now being investigated for general lighting to replace fluorescent and incandescent lights. These so-called solid-state lights are becoming more prevalent across the country since they produce efficient lighting with little heat generation. Conductive polymers are being sought for battery development as well. Considerable weight savings over conventional cathode materials used in secondary storage batteries make portable devices easier to carry and electric cars more efficient and nimble. Secondary battery sales represent an $8 billion industry annually. The purpose of the project was to synthesize and characterize conductive polymers. TRACE Photonics Inc. has researched critical issues which affect conductivity. Much of their work has focused on production of substituted poly(phenylenevinylene) compounds. These compounds exhibit greater solubility over the parent polyphenylenevinylene, making them easier to process. Alkoxy substituted groups evaluated during this study …

Several dairy issues that were debated during the 108th Congress are expected to continue as issues of interest in the 109th Congress. Separate bills were introduced in the 108th Congress to extend authority for both the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) Program and the dairy forward pricing pilot program, and to address dairy producer concerns about the importation of milk protein concentrates.

The overall objective of this project is the three phase development of an Early Entrance Coproduction Plant (EECP) which produces at least one product from at least two of the following three categories: (1) electric power (or heat), (2) fuels, and (3) chemicals. The objective is to have these products produced by technologies capable of using synthesis gas derived from coal and/or other carbonaceous feedstocks. The objective of Phase I is to determine the feasibility and define the concept for the EECP located at a specific site; develop a Research, Development, and Testing (RD&T) Plan for implementation in Phase II; and prepare a Preliminary Project Financing Plan. The objective of Phase II is to implement the work as outlined in the Phase I RD&T Plan to enhance the development and commercial acceptance of coproduction technology that produces high-value products, particularly those that are critical to our domestic fuel and power requirements. The project will resolve critical knowledge and technology gaps on the integration of gasification and downstream processing to coproduce some combination of power, fuels, and chemicals from coal and/or other carbonaceous feedstocks. The objective of Phase III is to develop an engineering design package and a financing and testing …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In the President's Management Agenda, a key element for reforming the federal government is the expansion of electronic government (e-government)--that is, the use of technology, particularly the Internet, to enhance access to government information and services. Accordingly, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) established a task force to select and manage strategic e-government initiatives. GAO was asked to review the completeness of information used for choosing and overseeing these initiatives."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "To help carry out its mission to protect the public from criminal activity, the Department of Justice invests about $2 billion annually in information technology (IT). In particular, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), a Justice agency, invested about $459 million in IT in fiscal year 2002. GAO was asked to determine, for key INS IT system investments, whether Justice's oversight has been effective, ensuring that these systems deliver promised capabilities and benefits on time and within budget."

The purpose of this document is to provide a calculus spreadsheet for the design of second-order pseudo-gaussian shapers. A very interesting reference is given by C.H. Mosher ''Pseudo-Gaussian Transfer Functions with Superlative Recovery'', IEEE TNS Volume 23, p. 226-228 (1976). Fred Goulding and Don Landis have studied the structure of those filters and their implementation and this document will outline the calculation leading to the relation between the coefficients of the filter. The general equation of the second order pseudo-gaussian filter is: f(t) = P{sub 0} {center_dot} e{sup -3kt} {center_dot} sin{sup 2}(kt). The parameter k is a normalization factor.

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A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The tax-filing season, roughly January 1 through April 15, is when most taxpayers file their returns, receive refunds, and call or visit IRS offices or the IRS Web site with questions. To provide better information about the quality of filing season services, IRS is revamping its suite of filing season performance measures. Because the new measures are part of a strategy to improve service and because filing season service affects so many taxpayers, GAO was asked to assess whether the new measures have the four characteristics of successful performance measures graphically depicted below."

In the early 1990's, two numerical models of the Death Valley regional ground-water flow system were developed by the U.S. Department of Energy. In general, the two models were based on the same basic hydrogeologic data set. In 1998, the U.S. Department of Energy requested that the U.S. Geological Survey develop and maintain a ground-water flow model of the Death Valley region in support of U.S. Department of Energy programs at the Nevada Test Site. The purpose of developing this ''second-generation'' regional model was to enhance the knowledge and understanding of the ground-water flow system as new information and tools are developed. The U.S. Geological Survey also was encouraged by the U.S. Department of Energy to cooperate to the fullest extent with other Federal, State, and local entities in the region to take advantage of the benefits of their knowledge and expertise. The short-term objective of the Death Valley regional ground-water flow system project was to develop a steady-stat e representation of the predevelopment conditions of the ground-water flow system utilizing the two geologic interpretations used to develop the previous numerical models. The long-term objective of this project was to construct and calibrate a transient model that simulates the ground-water …

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A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The administration has twice proposed reducing the Workforce Investment Act's (WIA) budget, citing large amounts of states' unspent funds carried over from the prior year. However, in light of current economic conditions, state and local workforce officials have expressed a need for more funds, not less. GAO was asked to assess whether the Department of Labor's spending information is a true reflection of states' available funds. GAO examined the spending rate for states, what Labor does to determine how states are managing their spending, and what factors affect states' WIA expenditure rates."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The United States has made great progress in improving working conditions since the construction of the Empire State Building. Yet, since the early 1990s, over 50,000 workers have died from work-related accidents and millions experience work-related injuries or illnesses each year. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is the primary federal agency responsible for protecting workplace safety and health. GAO was asked to assess how well OSHA was able to target its enforcement resources on hazardous worksites, measure its accomplishments, and ensure inspection staff quality."

Yucca Mountain, approximately 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada, has been selected as the site for the nation's first geologic repository for high level nuclear waste. The Yucca Mountain Project (YMP) is currently developing the design for the underground facilities. Ventilation is a key component of the design as a way to maintain the desired thermal conditions in the emplacement drifts prior to closure. As a means of determining the effects of continuous ventilation on heat removal from the emplacement drifts two series of scaled ventilation tests have been performed. Both test series were performed in the DOE/North Las Vegas Atlas facility. The tests provided scaled (nominally 25% of the full scale emplacement drift design) thermal and flow process data that will be used to validate YMP heat and mass transport codes. The Phase I Ventilation Test series evaluated the ability of ambient ventilation air to remove energy under varying flow and input power conditions. The Phase II Ventilation Test series evaluated the ability of pre-conditioned ventilation air to remove energy under varying flow, input temperature and moisture content, and simulated waste package input power conditions. Twenty-two distinct ventilation tests were run.

One approach being proposed to more cost-effectively achieve national air quality goals is a "multi-pollutant" strategy -- a framework based on a consistent set of emissions caps, implemented through emissions trading. This report discusses this strategy and related legislation.