Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Federal, state, and local governments share responsibility for terrorist attacks. However, local government, including police and fire departments, emergency medical personnel, and public health agencies, is typically the first responder to an incident. The federal government historically has provided leadership, training, and funding assistance. In the aftermath of September 11, for instance, one-quarter of the $40 billion Emergency Response Fund was earmarked for homeland security, including enhancing state and local government preparedness. Because the national security threat is diffuse and the challenge is highly intergovernmental, national policymakers must formulate strategies with a firm understanding of the interests, capacity, and challenges facing those governments. The development of a national strategy will improve national preparedness and enhance partnerships between federal, state, and local governments. The creation of the Office of Homeland Security is an important and potentially significant first step. The Office of Homeland Security's strategic plan should (1) define and clarify the appropriate roles and responsibilities of federal, state, and local entities; (2) establish goals and performance measures to guide the nation's preparedness efforts; and (3) carefully choose the most appropriate tools of government to implement the national strategy …

We have previously shown that epimorphin, a protein expressed on the surface of myoepithelial and fibroblast cells of the mammary gland, acts as a multifunctional morphogen of mammary epithelial cells. Here, we present the molecular mechanism by which epimorphin mediates luminal morphogenesis. Treatment of cells with epimorphin to induce lumen formation greatly increases the overall expression of transcription factor CCAAT/enhancer binding protein beta (C/EBPbeta) and alters the relative expression of its two principal isoforms, LIP and LAP. These alterations were shown to be essential for the morphogenetic activities, as constitutive expression of LIP was sufficient to produce lumen formation, while constitutive expression of LAP blocked epimorphin-mediated luminal morphogenesis. Furthermore, in a transgenic mouse model in which epimorphin expression was expressed in an apolar fashion on the surface of mammary epithelial cells, we found increased expression of C/EBPbeta, increased relative expression of LIP to LAP, and enlarged ductal lumina. Together, our studies demonstrate a role for epimorphin in luminal morphogenesis through control of C/EBPbeta expression.

Confidence limits are common place in physics analysis. Great care must be taken in their calculation and use especially in cases of limited statistics. We introduce the concept of statistical errors of confidence limits and argue that not only should limits be calculated but also their errors in order to represent the results of the analysis to the fullest. We show that comparison of two different limits from two different experiments becomes easier when their errors are also quoted. Use of errors of confidence limits will lead to abatement of the debate on which method is best suited to calculate confidence limits.

It is important that air emissions from tritium systems be kept as low as reasonably achievable. Thus, over the years a number of gas detritiation systems have been developed. Recently there has been interest in lower-cost, simpler systems which do not convert HT to the much more hazardous HTO form. Examples of such systems are (1) a bubbler/dehumidifier, (2) a bubbler/collector, and (3) an adsorber/collector. A computer model of each configuration was written and run. Each system's performance, including tritium buildup in liquid water, and tritium exhausted to the environment, are presented and compared.

The anion exchange capacity in the HB-Line Phase II Facility will be used to purify plutonium solutions potentially containing significant quantities of depleted uranium. Following purification, the plutonium will be precipitated as an oxalate and calcined to plutonium oxide (PuO2) for storage until final disposition.

The Analytical Development Section of Savannah River Technology Center (SRTC) was requested by the Facilities Disposition Division (FDD) to determine the holdup of enriched uranium in the 321-M facility as part of an overall deactivation project of the facility. The 321-M facility was used to fabricate enriched uranium fuel assemblies, lithium-aluminum target tubes, neptunium assemblies, and miscellaneous components for the production reactors. The facility also includes the 324-M storage building and the passageway connecting it to 321-M. The results of the holdup assays are essential for determining compliance with the Waste Acceptance Criteria, Material Control and Accountability, and to meet criticality safety controls. This report covers holdup measurements of uranium residue in the exhaust piping elbows removed from the roof the 321-M facility.

The Analytical Development Section of SRTC was requested by the Facilities Disposition Division to determine the holdup of enriched uranium in the 321-M facility as part of an overall deactivation project of the facility. This report includes a description of two efficiency calibration configurations and also the results of the assay. A description of the quality control checks is included as well.

Testing looked at the mercury removal performance of various resins: Amberlite(TM) GT-73A from Rohn and Haas, Purolite(TM) S-920 from Bro-Tech Corporation, Ionac(TM) SR-4 from Sybron Chemicals, and SIR-200(TM) from Resin Tech. Larger than explained variations from the SIR-200(TM) testing is due to one data point being one order of magnitude larger than the rest of the data. Analysis in another lab verified the accuracy of this data point. Additional studies must address the chemical stability of SIR-200(TM) (a possible source for the one outlier data point) in this solution. This study found that the resin SIR-200(TM) from Resin Tech performed similarly to the resin GT-73A from Rohn and Haas

The final report of the accomplishments of the geothermal energy program: information dissemination, public outreach and technical analysis activities by the project team consisting of the Geo-Heat Center, Geothermal Resources Council, Geothermal Education Office, Geothermal Energy Association and the Washington State University Energy Program.

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.

Fused silica and Si-O{sub x} coatings are of interest for use under high flux conditions of laser light. Si-O{sub x} coatings are sputter deposited from silicon and fused quartz targets using planar magnetrons operated in the rf mode with a variable working-gas mixture of Argon-Oxygen. A series of coatings are prepared on optically flat, fused quartz substrates. Analysis of surface curvature reveals the deposition process conditions that minimize residual stress. Compressive stress levels that exceed 1.5 GPa can be reduced to less than 0.4 GPa for an optimum working gas pressure. Characterization using Rutherford backscattering and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicates that both the fused quartz and silicon targets can be used to sputter deposit coatings with the chemical bonding features of the fused-quartz substrate material.

The Mallik site represents an onshore permafrost-associated gas hydrate accumulation in the Mackenzie Delta, Northwest Territories, Canada. An 1150 m deep gas hydrate research well was drilled at the site in 1998. The objective of this study is the analysis of various gas production scenarios from several gas-hydrate-bearing zones at the Mallik site. The TOUGH2 general-purpose simulator with the EOSHYDR2 module were used for the analysis. EOSHYDR2 is designed to model the non-isothermal CH{sub 4} (methane) release, phase behavior and flow under conditions typical of methane-hydrate deposits by solving the coupled equations of mass and heat balance, and can describe any combination of gas hydrate dissociation mechanisms. Numerical simulations indicated that significant gas hydrate production at the Mallik site was possible by drawing down the pressure on a thin free-gas zone at the base of the hydrate stability field. Gas hydrate zones with underlying aquifers yielded significant gas production entirely from dissociated gas hydrate, but large amounts of produced water. Lithologically isolated gas-hydrate-bearing reservoirs with no underlying free gas or water zones, and gas-hydrate saturations of at least 50% were also studied. In these cases, it was assumed that thermal stimulation by circulating hot water in the well was the …

The key source of uncertainty in assessing actinide mobility is the relative importance of transport by: (1) wind erosion, (2) water erosion, and (3) vertical migration. Each of these three processes depends on several environmental factors and they compete with one another. A scientific assessment of the long-term risks associated with actinides in surface soils depends on better quantifying each of these three modes of mobility. The objective from our EMSP study was to quantify the mobility of soil actinides by wind erosion, water erosion, and vertical migration at three semiarid sites where actinide mobility is a key technical, social and legal issue. This EMSP project was the first to evaluate all three factors at a site. The approach has been to investigate both short- and long-term issues based on field and lab studies and model comparisons. Our results demonstrate the importance of incorporating threshold responses into a modeling framework that accounts for environmental factors and natural disturbances that trigger large changes in actinide mobility. The study measured erosional losses of sediment and fallout cesium (an actinide analogue) from field plots located near WIPP in 1998. The results highlight the large effect of burning as a disturbance on contaminant transport …

This is the final report of the accomplishments of the geothermal energy program: information dissemination, public outreach, and technical analysis activities by the project team consisting of the Geo-Heat Center, Geothermal Resources Council, Geothermal Education Office, Geothermal Energy Association, and the Washington State University Energy Program.

Appropriations are one part of a complex federal budget process that includes budget resolutions, appropriations (regular, supplemental, and continuing) bills, rescissions, and budget reconciliation bills. This report is a guide to one of the 13 regular appropriations bills that Congress considers each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Agriculture.

This report provides a concise historical account of the dispute, summarizes the subsidy and injury evidence, and discusses the current issues and events regarding lumber imports from Canada.

This report discusses the chief law enforcement officer of the House, the Sergeant at Arms, responsible for security in the House wing of the Capitol, the House office buildings, and on adjacent grounds.

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This report examines the economic and political situation in Cuba, including the human rights situation, and U.S. policy toward Cuba. The report also analyzes a number of issues facing Congress in U.S. policy toward Cuba, including: the overall direction of U.S. policy; challenges to U.S. policy in the World Trade Organization; restrictions on commercial food and medical exports; restrictions on travel; bilateral drug trafficking cooperation; Cuba and terrorism; funding for U.S.-government sponsored radio and television broadcasting to Cuba; the Russian signals intelligence facility in Cuba; migration issues; and compensation to the families of those Americans killed in 1996 when Cuba shot down two U.S. civilian planes. The report cites legislation that was passed in the 106th Congress, and also tracks legislative action on these various issues in U.S. policy toward Cuba in the 107th Congress.

This report provides an overview of legislative history of federal legislation. The report briefly outlines the legislative process and then suggests where to find materials that describe or document a piece of legislation's progress through Congress.

The Federal Railroad Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation is the primary federal agency that promotes and regulates railroad safety. To implement its safety responsibilities, the Federal Railroad Administration uses numerous strategies including the Safety Assurance and Compliance Program, field inspections; and to help improve its regulations, the administration uses the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee. This report contains information on the Federal Railroad Administration's Safety Program, railroad safety statistics, key reauthorization issues, and related information.

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This report provides an overview of legislative history of federal legislation. The report briefly outlines the legislative process and then suggests where to find materials that describe or document a piece of legislation's progress through Congress.

This report discusses the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) responsibility for inspecting most meat, poultry, and processed egg products for safety, wholesomeness, and proper labeling while detailing the results of congressional action in reducing the presence of pathogens and food-borne illness in facilities and food products.