Pyrite (FeS{sub 2}) is one of the most common naturally occurring minerals that is present in many subsurface environments. It plays an important role in the genesis of enriched ore deposits through weathering reactions, is the most abundant sulfide mineral in many mine tailings, and is the primary source of acid drainage from mines and waste rock piles. The pyrite oxidation reaction serves as a prototype for oxidative weathering processes with broad significance for geoscientific, engineering, and environmental applications. Mathematical modeling of these processes is extremely challenging because aqueous concentrations of key species vary over an enormous range, oxygen inventory and supply are typically small in comparison to pyrite inventory, and chemical reactions are complex, involving kinetic control and microbial catalysis. We present the mathematical formulation of a general multi-phase advective-diffusive reactive transport model for redox processes. Two alternative implementations were made in the TOUGHREACT and TOUGH2-CHEM simulation codes which use sequential iteration and simultaneous solution, respectively. The simulators are applied to reactive consumption of pyrite in (1) saturated flow of oxidizing water, and (2) saturated-unsaturated flow in which oxygen transport occurs in both aqueous and gas phases. Geochemical evolutions predicted from different process models are compared, and issues of …

A habitat evaluation of the Weir property, an approximately 200-acre in holding of private property within the Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge), was conducted using the Habitat Evaluation Procedures (HEP) methodology. The Weir property consists of two separate parcels, an upper unit of 40 acres and a 160-acre lower unit. Evaluation species were ruffed grouse and white-tailed deer. Life requisites evaluated were available browse for white-tailed deer and winter food and fall-to-spring cover for ruffed grouse. Field data were collected on October 16, 17, and 21, 1997. Approximately 37 acres of the lower 160-acre unit are currently grasslands with no shrub or tree cover, and therefore do not provide suitable ruffed grouse or white-tailed deer cover. They excluded this acreage from the HEP calculations for current conditions. This acreage was included in the HEP calculations for ruffed grouse after future management strategies were factored in. It was not included in projections for white-tailed deer. The entire property was stratified into 6 stands (2 in the upper unit and 4 in the lower unit) for data collection. Data were collected at 10 points, spaced 20 paces (approximately 16 m) apart along one randomly selected transect in each stand, for …

In a short review of recent work, we discuss the general problem of constructing the actions of new conformal field theories from old conformal field theories. Such a construction follows when the old conformal field theory admits new conformal stress tensors in its chiral algebra, and it turns out that the new conformal field theory is generically a new spin-two gauge theory. As an example we discuss the new spin-two gauged sigma models which arise in this fashion from the general conformal non-linear sigma model.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to management controls at the Texas Workers' Compensation Commission (Commission). The report evaluates the existing management control systems at the Commission, which enable the Commission to accomplish its mission, goals, and strategies, and also provides suggestions for improvements to existing practices and systems.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to analyzing the increase in new debt in school districts; determining types of alternative debt, implications for future school district solvency, and the amount of debt associated with each type; and reviewing the roles of the Texas Education Agency, the Attorney General's Office, and the Texas Bond Review Board to determine the extent of oversight and to identify gaps in oversight responsibilities.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to the control system in place at the offices of the Attorney General and the Comptroller of Public Accounts, which effectively ensures that the State pays only judgments and settlements meeting the requirements of the General Appropriations Act, Article IX, Section 60, and that the Legislature and Governor are able to monitor such expenditures effectively.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to corrective actions made by the new management of the Board of Private Investigators and Private Security Agencies (Board).

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to opportunities for Sul Ross State University to improve its management of student financial assistance (critical), policy development, human resources, and construction.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to reimbursements to the General Revenue Fund for unemployment and workers' compensation benefits in a timely manner from the appropriate source funds, and the consistency in methods used to determine the source funds for unemployment benefit reimbursement.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to recommendations to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice of land parcels to be sold, leased, or used for prison operations.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to adequate controls relating to policy, performance, and resource management at the University of Texas at San Antonio (University), and opportunities for improvement in certain operational areas in order to increase accountability.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to opportunities for the Employees Retirement System of Texas (System) to enhance control systems used to monitor customer satisfaction, health maintenance organization (HMO) contract compliance, and compliance with the Texas Employees Uniform Group Insurance Benefits Act.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to determining what actions have been taken to address the issues and implement the recommendations with prior audits ("An Assessment of the Texas Education Agency's Monitoring Systems for Public Education" and "A Review of Management Controls at the Texas Education Agency"), and determining if the directives included in Senate Bill 1, 74th Legislature, are being achieved.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to determining if the Texas Department of Health has sufficient management controls in place to manage and monitor Medicaid managed care, evaluate and ensure that the program is cost effective, and evaluate and ensure that the program outcomes are met.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to Lamar University - Beaumont's (University) poor fiscal controls, lack of and/or failure to follow established policies and procedures, inadequate planning, and insufficient oversight from executive management, which have resulted in a material weakness in fiscal management, weaknesses in information and resource management, and significant problems in several University operations.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to determining what actions management of the University of Texas at El Paso (University) has taken to address the issues and recommendations from a previous report.

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, Dan Morales, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Whether a hold and save harmless provision that requires a county to indemnify another party for damages creates a debt within the meaning of article XI, section 7 of the Texas Constitution (RQ-1001)

Letter opinion 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, Dan Morales, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Whether article 37.122 of the Education Code prohibits the sale of alcoholic beverages at non-school events held at a student activities complex owned by an independent school district (RQ-1003)

Letter opinion 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, Dan Morales, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification;Whether Natural Resources Code section 31.309 applies to certain Ellis County land sales (RQ-1031) .

Letter opinion 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, Dan Morales, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification;Whether the Justice of the peace located twenty miles from county depository may have his or her local bank wore the county funds to the county treasurer's account in the depository(RQ-959).

Letter opinion 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, Dan Morales, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Whether a company offering comprehensive complaint investigations must be licensed by the Texas Board of Private Investigators and Private Security Agencies (RQ-980)

Letter opinion 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, Dan Morales, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Whether a county commissioners court, in distributing the corpus of the county permanent school fund pursuant to article VII, section 6b, of the Texas Constitution, should take into account the distribution of a neighboring county's fund, and related questions (RQ-997)

Letter opinion 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, Dan Morales, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Whether Local Government Code section 381.004 authorizes a commissioners court to provide funds to a small business development center (RQ-960)

Letter opinion 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, Dan Morales, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether state aid to community corrections facility may be used to provide services and programs to a person convicted of or charged with noncriminal offense.