A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Over the past several years, the Air Force has negotiated and awarded more than $23 million in contracts to the Boeing Corporation for the purchase of certain spare parts for its Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft. Since they first became operational in March 1977, AWACS aircraft have provided U.S. and allied defense forces with the ability to detect, identify, and track airborne threats. In March 2003, GAO received allegations that the Air Force was overpaying Boeing for AWACS spare parts. This report provides the findings of GAO's review into these allegations. Specifically, GAO identified spare parts price increases and determined whether the Air Force obtained and evaluated sufficient information to ensure the prices were fair and reasonable. GAO also determined the extent to which competition was used to purchase the spare parts."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Oil for Food program was established by the United Nations and Iraq in 1996 to address concerns about the humanitarian situation after international sanctions were imposed in 1990. The program allowed the Iraqi government to use the proceeds of its oil sales to pay for food, medicine, and infrastructure maintenance. Allegations of fraud and corruption have plagued the Oil for Food program. As we have testified and others have reported, the former regime gained illicit revenues through smuggling and through illegal surcharges and commissions on Oil for Food contracts. The United Nations' Independent Inquiry Committee was established in April 2004 to investigate allegations of corruption and misconduct within the Oil for Food program and its overall management of the humanitarian program. In January 2005, the Committee publicly released 58 internal audit reports conducted by the United Nations' Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS). GAO (1) provides information on OIOS' background, structure, and resources; (2) highlights the findings of the internal audit reports; and (3) discusses limitations on the audits' coverage."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Critical transportation systems crisscross the nation and extend beyond our borders to move millions of passengers and tons of freight each day, making them both attractive targets to terrorists and difficult to secure. Securing these systems is further complicated by the need to balance security with the expeditious flow of people and goods through these systems. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) faces the daunting challenge of determining how to allocate its finite resources to manage risks while addressing threats and enhancing security across all transportation modes. To assist the Congress and TSA in focusing resources on the areas of greatest need, we were asked to describe Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and TSA efforts in managing risks and allocating resources across aviation and surface transportation modes, and in integrating screening, credentialing, and research and development (R&D) efforts to achieve efficiencies."

This report describes the proposal and provides an estimate of the cost or savings based on publicly available information. The report provides a brief background for the proposal and provides a listing of current Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports related to the proposal.

The anthrax letters event of 2001 has raised our awareness of the potential importance of non-biological measurements on samples of biological agents used in a terrorism incident. Such measurements include a variety of mass spectral, spectroscopic, and other instrumental techniques that are part of the current armamentarium of the modern materials analysis or analytical chemistry laboratory. They can provide morphological, trace element, isotopic, and other molecular ''fingerprints'' of the agent that may be key pieces of evidence, supplementing that obtained from genetic analysis or other biological properties. The generation and interpretation of such data represents a new domain of forensic science, closely aligned with other areas of ''microbial forensics''. This paper describes some major elements of the R&D agenda that will define this sub-field in the immediate future and provide the foundations for a coherent national capability. Data from chemical and physical analysis of BW materials can be useful to an investigation of a bio-terror event in two ways. First, it can be used to compare evidence samples collected at different locations where such incidents have occurred (e.g. between the powders in the New York and Washington letters in the Amerithrax investigation) or between the attack samples and those seized …

Topological transitions in bubbling half-BPS Type IIB geometries with SO(4) x SO(4) symmetry can be decomposed into a sequence of n elementary transitions. The half-BPS solution that describes the elementary transition is seeded by a phase space distribution of fermions filling two diagonal quadrants. We study the geometry of this solution in some detail. We show that this solution can be interpreted as a time dependent geometry, interpolating between two asymptotic pp-waves in the far past and the far future. The singular solution at the transition can be resolved in two different ways, related by the particle-hole duality in the effective fermion description. Some universal features of the topology change are governed by two-dimensional Type 0B string theory, whose double scaling limit corresponds to the Penrose limit of AdS_5 x S5 at topological transition. In addition, we present the full class of geometries describing the vicinity of the most general localized classical singularity that can occur in this class of half-BPS bubbling geometries.

Topological transitions in bubbling half-BPS Type IIB geometries with SO(4) x SO(4) symmetry can be decomposed into a sequence of n elementary transitions. The half-BPS solution that describes the elementary transition is seeded by a phase space distribution of fermions filling two diagonal quadrants. We study the geometry of this solution in some detail. We show that this solution can be interpreted as a time dependent geometry, interpolating between two asymptotic pp-waves in the far past and the far future. The singular solution at the transition can be resolved in two different ways, related by the particle-hole duality in the effective fermion description. Some universal features of the topology change are governed by two-dimensional Type 0B string theory, whose double scaling limit corresponds to the Penrose limit of AdS_5 x S^5 at topological transition. In addition, we present the full class of geometries describing the vicinity of the most general localized classical singularity that can occur in this class of half-BPS bubbling geometries.

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The Savannah River Site, SRS, is currently pursuing an aggressive program to empty its High Level Waste, HLW, tanks and immobilize its radioactive waste into a durable borosilicate glass in the Defense Waste Processing Facility, DWPF. To create a batch of feed for the DWPF, several tanks of sludge slurry are combined into one of the million gallon, i.e. 3.79E06 liters, feed tanks for DWPF. A batch of feed nominally consists of 500,000 gallons, i.e. 1.89E06 liters. After a batch of feed is prepared, a portion of the batch, 26,500 liters, is transferred to DWPF. This batch is then chemically adjusted in the Chemical Processing Cell, CPC, prior to being fed to the melter to make the final product; canisters filled with glass. During the processing of the third batch, or Sludge Batch 2, of feed through the DWPF CPC, pumping and transfer problems were noted. These problems hindered the processing of the feed through the CPC, and thus impacted canister production in DWPF. In order to investigate the root cause of these problems, data were collected and evaluated for possible trends. One trend noted was the relationship between the pH, solids loading concentration, and temperature of the feed. As …

This research program involved direct observation of the complicated plasma dynamics underlying spheromak formation. Spheromaks are self-organizing magnetically dominated plasma configurations which potentially offer a simple, low-cost means for confining the plasma in a controlled thermonuclear fusion reactor. The spheromak source used in these studies was a coaxial co-planar magnetized plasma gun which was specifically designed to have the simplest relevant geometry. The simplicity of the geometry facilitated understanding of the basic physics and minimized confusion that would otherwise have resulted from complexities due to the experimental geometry. The coaxial plasma gun was mounted on one end of a large vacuum tank that had excellent optical access so the spheromak formation process could be tracked in detail using ultra-high speed cameras. The main accomplishments of this research program were (1) obtaining experimental data characterizing the detailed physics underlying spheromak formation and the development of new theoretical models motivated by these observations, (2) determining the relationship between spheromak physics and astrophysical jets, (3) developing a new high-speed camera diagnostic for the SSPX spheromak at the Lawrence Livermore National Lab, and (4) training graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.

Heavy ion beam driven inertial fusion requires short ion beam pulses with high current and high brightness. Depending on the beam current and the number of beams in the driver system, the injector can use a large diameter surface ionization source or merge an array of small beamlets from a plasma source. In this paper, we review the scaling laws that govern the injector design and the various ion source options including the contact ionizer, the aluminosilicate source, the multicusp plasma source, and the MEVVA source.

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies show formation of different types of Mg-rich defects in GaN. Types of defects strongly depend on crystal growth polarity. For bulk crystals grown with N-polarity, the planar defects are distributed at equal distances (20 unit cells of GaN). For growth with Ga-polarity (for both bulk and MOCVD grown crystals) a different type of defects have been found. These defects are three-dimensional Mg-rich hexagonal pyramids (or trapezoids) with their base on the (0001) plane and six walls formed on 1123 planes. The defects appear in [1120] and [1100] cross-section TEM micrographs as triangular and trapezoidal with sides inclined at 43 and 47 degrees to the base depending on the above observation directions, respectively. The dimension of these pyramids varies depending on growth method (50-1000 Angstrom), but the angle between the base and their sides remain the same. The direction from the tip of the pyramid to its base (and from the shorter to the longer base for trapezoidal defects) is along the Ga to N matrix bond direction. Analysis of the reconstructed exit wave phase image from the pyramid side indicates a shift of Ga atomic column positions from the matrix to the N position within …

The overall purpose of this project is to evaluate the biological and economic feasibility of restoring high-quality forests on mined land, and to measure carbon sequestration and wood production benefits that would be achieved from forest restoration procedures. During the reporting period (October-December 2004) we completed the validation of a forest productivity classification model for mined land. A coefficient of determination (R{sup 2}) of 0.68 confirms the model's ability to predict SI based on a selection of mine soil properties. To determine carbon sequestration under different forest management scenarios, a field study was installed as a 3 x 3 factorial in a random complete block design with three replications at each of three locations, Ohio (Figure 1), West Virginia (Figure 2), and Virginia (Figure 3). The treatments included three forest types (white pine, hybrid poplar, mixed hardwood) and three silvicultural regimes (competition control, competition control plus tillage, competition control plus tillage plus fertilization). For hybrid poplar, total plant biomass differences increased significantly with the intensity of silvicultural input. Root, stem, and foliage biomass also increased with the level of silvicultural intensity. Financial feasibility analyses of reforestation on mined lands previously reclaimed to grassland have been completed for conversion to white …

Ability to determine whether an image peak represents one single atom or several depends on resolution of the HR-(S)TEM. Rayleigh's resolution criterion, an accepted standard in optics, was derived as a means for judging when two image intensity peaks from two sources of light (stars) are distinguishable from a single source. Atom spacings closer than the Rayleigh limit have been resolved in HR-TEM, suggesting that it may be useful to consider other limits, such as the Sparrow resolution criterion. From the viewpoint of the materials scientist, it is important to be able to use the image to determine whether an image feature represents one or more atoms (resolution), and where the atoms (or atom columns) are positioned relative to one another (resolution quality). When atoms and the corresponding image peaks are separated by more than the Rayleigh limit of the HR-(S)TEM, it is possible to adjust imaging parameters so that relative peak positions in the image correspond to relative atom positions in the specimen. When atoms are closer than the Rayleigh limit, we must find the relationship of the peak position to the atom position by peak fitting or, if we have a suitable model, by image simulation. Our Rayleigh-Sparrow …

The team of the Fellowship for Interpretation of Genomes (FIG) under the leadership of Ross Overbeek, began working on this Project in November 2003. During the previous year, the Project was performed at Integrated Genomics Inc. A transition from the industrial environment to the public domain prompted us to adjust some aspects of the Project. Notwithstanding the challenges, we believe that these adjustments had a strong positive impact on our deliverables. Most importantly, the work of the research team led by R. Overbeek resulted in the deployment of a new open source genomic platform, the SEED (Specific Aim 1). This platform provided a foundation for the development of CyanoSEED a specialized portal to comparative analysis and metabolic reconstruction of all available cyanobacterial genomes (Specific Aim 3). The SEED represents a new generation of software for genome analysis. Briefly, it is a portable and extendable system, containing one of the largest and permanently growing collections of complete and partial genomes. The complete system with annotations and tools is freely available via browsing or via installation on a user's Mac or Linux computer. One of the important unique features of the SEED is the support of metabolic reconstruction and comparative genome analysis …

Achievement of atomic-resolution electron-beam tomography will allow determination of the three-dimensional structure of nanoparticles (and other suitable specimens) at atomic resolution. Three-dimensional reconstructions will yield ''section'' images that resolve atoms overlapped in normal electron microscope images (projections), resolving lighter atoms such as oxygen in the presence of heavier atoms, and atoms that lie on non-lattice sites such as those in non-periodic defect structures. Lower-resolution electron microscope tomography has been used to produce reconstructed 3D images of nanoparticles [1] but extension to atomic resolution is considered not to be straightforward. Accurate three-dimensional reconstruction from two-dimensional projections generally requires that intensity in the series of 2-D images be a monotonic function of the specimen structure (often specimen density, but in our case atomic potential). This condition is not satisfied in electron microscopy when specimens with strong periodicity are tilted close to zone-axis orientation and produce ''anomalous'' image contrast because of strong dynamic diffraction components. Atomic-resolution reconstructions from tilt series containing zone-axis images (with their contrast enhanced by strong dynamical scattering) can be distorted when the stronger zone-axis images overwhelm images obtained in other ''random'' orientations in which atoms do not line up in neat columns. The first demonstrations of 3-D reconstruction to …

The purpose of this memo is to lay out the uncertainties associated with the measurement of density of Be ablators by the weigh and volume method. I am counting on the readers to point out any faulty assumptions about the techniques or uncertainties associated with them. Based on the analysis presented below we should expect that 30 {micro}m thick shells will have an uncertainty in the measured density of about 2% of the value, coming more or less equally from the mass and volume measurement. The uncertainty is roughly inversely proportional to the coating thickness, thus a 60 {micro}m walled shell would result in a 1% uncertainty in the density.

In an effort to determine spill characteristics, information about a spill's spatial distribution with time is being studied. For permeable surfaces, spill phenomenology is controlled by liquid and soil properties, the most relevant of which are presented in this report. The pertinent liquid and soil properties were tabulated for ten liquids and four soils. The liquids represented an array of organic compounds, some of which are or are soon to be documented in the liquid spectra library by the Environmental Molecular Science Laboratory at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The soils were chosen based on ongoing surface spectra work and to represent a range of relevant soil properties. The effect of the liquid and soil properties on spill phenomenology were explored using a spill model that couples overland flow described by gravity currents with the Green-Ampt infiltration model. From the simulations, liquid viscosity was found to be a controlling liquid property in determining the amount of time a spill remains on the surface, with the surface vanish time decreasing as viscosity decreased. This was attributed to decreasing viscosity increasing both the hydraulic conductivity of the soil and allowing for the spill to more quickly spread out onto an unsaturated soil surface. …

This report discusses the federal "Head Start" program that has provided comprehensive early childhood development services to low-income children since 1965. The Head Start program has received increases of varying levels over the past two decades.

The Helmholtz machine provides what may be the best existing model for how the mammalian brain recognizes patterns. Based on the observation that the ''wake-sleep'' algorithm for training a Helmholtz machine is similar to the problem of finding the potential for a multi-channel Schrodinger equation, we propose that the construction of a Schrodinger potential using inverse scattering methods can serve as a model for how the mammalian brain learns to extract essential information from sensory data. In particular, inverse scattering theory provides a conceptual framework for imagining how one might use EEG and MEG observations of brain-waves together with sensory feedback to improve human learning and pattern recognition. Longer term, implementation of inverse scattering algorithms on a digital or optical computer could be a step towards mimicking the seamless information fusion of the mammalian brain.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the cause of TB, is a devastating human pathogen. The emergence of multi-drug resistance in recent years has prompted a search for new drug targets and for a better understanding of mechanisms of resistance. Here we focus on the gene product of an open reading frame from M. tuberculosis, Rv1347c, which is annotated as a putative aminoglycoside N-acetyltransferase. The Rv1347c protein does not show this activity, however, and we show from its crystal structure, coupled with functional and bioinformatic data, that its most likely role is in the biosynthesis of mycobactin, the M. tuberculosis siderophore. The crystal structure of Rv1347c was determined by MAD phasing from selenomethionine-substituted protein and refined at 2.2 {angstrom} resolution (R = 0.227, R{sub free} = 0.257). The protein is monomeric, with a fold that places it in the GCN5-related N-acetyltransferase (GNAT) family of acyltransferases. Features of the structure are an acylCoA binding site that is shared with other GNAT family members, and an adjacent hydrophobic channel leading to the surface that could accommodate long-chain acyl groups. Modeling the postulated substrate, the N{sup {var_epsilon}}-hydroxylysine side chain of mycobactin, into the acceptor substrate binding groove identifies two residues at the active site, His130 and Asp168, …

Transparent ceramic materials have several major advantages over single crystals in laser applications, not the least of which is the ability to make large aperture parts in a robust manufacturing process. After more than a decade of working on making transparent YAG:Nd, Japanese workers have recently succeeded in demonstrating samples that performed as laser gain media as well as their single crystal counterparts. Since then several laser materials have been made and evaluated. For these reasons, developing ceramic laser materials is the most exciting and futuristic materials topic in today's major solid-state laser conferences. We have established a good working relationship with Konoshima Ltd., the Japanese producer of the best ceramic laser materials, and have procured and evaluated slabs designed by us for use in our high-powered SSHCL. Our measurements indicate that these materials will work in the SSHCL, and we have nearly completed retrofitting the SSHCL with four of the largest transparent ceramic YAG:Nd slabs in existence. We have also begun our own effort to make this material and have produced samples with various degrees of transparency/translucency. We are in the process of carrying out an extensive design-of-experiments to establish the significant process variables for making transparent YAG. Finally …

At ORNL, the new Advanced Microscopy Laboratory (AML) has recently been completed, with two aberration-corrected instruments installed, and two more planned in the near future to fill the 4-laboratory building. The installed JEOL 2200FS-AC has demonstrated aTEM information limit of 0.9A. This limit is expected given the measured instrument parameters (HT and OL power supply stabilities, beam energy spread, etc.), and illustrates that the environmental influences are not adversely affecting the instrument performance. In STEM high-angle annular dark-field (HA-ADF) mode, images of a thin Si crystal in<110>zone axis orientation, after primary aberrations in the illuminating beam were optimally corrected, showed a significant vibration effect. The microscope is fitted with three magnetically levitated turbo pumps (one on the column at about the specimen position,and two near floor level) that pump the Omega energy filter and detector chamber. These pumps run at 48,000 rpm, precisely equivalent to 800Hz. It was determined that the upper turbo pump was contributing essentially all of the 800Hz signal to the image, and in fact that the pump was defective. After replacing the pump with one significantly quieter than the original, the Si atomic column image and associated diffractogram(Fig. 4b) show a much-reduced effect of the 800Hz …

The recent study by Crist et al. (2004) attempted to provide pore scale insights into mechanisms responsible for controlling colloid transport in unsaturated porous media. However, because they relied on images obtained along surfaces that were open to the atmosphere, artificial evaporation resulted in 2 more critical artifacts; formation of air-water-solid (AWS) contact lines, and advection/deposition of colloids to AWS contact lines. These evaporation-related artifacts need to be addressed because they account for most of the colloid deposition at AWS contact lines reported in Crist et al. (2004)...As stated in Crist el al. (2004), ''... the front panel was removed to avoid light reflections that obscured the view and, thus, exposed one side of the sand column to air''. Although a more recent paper (Crist et al., 2005) also presents results using the same methods and is therefore also affected by evaporation, we will restrict our present comments to Crist et al. (2004). Here, we show that removal of the front panel results in a sequence of three critical artifacts; (1) significant evaporation, (2) drying of thin films and formation of air-water-solid (AWS) contact lines, and (3) advection of colloids to AWS contact lines where they are deposited. As explained …