Erroneous Predictions and Negative Comments Concerning Exploration, Territorial Expansion, Scientific and Technological Development; Selected Statements (open access)

Erroneous Predictions and Negative Comments Concerning Exploration, Territorial Expansion, Scientific and Technological Development; Selected Statements

This report documents articles that opposed events, buildings, or inventions that are now historically or modernly important, such as the Louisiana Purchase or the invention of the airplane.
Date: May 29, 1969
Creator: Gamarra, Nancy T.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
HEAD-END TREATMENT OF LOW LEVEL WASTES PRIOR TO FOAM SEPARATION (open access)

HEAD-END TREATMENT OF LOW LEVEL WASTES PRIOR TO FOAM SEPARATION

Calcium-magnesium precipitation apparatus was used to reduce the concentrations of these elements in ORNL tap water, used as a substitute for waste water of low level of radioactivity, prior to strontium removal by foam separation. With and without alkali and flocculator chambers and with a stirred sludge of ratio height to diameter equal to 1/1 to ~4/1, use of 5 x 10/sup -3/ M each of NaOH and Na/sub 2/CO/sub 3/ and 2 ppm Fe/sup 3+/ reduced the dissolved Ca + Mg concentrations to 1 to 2 ppm as calcium. Simultaneously, a strontium DF of 20 to 200 was achieved, and, by adding Grundite clay in the proportion ~0.5 1b/ 1000 gal, a cesium DF of 10 to 40 was achieved. (auth)
Date: May 29, 1962
Creator: Schonfeld, E. & Davis, W. Jr.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Method and apparatus for injecting a substance into the bloodstream of a subject (open access)

Method and apparatus for injecting a substance into the bloodstream of a subject

An apparatus and method for injecting a substance, such as a radiopharmaceutical, into the bloodstream of a subject is described. The apparatus comprises an injection means, such as a servo controlled syringe, a means for measuring the concentration of that substance in the subject's bloodstream, and means for controlling the injection in response to the measurement so that the concentration of the substance follows a predetermined function of time. The apparatus of the subject invention functions to inject a substance into a subject's bloodstream at a rate controlled by an error signal proportional to the difference between the concentration of the substance in the subject's bloodstream and the predetermined function.
Date: May 29, 1981
Creator: Lambrecht, R. M.; Bennett, G. W.; Duncan, C. C. & Ducote, L. W.
Object Type: Patent
System: The UNT Digital Library
Production of super-smooth articles (open access)

Production of super-smooth articles

Super-smooth rounded or formed articles made of thermoplastic materials including various poly(methyl methacrylate) or acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymers are produced by immersing the articles into a bath, the composition of which is slowly changed with time. The starting composition of the bath is made up of at least one solvent for the polymer and a diluent made up of at least one nonsolvent for the polymer and optional materials which are soluble in the bath. The resulting extremely smooth articles are useful as mandrels for laser fusion and should be useful for a wide variety of other purposes, for example lenses.
Date: May 29, 1981
Creator: Duchane, D. V.
Object Type: Patent
System: The UNT Digital Library
Overview of radioactive waste management (open access)

Overview of radioactive waste management

The question of what to do with radioactive wastes is discussed. The need to resolve this issue promptly is pointed out. Two significant events which have occurred during the Carter administration are discussed. An Interagency Review Group (IRG) on waste management was formed to formulate recommendations leading to the establishment of a National policy for managing radioactive wastes. The technical findings in the IRG report are listed. The author points out some issues not addressed by the report. President Carter issued a national policy statement on Radioactive Waste Management in February 1980. The most significant elements of this statement are summarized. The cancellation of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant is currently meeting opposition in Congress. This and other items in the National Policy Statement are discussed.
Date: May 29, 1980
Creator: Ritter, G.L.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Localized corrosion of steels in geothermal steam/brine mixtures (open access)

Localized corrosion of steels in geothermal steam/brine mixtures

Coupons of eight different carbon and chrome-moly alloy steels were exposed to high temperature, high salinity wellhead brine flow at a geothermal well in the Salton Sea Geothermal Field for periods of up to six months. The corrosion rate and corrosion attack morphology of each coupon was determined. Exposure time was a test variable and ranged from one month to six months. Test results indicate that carbon steels generally suffer high corrosion rates and are susceptible to severe localized attack which shows a mesa-canyon pattern. Chrome-moly alloy steels corrode at much lower rates and show an attack pattern of small shallow pits. With time, these pits grow mostly in the lateral direction. These results suggest that chrome-moly alloy steels offer significant improvement over carbon steels and that the disk-shaped pits are not likely to lead to rapid perforation.
Date: May 29, 1980
Creator: McCright, R. D.; Frey, W. F. & Tardiff, G. E.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Data Analysis Techniques for Gamma-Ray Scintillation Spectrometry (open access)

Data Analysis Techniques for Gamma-Ray Scintillation Spectrometry

A series of computer programs are described which Were successfully applied to the reduction of pulse-height data using digital computers. Calculations carried out by these programs include: determination of pulse height vs energy response of an NaI detector; calculation of coincidence sum spectra; and the analysis of complex pulse-height spectra to obtain energies and relative intensities of individual gamma rays or relative abundances from a mixture of radionuclides. Measurement problems and instrumental requirements are discussed in detail. (auth)
Date: May 29, 1962
Creator: Heath, R. L.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Immigration Detainers: Legal Issues (open access)

Immigration Detainers: Legal Issues

Report that provides background information regarding the Immigration and Naturalization Service rules and regulations and discusses the "immigration detainer", a document by which U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) advises other law enforcement agencies that it seeks custody of individual aliens whom these agencies are detaining.
Date: May 29, 2013
Creator: Manuel, Kate M.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Membership of the 113th Congress: A Profile (open access)

Membership of the 113th Congress: A Profile

Report that presents a profile of the membership of the 113th Congress (2013-2014). Statistical information is included on selected characteristics of Members, including data on party affiliation, average age, occupation, education, length of congressional service, religious affiliation, gender, ethnicity, foreign births, and military service.
Date: May 29, 2013
Creator: Manning, Jennifer E.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Army's Future Combat System (FCS): Background and Issues for Congress (open access)

The Army's Future Combat System (FCS): Background and Issues for Congress

This report describes the Future Combat System (FCS) program, which was to be the Army's major research, development, and acquisition program consisting of 14 manned and unmanned systems linked by an extensive communications and information network. This report describes the proposed restructuring of the FCS program, announced by Secretary of Defense Gates in April 2009, which includes modernizing outdated equipment and re-evaluating vehicle design strategy. This report will be superseded by a report on the Army's BCT (Brigade Combat Team) Modernization Strategy when sufficient details are available.
Date: May 29, 2009
Creator: Feickert, Andrew
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Recovery Act: Tax Debtors Have Received FHA Mortgage Insurance and First-Time Homebuyer Credits (open access)

Recovery Act: Tax Debtors Have Received FHA Mortgage Insurance and First-Time Homebuyer Credits

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insured over $1.44 billion in mortgages for 6,327 borrowers with $77.6 million in federal tax debt who benefited from the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Of these borrowers, 3,815 individuals claimed and received $27.4 million in Recovery Act First-Time Homebuyer Credits (FTHBC). This analysis includes tax debtors who (1) benefited from FHA’s increased loan limits, or (2) claimed the FTHBCs and received FHA mortgage insurance of any value. Federal policy makes delinquent tax debtors ineligible for FHA mortgage insurance unless they repay their debt or are in a valid repayment agreement with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), but the FTHBC, like all tax credits, was available to those who qualified, regardless of their tax debt. GAO could not determine the proportion of borrowers who were ineligible for FHA insurance because GAO could not systematically identify which of the 6,327 borrowers were in valid repayment agreements using the data GAO received from IRS. However, GAO did find that 5 of the 8 borrowers completely evaluated were ineligible because they were not in valid repayment agreements at the time they obtained FHA …
Date: May 29, 2012
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Insurance Sales to Military Personnnel: Additional Actions Needed to Prevent Improper Life Insurance Sales and Pay Allotment Transactions (open access)

Insurance Sales to Military Personnnel: Additional Actions Needed to Prevent Improper Life Insurance Sales and Pay Allotment Transactions

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Concerns over unsuitable insurance products and inappropriate sales practices directed at servicemembers have prompted legislative and regulatory changes to address these concerns. Congress asked GAO to assess oversight efforts by the Department of Defense (DOD), the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), and state insurance regulators. In this report, GAO (1) describes actions to improve oversight of life insurance sales to servicemembers and the extent to which they have been completed, and (2) identifies and analyzes factors that contribute to apparent ongoing inappropriate insurance sales. To complete this work, GAO visited five military facilities, analyzed DOD pay records, reviewed DOD and state enforcement actions, and spoke with DOD, state regulatory, and insurance industry officials."
Date: May 29, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federal Reserve Banks: Areas for Improvement in Information Security Controls (open access)

Federal Reserve Banks: Areas for Improvement in Information Security Controls

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In connection with fulfilling our requirement to audit the financial statements of the U.S. government, we audited and reported on the Schedules of Federal Debt Managed by the Bureau of the Public Debt (BPD) for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2008 and 2007. As part of these audits, we performed a review of the general and application information security controls over key financial systems maintained and operated by the Federal Reserve Banks (FRB) on behalf of the Department of the Treasury's (Treasury) BPD relevant to the Schedule of Federal Debt. As we reported in connection with our audit of the Schedules of Federal Debt for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2008 and 2007, we concluded that BPD maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control relevant to the Schedule of Federal Debt related to financial reporting and compliance with applicable laws and regulations as of September 30, 2008, that provided reasonable assurance that misstatements, losses, or noncompliance material in relation to the Schedule of Federal Debt would be prevented or detected on a timely basis. However, we found deficiencies involving information security controls that we do …
Date: May 29, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Nursing Homes: Federal Actions Needed to Improve Targeting and Evaluation of Assistance by Quality Improvement Organizations (open access)

Nursing Homes: Federal Actions Needed to Improve Targeting and Evaluation of Assistance by Quality Improvement Organizations

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2002, CMS contracted with Quality Improvement Organizations (QIO) to help nursing homes address quality problems such as pressure ulcers, a deficiency frequently identified during routine inspections conducted by state survey agencies. CMS awarded $117 million over a 3-year period to the QIOs to assist all homes and to work intensively with a subset of homes in each state. Homes' participation was voluntary. To evaluate QIO performance, CMS relied largely on changes in homes' quality measures (QM), data based on resident assessments routinely conducted by homes. GAO assessed QIO activities during the 3-year contract starting in 2002, focusing on (1) characteristics of homes assisted intensively, (2) types of assistance provided, and (3) effect of assistance on the quality of nursing home care. GAO conducted a Web-based survey of all 51 QIOs, visited QIOs and homes in five states, and interviewed experts on using QMs to evaluate QIOs."
Date: May 29, 2007
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
SSA Representative Payee Program: Addressing Long-Term Challenges Requires a More Strategic Approach (open access)

SSA Representative Payee Program: Addressing Long-Term Challenges Requires a More Strategic Approach

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Social Security Administration (SSA) struggles to effectively administer its Representative Payee Program, despite steps taken to address its challenges in identifying, selecting, and monitoring representative payees. For example, due to increasing workloads and staff attrition, SSA field office managers in some offices said they sometimes have to perform payee program duties that lower level staff typically handle. SSA has also experienced an increasing number of beneficiaries who may not have a suitable payee available. In an effort to address this challenge, SSA hosted a webinar to recruit additional payees. However, SSA officials said this effort did not result in the addition of any new payees. SSA also faces challenges ensuring that payees who are selected are suitable for the task. To help address this challenge, SSA implemented a pilot program in its Philadelphia region to screen and bar payee applicants who have been convicted of certain crimes. The pilot relies on self-reported information from payee applicants, but SSA plans to screen applicants by accessing a commercial database that contains state-level criminal information. This database, however, does not contain information from every state and it is …
Date: May 29, 2013
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federal Contracting: Guidance on Award Fees Has Led to Better Practices but Is Not Consistently Applied (open access)

Federal Contracting: Guidance on Award Fees Has Led to Better Practices but Is Not Consistently Applied

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In prior work, GAO found that contractors were paid billions of dollars in award fees regardless of acquisition outcomes. In December 2007, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued guidance aimed at improving the use of award fee contracts. GAO was asked to (1) identify agencies' actions to revise or develop award fee policies and guidance to reflect OMB guidance, (2) assess the consistency of current practices with the new guidance, and (3) determine the extent agencies are collecting, analyzing, and sharing information on award fees. GAO reviewed the Departments of defense (DOD), Energy (DOE), Health and Human Services (HHS), and Homeland Security (DHS) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)--agencies that constituted over 95 percent of the dollars spent on award fee contracts in fiscal year 2008."
Date: May 29, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Health Center Program: Improved Oversight Needed to Ensure Grantee Compliance with Requirements (open access)

Health Center Program: Improved Oversight Needed to Ensure Grantee Compliance with Requirements

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) relies on three main methods to oversee grantees’ compliance with the 19 key program requirements."
Date: May 29, 2012
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
UN Compensation: United Nations Should Clarify the Process and Assumptions Underlying Secretariat Professional Salaries (open access)

UN Compensation: United Nations Should Clarify the Process and Assumptions Underlying Secretariat Professional Salaries

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) determines changes to each component of United Nations (UN) Secretariat professional employees' salaries and calculates the difference between UN and U.S. civil service salaries annually. ICSC recommends adjustments to the first component, base salaries, each year to align with changes to U.S. civil service base salaries. For example, ICSC calculated that U.S. civil service base salaries, including the impact of tax changes, increased 1.37 percent on January 1, 2010 and recommended that the UN base salary scale increase 1.37 percent on January 1, 2011. To set post adjustments, an additional salary component intended to equalize purchasing power, ICSC calculates the cost of living in each duty station. ICSC monitors changes in inflation, exchange rates, and other factors, and updates post adjustments periodically to reflect those changes. ICSC conducts surveys of UN employees and collects data on prices at least once every 5 years to ensure that post adjustments reflect the cost of several categories of expenditures relative to New York City, such as goods and services, housing, and medical insurance. Additionally, ICSC calculates the margin, or percentage difference, between UN …
Date: May 29, 2013
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Clean Water Infrastructure: A Variety of Issues Need to Be Considered When Designing a Clean Water Trust Fund (open access)

Clean Water Infrastructure: A Variety of Issues Need to Be Considered When Designing a Clean Water Trust Fund

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has estimated that a potential gap between future needs and current spending for wastewater infrastructure of $150 billion to $400 billion could occur over the next decade. A number of entities are involved in planning, financing, building, and operating this infrastructure. Some of these stakeholders have suggested a variety of approaches to bridge this potential gap. One such proposal is to establish a clean water trust fund. In this context, GAO was asked to (1) obtain stakeholders' views on the issues that would need to be addressed in designing and establishing a clean water trust fund and (2) identify and describe potential options that could generate about $10 billion in revenue to support a clean water trust fund. In conducting this review, GAO administered a questionnaire to 28 national organizations representing the wastewater and drinking water industries, state and local governments, engineers, and environmental groups and received 22 responses; reviewed proposals and industry papers; interviewed federal, state, local, and industry officials; and used the most current data available to estimate the revenue that could potentially be raised by various taxes on …
Date: May 29, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Health Center Program: 2011 Grant Award Process Highlighted Need and Special Populations and Merits Evaluation (open access)

Health Center Program: 2011 Grant Award Process Highlighted Need and Special Populations and Merits Evaluation

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) revised its New Access Point (NAP) competitive award process in fiscal year 2011 to increase the emphasis on the need for services in the applicant’s proposed service area, and on the three special populations—migrant and seasonal farmworkers, homeless people, and residents of public housing—designated by the Public Health Service Act. The act requires that certain proportions of Health Center Program funding go to health centers serving the special populations. To increase the emphasis on need, HRSA increased the weight given to need in the application review process. To target health centers serving special populations, HRSA gave extra points in the application process to applicants proposing to serve them. When this was insufficient to meet the required proportions, HRSA moved some applicants ahead of others in the award rank order list, a method it had used in the past. The effect of HRSA’s actions on the award outcome was magnified in fiscal year 2011 because (1) HRSA received less program funding than it had anticipated, and (2) it needed to increase the share …
Date: May 29, 2012
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Financial Audit: Senate Restaurants Revolving Fund for Fiscal Years 2008 and 2007 (open access)

Financial Audit: Senate Restaurants Revolving Fund for Fiscal Years 2008 and 2007

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This report discusses audits of the financial statements of the U.S. Senate Restaurants Revolving Fund (the Fund) for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2008, and 2007. Specifically, we contracted with the independent public accounting firm of Clifton Gunderson LLP. The contract required that the audit be conducted in accordance with U.S. generally accepted government auditing standards and the joint GAO/President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency (PCIE) Financial Audit Manual."
Date: May 29, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Human Capital: Additional Steps Needed to Help Determine the Right Size and Composition of DOD's Total Workforce (open access)

Human Capital: Additional Steps Needed to Help Determine the Right Size and Composition of DOD's Total Workforce

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins ""
Date: May 29, 2013
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Prison Construction: Clear Communication on the Accuracy of Cost Estimates and Project Changes is Needed (open access)

Prison Construction: Clear Communication on the Accuracy of Cost Estimates and Project Changes is Needed

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is responsible for the custody and care of more than 201,000 federal offenders. To provide housing for the federal prison population, BOP manages the construction and maintenance of its prison facilities and oversees contract facilities. GAO was asked to look into recent increases in estimated costs for Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) construction projects located in Mendota, CA; Berlin, NH; and McDowell, WV, which have led to almost $278 million or 62 percent more being provided in funding than initially estimated. This report addresses (1) the reasons for the changes to the estimated costs and (2) the actions BOP has taken--or plans to take--to control future cost increases and delays. GAO reviewed and analyzed BOP's fiscal years 2001 to 2009 budget documents, files for these three projects, and project management guidance. GAO also reviewed government and industry guidance on project management and met with BOP officials."
Date: May 29, 2008
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Worker Safety and Health at Department of Energy Sites (open access)

Worker Safety and Health at Department of Energy Sites

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "There are several key similarities and differences between Part 851, OSHA regulations, and the OSH Act. Several key similarities are that Part 851 incorporates by reference almost all OSHA standards and authorizes workers to file complaints about unsafe working conditions or hazards in the workplace. Several key differences are that Part 851 incorporates additional industry standards and authorizes DOE to accept hazard controls--in certain nonoperational facilities--that are not otherwise fully compliant with applicable DOE regulations for worker health and safety."
Date: May 29, 2013
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library