This report gives an overview of the problem of illegal narcotics in Colombia and discusses U.S. - Colombian relations.

This report considers the agricultural funding allocated in the FY1998 supplemental appropriations bill.

This report presents background on the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act, rovides a funding history of the Act, and tracks and analyzes legislation during the 105th Congress to revise and reauthorize the Perkins Act.

This report provides an overview of the financial outlook for social security and medicare programs.

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This report provides background information on the repeal of section 1706 of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, and the possible outcomes of the repeal, otherwise known as S.1924.

This report is intended to provide a brief overview of the various potential restrictions, rules or regulations upon lobbying activities of non-profit organizations.

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This report examines the purpose and function of The Work Opportunity Tax Credit.

Electric industry restructuring requires state regulators and legislators to re-examine the purposes served by and the continuing need for ratepayer-funded energy-efficiency programs, as well as the mechanisms to collect funds for these programs and the institutions appropriate to administer them. This paper offers background to these issues and a series of recommendations based on analysis of recent state experiences. Our recommendations are summarized.

This is the Technical Progress Report for the twelfth quarter of activities under DOE Contract No. DE-AC22-94PC93054. It covers the period April 1 through June 30, 1997. Described in this report are the following activities: (1) Thirty-nine samples from four run conditions of HTI Run PB-07 were received. Appropriate samples were characterized by proton NMR spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, vacuum distillation, and solvent quality tests. (2) The University of Delaware completed their subcontract this quarter. A meeting was held on April 30, 1997 at the University to plan completion of the subcontract. (3) Twelve sets of samples were chosen from the CONSOL sample bank for the study of the insoluble and presumed unreactive material from process stream samples. Each set consists of the whole process stream and the 454 C (850 F) distillation resid derived from that process stream. Processing data for all samples were compiled. The samples represent four Wilsonville pilot plant runs and two HTI runs.

Lattice parameters for a crystalline material can be obtained by several methods, notably by analyzing x-ray powder diffraction patterns. By utilizing a computer program to fit a pattern, one can follow the evolution or subtle changes in a structure of a crystalline species in different environments. This work involves such a study for an essential component of the ceramic waste form that is under development at Argonne National Laboratory. Zeolite 4A and zeolite 5A are used to produce two different types of waste forms: a glass-bonded sodalite and a glass-bonded zeolite, respectively. Changes in structure during production of the waste forms are discussed. Specific salt-loadings in the sodalite waste form are related to relative peak intensities of certain reflections in the XRD patterns. Structural parameters for the final waste forms will also be given and related to leachability under standard conditions.

This report covers an assessment of two brands of energy management controllers that are currently being offered that utilize the principle of duty cycling to purportedly save energy for unitary air conditioners and heat pumps, gas furnaces, and gas fired boilers. The results of an extensive review of past research on this subject as well as a review of vendor sponsored field testing of these controllers compares these newer controllers to those of the past. Included also is a discussion of how the duty cycling principle is prone to misinterpretation as to its potential to save energy.

In response to the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 and the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1987, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) developed and is implementing the Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project. Raven abundance was measured from August 1991 through August 1995 along treatment and control routes to evaluate whether site characterization activities resulted in increased raven abundance at Yucca Mountain. This study fulfills the requirement set forth in the incidental take provisions of the Biological Opinion that DOE monitor the abundance of ravens at Yucca Mountain. Ravens were more abundant at Yucca Mountain than in the control area, and raven abundance in both areas increased over time. However, the magnitude of differences between Yucca Mountain and control surveys did not change over time, indicating that the increase in raven abundance observed during this study was not related to site characterization activities. Increases over time on both Yucca Mountain and control routes are consistent with increases in raven abundance in the Mojave Desert reported by the annual Breeding Bird Survey of the US. Fish and Wildlife Service. Evidence from the Desert Tortoise Monitoring Program at Yucca Mountain suggests that ravens are not a significant predator of small …

The weakly coupled vacuum of E{sub 8} {circle_times} E{sub 8} heterotic string theory remains an attractive scenario for phenomenology and cosmology. The particle spectrum is reviewed and the issues of gauge coupling unification, dilaton stabilization and modular cosmology are discussed. A specific model for condensation and supersymmetry breaking, that respects known constraints from string theory and is phenomenologically viable, is described.

Mixed dark matter scenario can reconcile the COBE data and the observed large scale structure. So far the massive neutrino with a mass of a few eV has been the only discussed candidate for the hot dark matter component. We point out that the hadronic axion in the so-called hadronic axion window, f{sub a} {approx} 10{sup 6} GeV, is a perfect candidate as hot dark matter within the mixed dark matter scenario. The current limits on the hadronic axion are summarized. The most promising methods to verify the hadronic axion in this window are the resonant absorption of almost-monochromatic solar axions from M1 transition of the thermally excited {sup 57}Fe in the Sun, and the observation of the ''axion burst'' in water Cerenkov detectors from another supernova.

Monthly travel magazine discussing locations and events in Texas to encourage travel within the state. There is a departments section covering events, dinning, site seeing, and travel spots. Featured articles in this issue provide readers with information on visiting Corpus Christi, wildflowers on the Texas Plains, photographer Stephan Myers, and trying goat cheese.

Newsletter of the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners discussing legislation affecting the group, activities of the board, and other relevant information.

Compilation of monthly reports from departments in the city of San Antonio, Texas providing statistics, project updates, and other information about services and activities.

The goal of any operation is to complete tasks efficiently and effectively. Working safely is completely consistent with efficient, reliable operations. Working in an unsafe manner is not effective or ultimately efficient. If someone is hurt, work stops. Following the steps advocated by Team Resource Management (TRM) leads to more safe, efficient, effective work habits. TRM is a method used by teams (i.e., leaders and workers) to conduct technical business. It is used by the aviation industry to improve reliability and safety through formalizing the way it does business. High reliability organizations do exist. They conduct thousands of high-consequence operations a year, essentially error-free. Naval air carriers, air traffic control, and commercial aviation are some of these kinds of organizations. How did they get that way? What kinds of people staff them? Can we become a high reliability organization? This workshop will look at these questions. When we are done, it will be up to you to determine if we have the right stuff. The goals of this workshop are to: Describe Team Resource Management and its purpose; Describe Performance Shaping Factors (PSFs) and their role in predicting and managing team performance and errors; Describe the principles for managing human …

The Deposit Removal Project was undertaken with the support of the U. S. Department of Energy at the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP) formerly the Oak Ridge K-25 Site. The project team performed the safe removal of the hydrated uranyl fluoride (UO{sub 2}F{sub 2}) deposits from the K-29 Building of the former Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant. The deposits had developed as a result of air leakage into UF{sub 6} gas process pipes; UO{sub 2}F{sub 2} became hydrated by moisture from the air and deposited inside the pipes. The mass, its distribution, and the hydrogen content [that is, the ratio of H to U (H/U)], were the key parameters that controlled the nuclear criticality safety of the deposits. Earlier gamma-ray spectrometry measurements in K-29 had identified the largest deposits in the building. The first and third largest deposits in the building were measured in this program. The first deposit, found in the Unit 2, Cell 7, B-Line Outlet process pipe (called the ''Hockey Stick'') was about 1,300 kg ({+-} 50% uncertainty) at 3.34 wt% {sup 235}U enrichment ({+-}50% uncertainty) and according to the gamma-ray spectroscopy was uniformly distributed. The second deposit (the third-largest deposit in the building), found in the …

The present invention is an improvement on the LIGA microfabrication process wherein a buffer layer is applied to the upper or working surface of a substrate prior to the placement of a resist onto the surface of the substrate. The buffer layer is made from an inert low-Z material (low atomic weight), a material that absorbs secondary X-rays emissions from the substrate that are generated from the substrate upon exposure to a primary X-rays source. Suitable materials for the buffer layer include polyamides and polyimide. The preferred polyimide is synthesized from pyromellitic anhydride and oxydianiline (PMDA-ODA).