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, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Whether the Concho Valley Council of Governments, which operates a transport service for Medicaid patients under contract with the Texas Department of Health, is subject to the City of Midland's taxicab ordinance (RQ-0138-JC)

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, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Whether local governments that operate utilities or sanitary landfills may enter into an interlocal cooperation contract whereby the parties to the contract would agree to collect unpaid fees owed to the other parties and to refuse service to customers who owe fees to the other parties (RQ-0165-JC)

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, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Whether a hospital district may continue to levy a tax after closing its hospital and related questions (RQ-0149-JC)

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed Department of Defense (DOD) Joint Strike Fighter acquisition program, focusing on the: (1) best commercial practices for developing new products; (2) reasons why DOD does not follow these practices; and (3) opportunity that Joint Strike Fighter represents to strengthen--or weaken--the effect of best practices and acquisition reform on major weapons."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the status of reforms to improve the United Nations (U.N.), focusing on efforts to: (1) restructure U.N. leadership and operations; (2) develop a performance-based human capital system; and (3) introduce programming and budgeting processes focused on results."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the "ILOVEYOU" computer virus, focusing on the need for agency and governmentwide improvements in information security."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the implementation of the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996, focusing on the: (1) extent to which employers comply with the law and how they have revised their health plans; (2) law's effect on claims costs; and (3) steps federal agencies have taken to ensure compliance with the law."

A chapter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO assessed the status and impact of reforms to improve the United Nations (U.N.), focusing on whether: (1) the U.N. had put into place the three core elements of the Secretary General's 1997 reform program; and (2) they are improving U.N. management and performance as intended."

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO published an exposure draft for the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB). In this exposure draft, FASAB proposes the reporting of entities to their financial statements reconciliations between the beginning and ending balances of the subsidy cost allowance for direct loans and loan guarantee liability on a program-by-program basis for major programs, in addition to reconciliation for the entity as a whole."

The authors review how a classification into representations of color and flavor can be used to understand the possible patterns of symmetry breaking for color superconductivity in dense quark matter. In particular, the authors show how for three flavors, color-flavor locking is precisely analogous to the usual pattern of chiral symmetry breaking in the QCD vacuum.

This report presents the results of groundwater and vadose zone monitoring and remediation for fiscal year 1999 on the US. Department of Energy's Hanford Site, Washington. Water-level monitoring was performed to evaluate groundwater flow directions, to track changes in water levels, and to relate such changes to evolving disposal practices. Measurements for site-wide maps were conducted in June in past years and are now measured in March to reflect conditions that are closer to average. Water levels over most of the Hanford Site continued to decline between June 1998 and March 1999. The most widespread radiological contaminant plumes in groundwater were tritium and iodine-129. Concentrations of carbon-14, strontium-90, technetium-99, and uranium also exceeded drinking water standards in smaller plumes. Cesium-137 and plutonium exceeded standards only near the 216-B-5 injection well. Derived concentration guide levels specified in US Department of Energy Order 5400.5 were exceeded for plutonium, strontium-90, tritium, and uranium in small plumes or single wells. Nitrate and carbon tetrachloride are the most extensive chemical contaminants. Chloroform, chromium, cis-1,2dichloroethylene, cyanide, fluoride, and trichloroethylene also were present in smaller areas at levels above their maximum contaminant levels. Metals such as aluminum, cadmium, iron, manganese, and nickel exceeded their maximum contaminant levels …

The farms in 1999 changed in two major ways. First, PC's running Linux continued to expand and this allowed for the reduction of the SGI and IBM components of the farms. Second, the first large farms for CDF and D0 Run II were purchased and installed in 1999. Simultaneously, a large increment for non-Run II computing was made. The farms continue to provide large CPU resources for those experiments and calculations which benefit from this type of computing (large CPU, low I/O, dedicated resources). Farms usage will continue to increase given the demands of the user community (reflecting the scientific program) and the preparation for and beginning of Run II.

Erbium hydride thin films are grown onto polished, a-axis {alpha} Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} (sapphire) substrates by reactive ion beam sputtering and analyzed to determine composition, phase and microstructure. Erbium is sputtered while maintaining a H{sub 2} partial pressure of 1.4 x 10{sup {minus}4} Torr. Growth is conducted at several substrate temperatures between 30 and 500 C. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) and elastic recoil detection analyses after deposition show that the H/Er areal density ratio is approximately 3:1 for growth temperatures of 30, 150 and 275 C, while for growth above {approximately}430 C, the ratio of hydrogen to metal is closer to 2:1. However, x-ray diffraction shows that all films have a cubic metal sublattice structure corresponding to that of ErH{sub 2}. RBS and Auger electron that sputtered erbium hydride thin films are relatively free of impurities.

Processes that involve particle-laden fluids are common in geomechanics and especially in the petroleum industry. Understanding the physics of these processes and the ability to predict their behavior requires the development of coupled fluid-flow and particle-motion computational methods. This paper outlines an accurate and robust coupled computational scheme using the lattice-Boltzmann method for fluid flow and the discrete-element method for solid particle motion. Results from several two-dimensional validation simulations are presented. Simulations reported include the sedimentation of an ellipse, a disc and two interacting discs in a closed column of fluid. The recently discovered phenomenon of drafting, kissing, and tumbling is fully reproduced in the two-disc simulation.

The purpose of this publication is to educate and inform readers about research activities being carried out by the federal Geothermal Energy Program, and its achievements and future goals. This publication should help raise the visibility and awareness of geothermal energy contributions and potential, especially as part of the nation's clean energy technologies portfolio. The message of the publication is that program resources are being well spent and the results are real and tangible. A secondary message is that geothermal energy is a viable generation option with environmental, economic, and other benefits.

Tank 241-SY-101 (SY-101) is a double-shell, radioactive waste storage tank with waste that, before the recent transfer and water back-dilution operations, was capable of retaining gas and producing buoyant displacement (BD) gas release events (GREs). Some BD GREs caused gas concentrations in the tank headspace to exceed the lower flammability limit (LFL). A BD GRE occurs when a portion of the nonconvective layer retains enough gas to become buoyant, rises to the waste surface, breaks up, and releases some of its stored gas. The installation of a mixer pump in 1993 successfully mitigated gas retention in the settled solids layer in SY-101 and has since prevented BD GREs. However, operation of the mixer pump over the years caused gas retention in the floating crust layer and a corresponding accelerated waste level growth. The accelerating crust growth trend observed in 1997--98 led to initiation of sequences of waste removal and water back-dilutions in December 1999. Waste is removed from the mixed slurry layer in Tank SY-101 and transferred into Tank 241-Sy-102 (SY-102). Water is then added back to dissolve soluble solids that retain gas. The initial transfer of 89,500 gallons of SY-101 waste, diluted in-line at 0.94:1 by volume with water, …

Weak link behavior is studied, using magnetization and Hall probe measurements of ring samples, in welded melt-textured R123 monoliths and in dual-seeded samples with disoriented domains. Techniques for welding samples yield transport currents across the junction that are in excess of 10{sup 4} A/cm{sup 2}.

Charge ordering (C.O.) in the colossal magnetoresistive (CMR) manganites gives rise to an insulating, high-resistance state. This charge ordered state can be melted into a low-resistance metallic-like state by the application of magnetic field. Thus, the potential to attain high values of magnetoresistance with the application of small magnetic fields may be aided by a better understanding of the charge-ordering phenomenon. This study focused on microstructural characterization in Nd{sub 1/2}Sr{sub 1/2}MnO{sub 3}. In Nd{sub 1/2}Sr{sub 1/2}MnO{sub 3}, the nominal valence of Mn is 3.5+. On cooling, charge can localize and lead to a charge ordering between Mn 3+ and Mn 4+. The ordering of charge results in a superlattice structure and a reduction in symmetry. Thin foil specimens were prepared from bulk samples by conventional thinning and ion milling (at LiqN{sub 2} temperature) methods. The room temperature TEM observation of Nd{sub 1/2}Sr{sub 1/2}MnO{sub 3} reveals that it contains a highly twinned microstructure, together with a small number of stacking faults (SFS). A figure shows the same area of the specimen at different zone axes obtained by tilting around two perpendicular directions as indicated. Three grains A, B and C are labeled for each of the zone axes. The room temperature …

The Antiproton (Pbar) Source at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory is a facility comprised of a target station, two rings called the Debuncher and Accumulator and the transport lines between those rings and the remainder of the particle accelerator complex. Water is by far the most common medium for carrying excess heat away from components, primarily electromagnets, in this facility. The largest of the water systems found in Pbar is the 95 degree Fahrenheit Low Conductivity Water (LCW) system. LCW is water which has had free ions removed, increasing its resistance to electrical current. This water circuit is used to cool magnets, power supplies, and stochastic cooling components and typically has a resistivity of 11--18 megaohms-cm. For more than ten years the Antiproton rings were plagued with overheating magnets due to plugged water-cooling channels. Various repairs have been tried over the years with no permanent success. Throughout all of this time, water samples have indicated copper oxide, CuO, as the source of the contamination. Matters came to a head in early 1997 following a major underground LCW leak between the Central Utilities Building and the Antiproton Rings enclosures. Over a span of several weeks following system turn-on, some twenty magnets overheated …

Commercial focused ion beam (FIB) systems are commonly used to image integrated circuits (ICS) after device processing, especially in failure analysis applications. FIB systems are also often employed to repair faults in metal lines for otherwise functioning ICS, and are being evaluated for applications in film deposition and nanofabrication. A problem that is often seen in FIB imaging and repair is that ICS can be damaged during the exposure process. This can result in degraded response or out-right circuit failure. Because FIB processes typically require the surface of an IC to be exposed to an intense beam of 30--50 keV Ga{sup +} ions, both charging and secondary radiation damage are potential concerns. In previous studies, both types of effects have been suggested as possible causes of device degradation, depending on the type of device examined and/or the bias conditions. Understanding the causes of this damage is important for ICS that are imaged or repaired by a FIB between manufacture and operation, since the performance and reliability of a given IC is otherwise at risk in subsequent system application. In this summary, the authors discuss the relative roles of radiation damage and charging effects during FIB imaging. Data from exposures of …

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This thesis consists of three main parts. The first one relates to boron neutron capture therapy. It summarizes the guidelines obtained by numerical simulations for the treatment of shallow and deep-seated brain tumors, as well as the results on the design of beam-shaping assemblies to moderate D-D and D-T neutrons to epithermal energies. The second part is about boron neutron capture synovectomy for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Optimal neutron energy for treatment and beam-shaping assembly designs are summarized in this section. The last part is on the development of the sealed neutron generator, including experimental results on the prototype ion source and the prototype accelerator column.

Helium, with its two electrons and one nucleus, is a three-body system. One of the models for investigating correlated electron motion in this system is autoionization, produced via double excitation of the electrons. Predictions about the autoionization spectrum of helium have differed from each other and from preliminary experimental data. However, previous experiments have not been able to distinguish among the theoretical predictions because their energy resolution is not high enough to resolve the narrow linewidths of quasi-forbidden peaks and the resonances that appear in the highest excited states. Consequently, a team of researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have embarked on a project for building a high-resolution Fourier-Transform Soft X-ray (or VUV) interferometer (FTSX) to provide definitive data to answer remaining questions about the autoionization spectrum of helium. The design and construction of this interferometer is described in detail below, including the use of a flexure stage to provide the large path length difference necessary for high resolution measurements, the manufacture of x-ray beamsplitters, a description of the software, and the solution to the problems of stick-slip, vibration, and alignment. Current progress of its development is also described, as well as future goals.

This fact sheet presents documented information that dispels some of the myths that people have developed about ethanol. Once the facts are revealed, it becomes clear that using and producing ethanol for transportation is good for the country's economy, environment, and energy future.