This report discusses projected agricultural imports and exports for FY2001, as well as legislation that deals with federal programs in support of agricultural exports and federal aid dedicated to farms and agricultural reform.

This fact sheet discusses how an air-source heat pump can heat and cool a home, as well how to select, install, operate, and maintain one.

The purpose of this analysis is to propose and qualify a design of the tie-down system for the High Level Waste (HLW) pump/agitator transport container.

Adaptive applications have computational workloads and communication patterns which change unpredictably at runtime, requiring dynamic load balancing to achieve scalable performance on parallel machines. Efficient parallel implementations of such adaptive applications is therefore a challenging task. In this paper, we compare the performance of and the programming effort required for two major classes of adaptive applications under three leading parallel programming models on an SGI Origin2000 system, a machine which supports all three models efficiently. Results indicate that the three models deliver comparable performance; however, the implementations differ significantly beyond merely using explicit messages versus implicit loads/stores even though the basic parallel algorithms are similar. Compared with the message-passing (using MPI) and SHMEM programming models, the cache-coherent shared address space (CC-SAS) model provides substantial ease of programming at both the conceptual and program orchestration levels, often accompanied by performance gains. However, CC-SAS currently has portability limitations and may suffer from poor spatial locality of physically distributed shared data on large numbers of processors.

U.S. MPC&A cooperation with the Russian Federation (RF) Navy is based on a Joint Statement signed in 1996 to protect Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) fresh fuel used for nuclear propulsion. The Russian Federation Navy is the largest owner in Russia of highly enriched uranium, both in the form of fresh nuclear fuel, and in the form of slightly irradiated fuel with a long cooling time after irradiation. As a result of this agreement, projects began at the Northern Fleet Fresh Fuel Storage Facility (Site 49) and Refueling Ship PM-63. Initial projects provided upgrades for RF Navy HEU fresh fuel storage facilities, beginning with a land-based facility near Murmansk and later adding other land-based and ship-based fresh fuel storage facilities. Additional protocols (December 1997, January 1999, and March 2000) significantly expanded cooperation to include all HEU fuel under RF Navy control. To date, it is estimated that tens of metric tons of HEU have been secured - enough to construct hundreds of nuclear devices. It was determined that the cooperation would be coordinated by the Russian Research Center, Kurchatov Institute. This paper describes the history of the Program development, its stages, current status, scale of the work and prospects.

The qualification is being completed in accordance with the Data Qualification Plan DQP-NBS-GS-000006, Rev. 00 (CRWMS M&O 2001). The purpose of this data qualification activity is to evaluate for qualification the unqualified developed input and porosity output included in Data Tracking Number (DTN) M09910POROCALC.000. The main output of the analyses documented in DTN M09910POROCALC.000 is the calculated total porosity and effective porosity for 40 Yucca Mountain Project boreholes. The porosity data are used as input to Analysis Model Report (AMR) 10040, ''Rock Properties Model'' (MDL-NBS-GS-000004, Rev. 00), Interim Change Notice [ICN] 02 (CRWMS M&O 2000b). The output from the rock properties model is used as input to numerical physical-process modeling within the context of a relationship developed in the AMR between hydraulic conductivity, bound water and zeolitic zones for use in the unsaturated zone model. In accordance with procedure AP-3.15Q, the porosity output is not used in the direct calculation of Principal Factors for post-closure safety or disruptive events. The original source for DTN M09910POROCALC.000 is a Civilian Radioactive Waste Management System (CRWMS) Management and Operating Contractor (M&O) report, ''Combined Porosity from Geophysical Logs'' (CRWMS M&O 1999a and hereafter referred to as Rael 1999). That report recalculated porosity results for …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report examines the working capital fund activities for the Department of Defense (DOD). GAO (1) identifies potential changes in current management processes or policies that, if made, would result in a more efficient operation and (2) evaluates various aspects of the DOD policy that allow Defense Working Capital Fund activities to carry over a 3-month level of work from one fiscal year to the next. GAO found that DOD lacks a sound analytical basis for its current 3-month carryover standard. DOD established a 3-month carryover standard for most working capital fund activity groups, although it has not done the analysis necessary to support the 3-month standard. Without a validation process, neither DOD nor congressional decisionmakers can be sure that the 3-month standard is providing activity groups with reasonable amounts of carryover to ensure a smooth transition from one fiscal year to the next or whether the carryover is excessive. In addition, carryover information currently reported under the 3-month standard is not comparable between services and is misleading to DOD and congressional decisionmakers. Specifically, results can differ markedly because the military services use different methods to …

This paper discusses the use of radiography as a tool for evaluating damage to radioactive material packaging subjected to regulatory accident conditions. The Code of Federal Regulations, 10 CFR 71, presents the performance based requirements that must be used in the development (design, fabrication and testing) of a radioactive material packaging. The use of various non-destructive examination techniques in the fabrication of packages is common. One such technique is the use of conventional radiography in the examination of welds. Radiography is conventional in the sense that images are caught one at a time on film stock. Most recently, digital radiography has been used to characterize internal damage to a package subjected to the 30-foot hypothetical accident conditions (HAC) drop. Digital radiography allows for real time evaluation of the item being inspected. This paper presents a summary discussion of the digital radiographic technique and an example of radiographic results of a 9975 package following the HAC 30-foot drop.

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This paper discusses the evaluation of the dynamic response of a 9975 shipping package subjected to a load of 55-foot lateral drop without its overpack structure (fiberboard and drum).

The meeting, titled ''DNA Repair and Mutagenesis: Mechanism, Control, and Biological Consequences'', was designed to bring together the various sub-disciplines that collectively comprise the field of DNA Repair and Mutagenesis. The keynote address was titled ''Mutability Doth Play Her Cruel Sports to Many Men's Decay: Variations on the Theme of Translesion Synthesis.'' Sessions were held on the following themes: Excision repair of DNA damage; Transcription and DNA excision repair; UmuC/DinB/Rev1/Rad30 superfamily of DNA polymerases; Cellular responses to DNA damage, checkpoints, and damage tolerance; Repair of mismatched bases, mutation; Genome-instability, and hypermutation; Repair of strand breaks; Replicational fidelity, and Late-breaking developments; Repair and mutation in challenging environments; and Defects in DNA repair: consequences for human disease and aging.

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Until the 2001 flu season, the production and distribution of influenza vaccine generally went smoothly. Last year, however, several people reported that they wanted but could not get flu shots. In addition, physicians and public health departments could not provide shots to high-risk patients in their medical offices and clinics because they had not received vaccine they ordered many months in advance, or because they were being asked to pay much higher prices for vaccine in order to get it right away. At the same time, there were reports that providers in other locations, even grocery stores and restaurants, were offering flu shots to everyone--including younger, healthier people who were not at high risk. This testimony discusses the delays in production, distribution, and pricing of the 2000-2001 flu vaccine. GAO found that manufacturing difficulties during the 2000-2001 flu season resulted in an overall delay of about six to eight weeks in shipping vaccine to most customers. This delay created an initial shortage and temporary price spikes. There is no system in place to ensure that high-risk people have priority for receiving flu shots when supply is short. Because …

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is considering the possible recommendation of a site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, for development as a geologic repository for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel. To facilitate public review and comment, in May 2001 the DOE released the Yucca Mountain Science and Engineering Report (S&ER) (DOE 2001 [DIRS 153849]), which presents technical information supporting the consideration of the possible site recommendation. The report summarizes the results of more than 20 years of scientific and engineering studies. A decision to recommend the site has not been made: the DOE has provided the S&ER and its supporting documents as an aid to the public in formulating comments on the possible recommendation. When the S&ER (DOE 2001 [DIRS 153849]) was released, the DOE acknowledged that technical and scientific analyses of the site were ongoing. Therefore, the DOE noted in the Federal Register Notice accompanying the report (66 FR 23013 [DIRS 155009], p. 2) that additional technical information would be released before the dates, locations, and times for public hearings on the possible recommendation were announced. This information includes: (1) the results of additional technical studies of a potential repository at Yucca Mountain, contained …

This document presents the climatological data measured at the U.S. Department of Energy's Hanford Site for calendar year 2000.

This document presents the climatological data measured at the U.S. Department of Energy's Hanford Site for calendar year 2000.

Both qualitative and quantitative assessments have been conducted to evaluate the effects of hydrogen induced cracking on the drip shield. The basic premise of the assessments is that failure will occur once the hydrogen content exceeds a certain limit or critical value, H{sub c}. Potential mechanisms for hydrogen absorption in the drip shield have been identified to be general passive corrosion and galvanic couple with steel components. Both qualitative and quantitative evaluations indicated that hydrogen concentration in the drip shield will be below the critical value by a considerable margin. The choice of the mathematical models and associated parameters appears to be reasonable. Continued effort in data collection and development should provide validation and improved level of confidence of the proposed models.

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 allows the use of performance-based payment (PBP) as an alternative to other forms of contract financing. According to the Department of Defense (DOD), the paying office processed about one million invoices for 363,000 major contracts. In fiscal year 1999, only 195 of these contracts contained performance-based provisions. These contracts are so few in number because they are a relatively new form of contracting within DOD. In November 2000, however, DOD indicated that performance-based financing will be military's preferred contract financing method for future fixed-price contracts. This report reviews the C-17 aircraft production program as a case study of the business processes used to make investment expenditures during the production phase of a major weapons system. GAO chose this contract because it is mature, stable, and is performance-based rather than cost-based. GAO found internal control weaknesses in the C-17 program affecting compliance with regulations, policies, and procedures over (1) establishing withhold amounts by the Air Force contracting officer for conditionally accepted items, (2) processing by the Administrative Contracting Officer for performance-based payment requests, (3) processing by the Administrative Contracting Officer of invoices …

In-situ characterizations of green state part density and sintering state have long been desired in the powder metal community. Recent advances in non-contact electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT) technology have enabled in-situ monitoring of acoustic amplitude and velocity as sintering proceeds. Samples were made from elemental powders of Al (99.99%), Al (99.7%), Ag, (99.99%), Cu (99.99%) and Fe (99.9%). The powders were pressed in a uniaxial die and examined with acoustic waves for changes in velocity and amplitude during sintering for the samples containing Al, Ag, and Cu. The changes in acoustic properties were correlated with sample microstructures and mechanical properties. Evolution of a series of reverberating echoes during sintering is shown to provide information on the state of sintering, and changes in sintering kinetics as well as having the potential for detection of interior flaws.

Adaptive optics (AO) on 8-10 m telescopes is an enormously powerful tool for studying young nearby stars. It is especially useful for searching for companions. Using AO on the 10-m W.M. Keck II telescope we have measured the position of the brown dwarf companion to TWA5 and resolved the primary into an 0.055{double_prime} double. Over the next several years follow-up astrometry should permit an accurate determination of the masses of these young stars. We have also re-observed the candidate extrasolar planet TWAGB, but measurements of its motion relative to TWA6A are inconclusive. We are carrying out a search for new planetary or brown dwarf companions to TWA stars and, if current giant planet models are correct, are currently capable of detecting a 1 Jupiter-mass companion at {approx} 1.0{double_prime} and a 5 Jupiter-mass companion at {approx} 0.5{double_prime} around a typical TWA member.

This paper discusses a new approach to an MHD stabilizing technique for magnetic fusion systems of the axisymmetric ''open-ended'' variety. The concept is adaptable to tandem-mirror systems and would result in a major simplification of such systems, accompanied by a substantial improvement in their confinement characteristics, The paper first discusses the present impetus to find a simpler and less expensive route to fusion than that offered by the mainline approach, the tokamak. The history of magnetic fusion research shows that closed and open systems exhibit very different confinement characteristics. Closed systems, such as the tokamak, the stellarator, or the reversed-field pinch have cross-field transport that is dominated by plasma turbulence. By contrast, there are examples of open-systems where turbulence, if present at all, was at such low levels that the transport agreed with ''classical'' predictions. The clearest examples are ones in which the field geometry was axiymmetric. However axisymmetric mirror systems are subject to MHD instability. Thus in the years following the famous Ioffe experiment, most open systems have employed asymmetric magnetic fields, with attendant problems of complexity and enhanced cross-field transport. This paper proposes a new means of stabilizing axisymmetric mirror-based systems. The idea, called the ''Kinetic Stabilizer'' has …

The purpose of this analysis is to evaluate the factors affecting the longevity of emplacement drift ground support materials and to develop a basis for the selection of materials for ground support that will function throughout the preclosure period of a potential repository at Yucca Mountain. REV 01 ICN 01 of this analysis is developed in accordance with AP-3.10Q, Analyses and Models, Revision 2, ICN 4, and prepared in accordance with the Technical Work Plan for Subsurface Design Section FY 01 Work Activities (CRWMS M&O 2001a). The objective of this analysis is to update the previous analysis (CRWMS M&O 2000a) to account for related changes in the Ground Control System Description Document (CRWMS M&O 2000b), the Monitored Geologic Repository Project Description Document, which is included in the Requirements and Criteria for Implementing a Repository Design that can be Operated Over a Range of Thermal Modes (BSC 2001), input information, and in environmental conditions, and to provide updated information on candidate ground support materials. Candidate materials for ground support are carbon steel and cement grout. Steel is mainly used for steel sets, lagging, channel, rock bolts, and wire mesh. Cement grout is only considered in the case of grouted rock bolts. …

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We compare two finite difference approximations for the viscous dissipation terms in the energy equation. We focus on the strain produced by the every-other-zone (e.g., hour-glass and herringbone) modes in the velocity field. Care must be exercised to produce a viscous dissipation rate consistent with the viscous forces. The examples given are for a rectangular staggered grid, but similar considerations apply to other types of grids. Also, these considerations apply to certain algebraic eddy viscosity models and to the shear creation terms in turbulence transport models.

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