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This report examines wildfire biomass fuels. It discusses fuel characteristics and their relation to wildfire intensity and spread, and includes a description of actions proposed to reduce biomass fuel levels, their effectiveness for protecting property and resources from wildfires, and their impacts on other resource values. It concludes with an examination of the federal authorities for fuel reduction activities on federal and non-federal lands, together with data on the funding provided under each of these authorities.

A major contribution to the uncertainty of finite-order perturbative QCD predictions is the perceived ambiguity in setting the renormalization scale {mu}{sub r}. For example, by using the conventional way of setting {mu}{sub r} {element_of} [m{sub t}/2, 2m{sub t}], one obtains the total t{bar t} production cross-section {sigma}{sub t{bar t}} with the uncertainty {Delta}{sigma}{sub t{bar t}}/{sigma}{sub t{bar t}} {approx} (+3%/-4%) at the Tevatron and LHC even for the present NNLO level. The Principle of Maximum Conformality (PMC) eliminates the renormalization scale ambiguity in precision tests of Abelian QED and non-Abelian QCD theories. By using the PMC, all nonconformal {l_brace}{beta}{sub i}{r_brace}-terms in the perturbative expansion series are summed into the running coupling constant, and the resulting scale-fixed predictions are independent of the renormalization scheme. The correct scale-displacement between the arguments of different renormalization schemes is automatically set, and the number of active flavors n{sub f} in the {l_brace}{beta}{sub i}{r_brace}-function is correctly determined. The PMC is consistent with the renormalization group property that a physical result is independent of the renormalization scheme and the choice of the initial renormalization scale {mu}{sub r}{sup init}. The PMC scale {mu}{sub r}{sup PMC} is unambiguous at finite order. Any residual dependence on {mu}{sub r}{sup init} for a …

This report examines the rise of China's auto and auto parts industries, Chinese government policies to promote these industries, trends in U.S.-China trade in autos and parts, auto-related trade disputes, and implications for U.S.-China commercial relations.

This report provides an overview of federal forfeiture law. It sketches the origins and general attributes of forfeiture, describes the distribution of the hundreds of millions of dollars it generates, and identifies some of the related constitutional issues.

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This report provides a background and analysis comparing military commissions as envisioned under the revised Military Commissions Act (MCA) to those established by the MCA 2006. After reviewing the history of the implementation of military commissions in the armed conflict against Al Qaeda and associated forces, the report provides an overview of the procedural safeguards provided in the MCA. Finally, the report provides two charts comparing the MCA as amended by the MCA 2009 to the original MCA enacted in 2006 and to general courts-martial.

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Report about the Ab-initio Reaction Calculations for Carbon-12 (ESP Technical Report): ALCF-2 Early Science Program Technical Report

A project simulating water with high accuracy and precision.

This report describes and compares the drug- and crime-related policy restrictions contained in selected federal programs that provide assistance to low-income individuals and families: the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly Food Stamps), and the three primary federal housing assistance programs (the public housing program, the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program, and the project-based Section 8 rental assistance program).

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Experimental approach Column experiments were devised to investigate the role of changing fluid composition on mobility of uranium through a sequence of geologic media. Fluids and media were chosen to be relevant to the ground water plume emanating from the former S-3 ponds at the Oak Ridge Integrated Field Research Challenge (ORIFC) site. Synthetic ground waters were pumped upwards at 0.05 mL/minute for 21 days through layers of quartz sand alternating with layers of uncontaminated soil, quartz sand mixed with illite, quartz sand coated with iron oxides, and another soil layer. Increases in pH or concentration of phosphate, bicarbonate, or acetate were imposed on the influent solutions after each 7 pore volumes while uranium (as uranyl) remained constant at 0.1mM. A control column maintained the original synthetic groundwater composition with 0.1mM U. Pore water solutions were extracted to assess U retention and release in relation to the advective ligand or pH gradients. Following the column experiments, subsamples from each layer were characterized using microbeam X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XANES) in conjunction with X-ray fluorescence mapping and compared to sediment core samples from the ORIFC, at SSRL Beam Line 2-3. Results U retention of 55 – 67 mg occurred in phosphate >pH …

The purpose of this study was to provide comparative information regarding the changes in clay structure that occur due to biotic or abiotic reduction, as probed by variable-temperature Mössbauer spectroscopy.

Proceedings of the Senate of Texas for the fifty-seventh day of the Regular session of the 83rd Legislature documenting legislation, reports, discussions, votes, and points-of-order.

Proceedings of the Senate of Texas for the fifty-seventh day of the Regular session of the 83rd Legislature documenting legislation, reports, discussions, votes, and points-of-order.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins ""

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In the conference report accompanying the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, Congress directed DOD to provide an updated report on strategic seaport facilities used for military purposes, specifying that DOD must include (1) an assessment of the structural integrity and deficiencies of the port facilities and determination of the infrastructure improvements needed to directly or indirectly meet national security and readiness requirements; (2) an assessment of the impact on operational readiness if the improvements are not undertaken; (3) an identification of potential funding sources for the needed improvements from existing authorities; and (4) an opinion as to whether DOD has the necessary authority to support section 50302 of Title 46 of the United States Code. DOD issued that report in January 2013. In summary, we found that DOD addressed all four of the elements directed by Congress, as follows:"

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) did not adequately implement key provisions of the Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 (IPIA) and the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010 (IPERA) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requirements for fiscal year 2011. Most important, GAO found that DOD's improper payment estimates reported in its fiscal year 2011 Agency Financial Report were neither reliable nor statistically valid because of long-standing and pervasive financial management weaknesses and significant deficiencies in the department's procedures to estimate improper payments. For example, DOD did not"

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "During its audit of the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) fiscal year 2012 financial statements, GAO identified one new internal control deficiency that contributed to IRS's continuing material weakness in internal control over unpaid tax assessments as of September 30, 2012. Specifically, IRS's controls over its process for estimating the balances of federal taxes receivable and other unpaid tax assessments were not effectively implemented to ensure the proper accounting classification and dollar amounts."