The objective of this report is to document the findings from proof-of-concept testing performed by the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) R&D Engineering and Visible Assets, Inc. for the DOE Packaging Certification Program (PCP) to determine if RuBee (IEEE 1902.1) tags and readers could be used to provide a communication link from within a drum-style DOE certified Type B radioactive materials packaging. A Model 9977 Type B Packaging was used to test the read/write capability and range performance of a RuBee tag and reader. Testing was performed with the RuBee tags placed in various locations inside the packaging including inside the drum on the outside of the lid of the containment vessel and also inside of the containment vessel. This report documents the test methods and results. A path forward will also be recommended.

By restating geometrical optics within the eld-theoretical approach, the classical concept of a photon in arbitrary dispersive medium is introduced, and photon properties are calculated unambiguously. In particular, the canonical and kinetic momenta carried by a photon, as well as the two corresponding energy-momentum tensors of a wave, are derived straightforwardly from rst principles of Lagrangian mechanics. The Abraham-Minkowski controversy pertaining to the de nitions of these quantities is thereby resolved for linear waves of arbitrary nature, and corrections to the traditional formulas for the photon kinetic quantities are found. An application of axiomatic geometrical optics to electromagnetic waves is also presented as an example.

This report discusses basic methodology of life-cycle assessments and compares several publicly-available assessments of life-cycle emissions data for Canadian oil sands crudes against each other and against those of other global reference crudes. It also includes a survey of the scientific literature and the findings of the State Department's Keystone XL Project Envoronmental Impact Statement, and concludes with a discussion of tools for policymakers who are interested in using the assessments to investigate the potential impacts of U.S. energy policy choices onthe environment.

N/A

This project was a program to develop high-throughput methods to identify and characterize spatially localized multiprotein complexes in bacterial cells. We applied a multidisciplinary “systems engineering” approach to the detailed characterization of localized multi-protein structures in vivo – a problem that has previously been approached on a fragmented, piecemeal basis.

This report covers two proposed permit drafts by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding Vessel General Permits (VGPs): one for large vessels to replace the 2008 VGP (draft VGP), and one for smaller vessels that currently are covered by a congressionally-enacted temporary moratorium (draft sVGP).

In November 2011 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed two Clean Water Act permits to regulate certain types of discharges from vessels into U.S. waters. This report is an overview of the proposed permits and two key issues: inclusion of numeric performance standards to limit ballast water discharges from vessels, and controversies about the role of states in regulating vessel discharges.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) Containment Program performed a review of nuclear test-related data for the Norbo underground nuclear test in U8c to assist in evaluating this legacy site as a test bed for application technologies for use in On-Site Inspections (OSI) under the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. This request is similar to one made for the Salut site in U8c (Pawloski, 2012b). Review of the Norbo site is complicated because the test first exhibited subsurface collapse, which was not unusual, but it then collapsed to the surface over one year later, which was unusual. Of particular interest is the stability of the ground surface above the Norbo detonation point. Proposed methods for on-site verification include radiological signatures, artifacts from nuclear testing activities, and imaging to identify alteration to the subsurface hydrogeology due to the nuclear detonation. Aviva Sussman from the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) has also proposed work at this site. Both proposals require physical access at or near the ground surface of specific underground nuclear test locations at the Nevada Nuclear Security Site (NNSS), formerly the Nevada Test Site (NTS), and focus on possible activities such as visual observation, multispectral measurements, and shallow and deep geophysical …

None

During the period of this project, the Holographic Detector for Clouds 2 (HOLODEC 2) instrument has advanced from a laboratory-proven instrument with some initial field testing to a fully flight-tested instrument capable of providing useful cloud microphysics measurements. This can be summarized as 'Technology Readiness Level 8: Technology is proven to work - Actual technology completed and qualified through test and demonstration.' As part of this project, improvements and upgrades have been made to the optical system, the instrument power control system, the data acquisition computer, the instrument control software, the data reconstruction and analysis software, and some of the basic algorithms for estimating basic microphysical variables like droplet diameter. Near the end of the project, the instrument flew on several research flights as part of the IDEAS 2011 project, and a small sample of data from the project is included as an example. There is one caveat in the technology readiness level stated above: the upgrades to the instrument power system were made after the flight testing, so they are not fully field proven. We anticipate that there will be an opportunity to fly the instrument as part of the IDEAS project in fall 2012.

This report looks at how free trade areas (FTAs) affect U.S. trade in regards to trade policy, specifically tariffs. It looks closely at the Bush Administration's Trade Promotion Policy, and pending FTAs leftover from this administration. Additionally, it looks at the Obama Administration's work in the prospective Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (TPP).

We explore the sonification of x-ray scattering data, which are two-dimensional arrays of intensity whose meaning is obscure and non-intuitive. Direct mapping of the experimental data into sound is found to produce timbral sonifications that, while sacrificing conventional aesthetic appeal, provide a rich auditory landscape for exploration. We discuss the optimization of sonification variables, and speculate on potential real-world applications. We have presented a case study of sonifying x-ray scattering data. Direct mapping of the two-dimensional intensity values of a scattering dataset into the two-dimensional matrix of a sonogram is a natural and information-preserving operation that creates rich sounds. Our work supports the notion that many problems in understanding rather abstract scientific datasets can be ameliorated by adding the auditory modality of sonification. We further emphasize that sonification need not be limited to time-series data: any data matrix is amenable. Timbral sonification is less obviously aesthetic, than tonal sonification, which generate melody, harmony, or rhythm. However these musical sonifications necessarily sacrifice information content for beauty. Timbral sonification is useful because the entire dataset is represented. Non-musicians can understand the data through the overall color of the sound; audio experts can extract more detailed insight by studying all the features of …

This report looks at the purposes and results of U.S. sanctions on Iran, which were initiated as a result of Iran's nuclear program and human rights issues. It ends by discussing future issues that Congress can consider regarding the sanctions.

This report looks at political instability that has plagued the country since 2009. It address other concerns that Congress has about the country as well, specifically threats to Madagascar's unique ecosystem.

We present improved measurements of CP-violation parameters in the decays B{sup 0} {yields} {pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -}, B{sup 0} {yields} K{sup +}{pi}{sup -}, and B{sup 0} {yields} {pi}{sup 0}{pi}{sup 0}, and of the branching fractions for B{sup 0} {yields} {pi}{sup 0}{pi}{sup 0} and B{sup 0} {yields} K{sup 0}{pi}{sup 0}. The results are obtained with the full data set collected at the {Upsilon}(4S) resonance by the BABAR experiment at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy B factory at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, corresponding to 467 {+-} 5 million B{bar B} pairs. We find the CP-violation parameter values and branching fractions S{sub {pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -}} = -0.68 {+-} 0.10 {+-} 0.03, C{sub {pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -}} = -0.25 {+-} 0.08 {+-} 0.02, {Alpha}{sub K{sup -}{pi}{sup +}} = -0.107 {+-} 0.016{sub -0.004}{sup +0.006}, C{sub {pi}{sup 0}{pi}{sup 0}} = -0.43 {+-} 0.26 {+-} 0.05, {Beta}(B{sup 0} {yields} {pi}{sup 0}{pi}{sup 0}) = (1.83 {+-} 0.21 {+-} 0.13) x 10{sup -6}, {Beta}(B{sup 0} {yields} K0{pi}{sup 0}) = (10.1 {+-} 0.6 {+-} 0.4) x 10{sup -6}, where in each case, the first uncertainties are statistical and the second are systematic. We observe CP violation with a significance of 6.7 standard deviations for B{sup 0} {yields} {pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -} and 6.1 standard …

None

None

This report discusses Tunisia's "Jasmine Revolution," the common term for President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's flight from the country following weeks of mounting anti-government protests. This report discusses how the Jasmine Revolution appears to have added momentum to anti-government sentiment in Egypt, Libya, Yemen, and other countries. This report discusses Tunisia's pro-democracy movement; concerns over potential instability in a previously secure, pro-Western area; and U.S.-Tunisian relations.

The Magnetic Centrifugal Mass Filter concept represents a variation on the plasma centrifuge, with applications that are particularly promising for high-throughput separation of ions with large mass differences. A number of considerations, however, constrain the parameter space in which this device operates best. The rotation speed, magnetic field intensity and ion temperature are constrained by the ion confinement requirements. Collisions must also be large enough to eject ions, but small enough not to eject them too quickly. The existence of favorable regimes meeting these constraints is demonstrated by a single-particle orbit code. As an example of interest, it is shown that separation factors of about 2:3 are achievable in a single pass when separating Aluminum from Strontium ions

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Almost all public housing authorities (PHA) met their spending deadlines for the Public Housing Capital Fund formula and competitive grant programs. As mandated, all but one PHA spent 100 percent of their formula grants by March 17, 2012. According to Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) officials, PHAs with competitive grants were on track to meet their September 2012 spending deadlines. PHAs we interviewed cited various challenges to meeting the grant deadlines, such as the tight time frames and many attributed their ability to meet deadlines to good planning within their organizations and help from HUD. According to analyses of HUD data, about 3,100 PHAs planned to undertake improvements with their formula grants that affected about 495,000 housing units. Many used their grants to make improvements that enhanced energy efficiency, such as installing energy-efficient windows and appliances. GAO determined that HUD’s monitoring strategy for these programs incorporated key internal controls, such as developing and implementing measures that allowed HUD staff to compare actual with planned results. At specific sites that GAO visited, PHAs were able to demonstrate work was under way or had been completed."

This report discusses the purpose of the June 2012 United Nations (U.N.) Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD or “Rio+20”) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It looks at issues that could be addressed during the conference as well as how this conference may differ from the last U.N. Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio in 1992.

The scanning ARM cloud radar (SACR) is a polarimetric Doppler radar consisting of three different radar designs based on operating frequency. These are designated as follows: (1) X-band SACR (X-SACR); (2) Ka-band SACR (Ka-SACR); and (3) W-band SACR (W-SACR). There are two SACRs on a single pedestal at each site where SACRs are deployed. The selection of the operating frequencies at each deployed site is predominantly determined by atmospheric attenuation at the site. Because RF attenuation increases with atmospheric water vapor content, ARM's Tropical Western Pacific (TWP) sites use the X-/Ka-band frequency pair. The Southern Great Plains (SGP) and North Slope of Alaska (NSA) sites field the Ka-/W-band frequency pair. One ARM Mobile Facility (AMF1) has a Ka/W-SACR and the other (AMF2) has a X/Ka-SACR.

The Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL), in response to a request from Solid Waste Management (SWM), conducted a Special Analysis (SA) to evaluate the performance of nineteen heat exchangers that are to be disposed in the E-Area low level waste facility Slit Trench 9 (ST 9). Although these nineteen heat exchangers were never decontaminated, the majority of the radionuclides in the heat exchanger inventory list were determined to be acceptable for burial because they are less than the 'generic' waste form inventory limits given in the 2008 Performance Assessment (PA) (WSRC, 2008). However, as generic waste, the H-3 and C-14 inventories resulted in unacceptable sum-of-fractions (SOFs). Initial scoping analyses performed by SRNL indicated that if alterations were made to certain external nozzles to mitigate various potential leak paths, acceptable SOFs could be achieved through the use of a 'Special' waste form. This SA provides the technical basis for this new 'Special' waste form and provides the inventory limits for H-3 and C-14 for these nineteen heat exchangers such that the nineteen heat exchangers can be disposed in ST 9. This 'Special' waste form is limited to these nineteen heat exchangers in ST 9 and applies for H-3 and C-14, which …

This report looks at the history, purpose, and current status of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.