Military land managers and decision makers face an ever increasing challenge to balance maximum flexibility for the mission with a diverse set of multiple land use, social, political, and economic goals. In addition, these goals encompass environmental requirements for maintaining ecosystem health and sustainability over the long term. Spatiotemporal modeling and simulation in support of adaptive ecosystem management can be best accomplished through a dynamic, integrated, and flexible approach that incorporates scientific and technological components into a comprehensive ecosystem modeling framework. The Integrated Dynamic Landscape Analysis and Modeling System (IDLAMS) integrates ecological models and decision support techniques through a geographic information system (GIS)-based backbone. Recently, an object-oriented (OO) architectural framework was developed for IDLAMS (OO-IDLAMS). This OO-IDLAMS Prototype was built upon and leverages from the Dynamic Information Architecture System (DIAS) developed by Argonne National Laboratory. DIAS is an object-based architectural framework that affords a more integrated, dynamic, and flexible approach to comprehensive ecosystem modeling than was possible with the GIS-based integration approach of the original IDLAMS. The flexibility, dynamics, and interoperability demonstrated through this case study of an object-oriented approach have the potential to provide key technology solutions for many of the military's multiple-use goals and needs for integrated natural …

This report discusses the economic and political status of Albania in the year 2000, notably focusing on certain important events throughout the 1990s, such as the Kosovo Crisis and the rise to power of the Socialist Party in 1997.

This report discusses the economic and political status of Albania in the year 2000, notably focusing on certain important events throughout the 1990s, such as the Kosovo Crisis and the rise to power of the Socialist Party in 1997.

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the prices of genetically modified seeds, focusing on : (1) the prices of Roundup Ready soybeans and Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) corn seeds in the United States and Argentina; and (2) major reasons for any identified price differences between the two countries."

This report describes federal child care initiative during World War II, and briefly traces the evolution of federal child care policy from the postwar period until today.

Outstanding progress toward reaching NREL/DOE goals was achieved during this subcontract: (1) Siemens Solar Industries (SSI) introduced two new CIS products to the SSI ST family of products, including an approximately 1-ft {times} 4-ft, 40-Wp module. (2) Process data for the production of circuit plates for the CIS family of products demonstrates improved efficiency and exhibits generally good control for extended periods. (3) The first subcontract milestone and the deliverables for this subcontract phase were met by delivering product samples that are larger and of higher efficiency than originally promised for this subcontract phase. (4) Capacity has been increased while also increasing the average efficiency of 1-ft {times} 4-ft circuit plates from 10.8% to 11.2%. (5) Yield improvements have been made by implementing improvements in processes and manufacturing protocols. (6) FM and UL approval was obtained for the ST series of products. (7) Long-term outdoor stability has been demonstrated at NREL, where 30-cm {times} 30-cm and 30-cm {times} 120-cm modules have undergone testing for more than 11 years. (8) SSI is addressing near-term and longer-term R&D topics through SSI's participation in NREL CIS National Team activities. (9) NREL confirmed a world-record 12.1% conversion efficiency large-area (3651 cm{sup 2}) CIS module. …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the process used by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to identify foreign acquisitions of U.S. companies, focusing on current identification process used by the Committee and the effectiveness of the Committee's follow-up on acquisitions identified by its member agencies."

A chapter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO: (1) assessed whether the enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC) is likely to free up resources for poverty reduction and achieve the goal of debt sustainability; (2) described the strategy to strengthen the link between debt relief and poverty reduction and how this strategy is to be implemented; and (3) described the challenges creditors face in fully funding the enhanced initiative."

Fibrous monoliths (FMs) based on mullite combined with Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} and Y{sub 2}O{sub 3}-stabilized ZrO{sub 2} have been produced. These FMs incorporate duplex cells in which compressive residual stresses were engineered into the surfaces of the cells. The residual stresses should increase average cell strength, which may allow them to achieve mechanical properties comparable to those of Si{sub 3}N{sub 4}/BN FMs. The expected residual stresses have been calculated, and data on sintering and thermal expansion have been gathered. Prototype FMs were produced and their microstructure examined.

The purpose of this Integrated Safety Management System (ISMS) Program Description (PD) is to describe the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Richland Operations Office (RL) ISMS as implemented through the RL Integrated Management System (RIMS). This PD does not impose additional requirements but rather provides an overview describing how various parts of the ISMS fit together. Specific requirements for each of the core functions and guiding principles are established in other implementing processes, procedures, and program descriptions that comprise RIMS. RL is organized to conduct work through operating contracts; therefore, it is extremely difficult to provide an adequate ISMS description that only addresses RL functions. Of necessity, this PD contains some information on contractor processes and procedures which then require RL approval or oversight.

Exploitation of certain niche markets for small wind turbines is one strategy that could help speed the commercialization of grid-connected small turbines. The authors review the world's turbine manufacturers, the utility grid-connected applications and selected niche markets for grid-connected small wind systems (0.1 to 100 kilowatts). Wind turbine installation and purchase are handled under three different payment scenarios: paid in full up front, paid through a second mortgage, or paid as part of a first mortgage. The authors used a simple payback method to compare these scenarios and analyze the costs and energy produced for three different U.S. small wind turbines. When there is a buy-down program for the small wind turbine combined with other financial factors such as net metering, tax exemptions, and tax credits, a strong market incentive is created for the use of grid-connected small wind turbines.

Low-sulfur and low-aromatic diesel fuels are being introduced in order to reduce various types of emissions in diesel engines to levels in compliance with current and impending US federal regulations. The low lubricity of these fuels, however, poses major reliability and durability problems for fuel injection components that depend on diesel fuel for their lubrication. In the present study, the authors evaluated the scuff resistance of surfaces in regular diesel fuel containing 500 ppm sulfur and in Fischer-Tropsch synthetic diesel fuel containing no sulfur or aromatics. Tests were conducted with the high frequency reciprocating test rig (HFRR) using 52100 steel balls and H-13 tool-steel flats with and without Argonne's special carbon coatings. Test results showed that the sulfur-containing fuels provide about 20% higher scuffing resistance than does fuel without sulfur. Use of the carbon coating on the flat increased scuffing resistance in both regular and synthetic fuels by about ten times, as measured by the contact severity index at scuffing. Scuffing failure in tests conducted with coated surfaces did not occur until the coating had been removed by the two distinct mechanisms of spalling and wear.

Effect of extrusion temperatures on the microstructural development of a powder metallurgy (PM) Ti-47Al-2Cr-1Nb-1Ta (at. %) alloy has been investigated. Microstructure of the PM alloy extruded at 1150 C consists of a fine-grained ({gamma} + {alpha}{sub 2}) two-phase structure in association with coarse grains of metastable B2 (ordered bcc) phase. In addition, fine {omega} (ordered hexagonal) particles are also found within some B2 grains. The PM alloy containing the metastable B2 grains displays a low-temperature superplastic behavior, in which a tensile elongation of 310% is obtained at 800 C under a strain rate of 2 x 10{sup -5} s{sup -1}. It is suggested that the decomposition of metastable B2 phase and microstructural evolution during the deformation play a crucial role in the low-temperature superplasticity of the PM TiAl alloy. A refined fully-lamellar (FL) microstructure with alternating {gamma} and {alpha}{sub 2} lamellae is developed within the PM alloy extruded at 1400 C. The creep resistance of the refined FL-TiAl alloy is found to be superior to those of the TiAl alloys fabricated by conventional processing techniques. Creep mechanisms for the PM alloy with a refined FL microstructure are critically discussed according to TEM examination of deformation substructure.

Ceramics are being considered for a wide range of structural applications due to their low density and their ability to retain strength at high temperatures. The inherent brittleness of monolithic ceramics requires a departure from the deterministic design philosophy utilized to analyze metallic structural components. The design program ''Ceramic Analysis and Reliability Evaluation of Structures Life'' (CARES/LIFE) developed by NASA Lewis Research Center uses a probabilistic approach to predict the reliability of monolithic components under operational loading. The objective of this study was to develop an understanding of the theories used by CARES/LIFE to predict the reliability of ceramic components and to assess the ability of CARES/LIFE to accurately predict the fast fracture behavior of monolithic ceramic components. A finite element analysis was performed to determine the temperature and stress distribution of a silicon carbide O-ring under diametral compression. The results of the finite element analysis were supplied as input into CARES/LIFE to determine the fast fracture reliability of the O-ring. Statistical material strength parameters were calculated from four-point flexure bar test data. The predicted reliability showed excellent correlation with O-ring compression test data indicating that the CARES/LIFE program can be used to predict the reliability of ceramic components subjected …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the: (1) American Fisheries Act's impact on the production of pollock fillets and the price paid for them; and (2) act's positive and negative impacts on fishing operations in the pollock fishery and other fisheries in Alaska."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the: (1) status of efforts by the Forest Service to become more accountable for what it accomplishes with appropriated funds; and (2) actions still needed for the agency to provide Congress and the public with a better understanding of its performance."

Gamma rays are ideal probes for the determination of information about the special nuclear material that is in the transparency regime. Gamma rays are good probes because they interact relatively weakly with the containers that surround the SNM under investigation. In addition, gamma rays carry a great deal of information about the material under investigation. We have leveraged these two characteristics to develop three technologies that have proven useful for the measurements of various attributes of plutonium. These technologies are Pu-300, Pu-600 and Pu-900. These technologies obtain the age, isotopics and presence/absence of oxide of a plutonium sample, respectively. Pu-300 obtains the time since the last {sup 241}Am separation for a sample of plutonium. This is accomplished by looking at the {sup 241}Am/{sup 241}pu ratio in the energy region from 330-350 keV, hence the name Pu-300. Pu-600 determines the isotopics of the plutonium sample under consideration. More specifically, it determines the {sup 240}Pu/{sup 239}Pu ratio to determine if the plutonium sample is of weapons quality or not. This analysis is carded out in the energy region from 630-670 keV. Pu-900 determines the absence of PuO{sub 2} by searching for a peak at 870.7 keV. If this peak is absent then …

The Research Institute of Pulse Technique has constructed a gamma-ray camera for imaging radioactive materials. The work was performed under the DOE Lab to Lab Dismantlement Transparency Program with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (USA). The gamma-ray camera was intended for imaging radioactive materials, including fissile materials, in a storage container. In this case, the spatial resolution established in the specifications for the gamma ray camera was limited for reasons of inspection non-intrusiveness.

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the General Services Administration's (GSA) on-line ordering system, GSA Advantage, focusing on: (1) vendor concerns; and (2) the Federal Supply Service's (FSS) views on the concerns and the actions it is taking to improve Advantage."

This report describes the research conducted in the High Energy Physics Division of Argonne National Laboratory during the period of July 1, 1999 through December 31, 1999. Topics covered here include experimental and theoretical particle physics, advanced accelerator physics, detector development, and experimental facilities research. Lists of Division publications and colloquia are included.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the: (1) Department of the Treasury's process for allocating highway user tax receipts to the Highway Account of the Highway Trust Fund; (2) Federal Highway Administration (FHwA) process for estimating motor fuel usage and the contributions to the account that are attributable to highway users in each state; and (3) impact of these processes on the amount of highway program funds distributed to each state."

Characterization of hot electron production (a conversion efficiency from laser energy into electrons) in ultra intense laser-solid target interaction, using 1.06 {micro}m laser light with an intensity of up to 3 x 10{sup 20}W cm{sup -2} and an on target laser energy of {le}500 J, has been done by observing K{sub {beta}} as well as K{sub {alpha}} emissions from a buried Mo layer in the targets, which are same structure as in the previous 100 TW experiments but done under less laser intensity and energy conditions ({le} 4 x 10{sup 19} Wcm{sup -2} and {le} 30 J). The conversion efficiency from the laser energy into the energy, carried by hot electrons, has been estimated to be {approx}50%, which are little bit higher than the previous less laser energy ({approx} 20 J) experiments, yet the x-ray emission spectra from the target has change drastically, i.e., gamma flash.

The lateral thermal oxidation process of Al{sub 0.98}Ga{sub 0.02}As layers has been studied by transmission electron microscopy. Growing a low-temperature GaAs layer below the Al{sub 0.98}Ga{sub 0.02}As has been shown to result in better quality of the oxide/GaAs interfaces compared to reference samples. While the later have As precipitation above and below the oxide layer and roughness and voids at the oxide/GaAs interface, the structures with low-temperature have less As precipitation and develop interfaces without voids. These results are explained in terms of the diffusion of the As toward the low temperature layer. The effect of the addition of a SiO{sub 2} cap layer is also discussed.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the cost increases in the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 program, focusing on: (1) how much costs have increased and the reasons for those increases; (2) whether additional cost increases are expected; (3) what is being done to control costs; and (4) whether the Army's requirement will be met by planned missile procurements."