Every five years Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) generates an updated meteorological database to facilitate dosimetric calculations of accident and routine release scenarios for onsite and offsite populations. This information becomes the input of various environmental dosimetry codes run by the Environmental Dosimetry Group (EDG) at SRNL. The three most recent databases prior to the current one were completed for the time periods 1987-1991, 1992-1996, and 1997-2001. The current database covers the period 2002-2006. This study represents a portion of a larger study to compare the meteorological data among these four five-year periods and focuses on updating VENTSAR XL{copyright} for the current meteorological database. The updated meteorological data are also applied in other dosimetry models approved for risk and dose assessment at Savannah River Site (SRS). VENTSAR XL{copyright} is a Gaussian Plume model that includes building effects and plume rise. The typical input involves the location of the release, building dimensions, distance to the building, release height, vent diameter, vent gas temperature, gas molecular weight, ambient air temperature, breathing rate, meteorological conditions, radionuclides and their amount released. The output is easily converted into tables and graphs for further analysis and shows the concentrations and pathway doses for each of the …

This research project was designed to play a vital role in the development of low cost sugars from cellulosic biomass and contributing to the national effort to displace fossil fuel usage in the USA transportation sector. The goal was to expand the portfolio of cell wall degrading enzymes through innovative research at the nano-scale level, prospecting for novel cellulases and building a kinetic framework for the development of more effective enzymatic conversion processes. More precisely, the goal was to elucidate the molecular mechanisms for some cellulases that are very familiar to members of our research team and to investigate what we hope are novel cellulases or new enzyme combinations from the world of plant pathogenic fungi and bacteria. Hydrolytic activities of various cellulases and cellulase cocktails were monitored at the nanoscale of cellulose fibrils and the microscale of pretreated cellulose particles, and we integrated this insight into a heterogeneous reaction framework. The over-riding approach for this research program was the application of innovative and cutting edge optical and high-throughput screening and analysis techniques for observing how cellulases hydrolyze real substrates.

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This report provides information about the Funding for Child and Family Services Authorized Under Title IV-B of the Social Security Act for child welfare.

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This report examines the legislative history of electronic voting in the House of Representative, discusses the design and initial use of the electronic voting system, and examines the day-to-day operations of the system, including the process for conducing a vote electronically.

This report provides an overview of the operation and issues for Congress on the federal land transaction facilitation act.

Daily publication of the U.S. Office of the Federal Register contains rules and regulations, proposed legislation and rule changes, and other notices, including "Presidential proclamations and Executive Orders, Federal agency documents having general applicability and legal effect, documents required to be published by act of Congress, and other Federal agency documents of public interest" (p. ii). Table of Contents starts on page iii.

This report Discusses about Evolution of the Private Sector Role in U.S. Development Assistance, U.S. Government Development Partners, Potential Benefits of Public-Private Partnerships and Issues for Congress.

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Section 8102 of the Department of Defense (DOD) and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2011 directed us to evaluate the effect on national security resulting from the section's requirements. These requirements, as well as those previously included in Section 8116 of the DOD Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2010, prohibit DOD's use of funds appropriated by the respective acts for any contract over $1 million unless the contractor agrees not to use or enforce mandatory arbitration agreements to resolve specified employee claims, such as those under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. These statutes also provide that the Secretary of Defense can waive the application of these restrictions on mandatory arbitration to avoid harm to U.S. national security interests."

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Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since the 1940s, the Department of Energy (DOE) has been processing natural uranium into enriched uranium, which has a higher concentration of the isotope uranium-235 that can be used in nuclear weapons or reactors. This has resulted in over 700,000 metric tons of leftover depleted uranium, also known as "tails," that have varying residual concentrations of uranium-235. The tails are stored at DOE's uranium enrichment plants in Portsmouth, Ohio and Paducah, Kentucky. Although the tails have historically been considered a waste product, increases in uranium prices may give DOE options to use some of the tails in ways that could provide revenue to the government. GAO's testimony is based on its March 2008 report (GAO-08-606R). GAO updated the analysis in its 2008 report to reflect current uranium prices and actions taken by DOE. The testimony focuses on (1) DOE's options for its tails and (2) the potential value of DOE's tails and factors that affect the value."

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This report discusses the current political and economic conditions in Russia, focusing on the impact of Vladimir Putin's leadership and the leadership of his successor/protégé, Dmitriy Medvedev, both of which have steered Russia away from progress toward democratization. The report also discusses the state of the economy since the Soviet collapse in 1999, how the recent global economic downturn has affected Russia, the state of Russia's military, and the current relationship between Russia and the United States.

The Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Act (the "SAFER Act") was enacted by the 108th Congress as part of the FY2004 National Defense Authorization Act. This report describes the SAFER Act in brief, discusses possible budgetary modifications to the SAFER Act that are being considered due to the recent economic downturn, and explores related issues for the 112th Congress as they consider reauthorization.

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Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "During GAO's recent work on services available for women veterans (GAO-10-287), several clinicians expressed concern about the physical safety of women housed in mental health programs at a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facility. GAO examined (1) the volume of sexual assault incidents reported in recent years and the extent to which these incidents are fully reported, (2) what factors may contribute to any observed underreporting, and (3) precautions VA facilities take to prevent sexual assaults and other safety incidents. This testimony is based on recent GAO work, "VA Health Care: Actions Needed To Prevent Sexual Assaults and Other Safety Incidents," (GAO-11-530) (June 2011). For that report, GAO reviewed relevant laws, VA policies, and sexual assault incident documentation from January 2007 through July 2010. In addition, GAO visited five judgmentally selected VA medical facilities that varied in size and complexity and spoke with the four Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISN) that oversee them."

Discoveries of very high energy (VHE) photons from distant blazars suggest that, after correction by extragalactic background light (EBL) absorption, there is a flatness or even a turn-up in their spectra at the highest energies that cannot be easily explained by the standard framework. Here, it is shown that a possible solution to this problem is achieved by assuming the existence of axion-like particles (ALPs) with masses {approx} 1 neV. The ALP scenario is tested making use of observations of the highest redshift blazars known in the VHE energy regime, namely 3C 279, 3C 66A, PKS 1222+216 and PG 1553+113. In all cases, better fits to the observed spectra are found when including ALPs rather than considering EBL only. Interestingly, quite similar critical energies for photon/ALP conversions are also derived, independently of the source considered.

We present a measurement of the B{sup +} {yields} {omega}{ell}{sup +}{nu} branching fraction based on a sample of 467 million B{bar B} pairs recorded by the BABAR detector at the SLAC PEP-II e{sup +}e{sup -} collider. We observe 1041 {+-} 133 signal decays, corresponding to a branching fraction of {Beta}(B{sup +} {yields} {omega}{ell}{sup +}{nu}) = (1.15 {+-} 0.15 {+-} 0.12) x 10{sup -4}, where the first error is statistical and the second is systematic. The dependence of the decay rate on q{sup 2}, the momentum transfer squared to the lepton system, is compared to QCD predictions of the form factors based on a quark model and light-cone sum rules.

This report looks at the cost of funding the Coast Guard's program of record's (POR) call for procuring eight National Security Cutters (NSCs), 25 Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPCs), and 58 Fast Response Cutters (FRCs) as replacements for 90 aging Coast Guard cutters and patrol craft. It also addresses issues for maintenance, future acquisition, and definitions of the types of cutters.

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The Ecological Monitoring and Compliance (EMAC) Program, funded through the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office, monitors the ecosystem of the Nevada National Security Site and ensures compliance with laws and regulations pertaining to NNSS biota. This report summarizes the program's activities conducted by National Security Technologies, LLC, during calendar year 2011. Program activities included (a) biological surveys at proposed construction sites, (b) desert tortoise compliance, (c) ecosystem monitoring, (d) sensitive plant species monitoring, (e) sensitive and protected/regulated animal monitoring, (f) habitat restoration monitoring, and (g) monitoring of the Nonproliferation Test and Evaluation Complex. During 2011, all applicable laws, regulations, and permit requirements were met, enabling EMAC to achieve its intended goals and objectives.

Health care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) are benefit plans established by employers to reimburse employees for health care expenses such as deductibles and copayments. The contributions to and withdrawals from FSAs are tax-exempt. On June 7, 2012, the House passed H.R. 436, the Health Care Cost Reduction Act of 2012, which would allow up to $500 of unused balances in health FSAs to be distributed back to the account holder after the plan year ends and to allow over-the-counter prescriptions to be a qualified medical expense. The bill has been sent to the Senate for its consideration. Similar bills in the Senate have been referred to the Senate Finance Committee (S. 1368 and S. 1404). This report discusses these bills in greater detail.

This report describes who will be eligible for the premium credits, and how the credit amounts will be calculated. It also highlights key issues raised by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on the premium credits. The Appendix provides analysis of the concept of "affordability" as applicable to the premium credits.