This report discusses the regulatory issues regarding cattle disease, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), and a rare, fatal human illness, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD).

This report discusses primarily, the controversy over encryption concerns what access the government should have to encrypted stored computer data or electronic communications (voice and data, wired and wireless) for law enforcement purposes.

On July 31, 1997, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed a new regulatory program to reduce "regional haze." The proposed program would require the states to develop and implement long-term strategies to attain a congressionally the mandated goal of remedying the impairment of visibility in national parks and wilderness areas resulting from man-made air pollution.

A weekly publication, the Texas Register serves as the journal of state agency rulemaking for Texas. Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents such as requests for proposals. After adoption, these rulemaking actions are codified into the Texas Administrative Code.

A weekly publication, the Texas Register serves as the journal of state agency rulemaking for Texas. Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents such as requests for proposals. After adoption, these rulemaking actions are codified into the Texas Administrative Code.

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Jim Mattox, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Disposal of property forfeited to a municipality pursuant to the Texas Controlled Substances Act (RQ-1730)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Dan Morales, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Whether a Texas Department of Criminal Justice may operate a work program facility that produces goods and services that are marketed for profit or exempted under the Federal Private Industry Enhancement Program and its related question (RQ-504)

Letter opinion issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Jim Mattox, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification.

Letter opinion issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Jim Mattox, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification.

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the progress being made in addressing the year 2000 computing challenge, focusing on: (1) the federal government's progress and the challenges that remain in correcting its systems; (2) state and local government year 2000 issues; and (3) the readiness of key public infrastructure and economic sectors."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO followed up on its report on Amtrak's financial performance, focusing on: (1) Amtrak's overall financial performance in fiscal year (FY) 1998; (2) the prospects for Amtrak to meet its financial goals for operating self-sufficiency outlined in its most recent strategic business plan; and (3) the extent to which current and anticipated federal funding and recently enacted legislative reforms aimed at helping Amtrak better control its costs are likely to help improve its financial condition."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on how the Antiquities Act of 1906 has been used since its passage, focusing on: (1) the monuments that have been established under the act; and (2) a comparison of the requirements, if any, for environmental documentation and public participation, and of the processes, if any, for facilitating congressional oversight found in the act and in three other pieces of legislation--the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA), and the National Forest Management Act of 1976 (NFMA)."

Angular asymmetries have been measured in polarized Z{sup 0} decays to b{bar b}g collected by the SLD experiment at the SLC. A high purity b{bar b}g event sample is selected by utilizing B lifetime information given by the SLD CCD pixel vertex detector and the stable micron-size SLC beams, and the b- and {bar b}-jets are identified using lifetime information and momentum- weighted track charge. The forward-backward asymmetry is observed in the b-quark polar angle distribution, and the parity-violation parameter is measured to test the Standard Model. Two angular correlations between the three-jet plane and the Z{sup 0} polarization are studied. The CP-even and T-odd, and the CP-odd and T-odd, angular asymmetries are sensitive to physics beyond the Standard Model. The latter requires tagging both the b- and {bar b}-jet. We measure the expectation values of these quantities to be consistent with zero and set limits on the correlations at the 5% level.

We present preliminary results of a new measurement of the inclusive b quark fragmentation function in Z{sup 0} decays using a novel kinematic B hadron energy reconstruction technique. The measurement is performed using 150,000 hadronic Z{sup 0} events recorded in the SLD experiment at SLAC between 1996 and 1997. The small and stable SLC beam spot and the CCD-based vertex detector are used to reconstruct topological B-decay vertices with high efficiency and purity, and to provide precise measurements of the kinematic quantities used in this technique. We measure the B energy with good efficiency and resolution over the full kinematic range. We compare the measured scaled B hadron energy distribution with several functional forms of the B hadron energy distribution and predictions of several models of b quark fragmentation. Several functions are excluded by the data. The average scaled energy of the weakly decaying B hadron is measured to be x{sub B} = 0.714 {+-} 0.005 (stat) {+-} 0.007 (syst) {+-} 0.002 (model) (preliminary).

We present an updated direct measurement of the parity-violating coupling of the Z{sup 0} to strange quarks, A{sub s}, derived from the full SLD data sample of approximately 550,000 hadronic decays of Z{sup 0} bosons produced with a polarized electron beam and recorded by the SLD experiment at SLAC between 1993 and 1998. Z{sup 0} {r_arrow} s{bar s} events are tagged by the presence in each event hemisphere of a high-momentum K{sup {+-}}, K{sub s} or {Lambda}{sup 0}/{bar {Lambda}}{sup 0} identified using the Cherenkov Ring Imaging Detector and/or a mass tag. The CCD vertex detector is used to suppress the background from heavy-flavor events. The strangeness of the tagged particle is used to sign the event thrust axis in the direction of the initial s quark. The coupling A{sub s} is obtained directly from a measurement of the left-right-forward-backward production asymmetry in polar angle of the tagged s quark. The background from u{bar u} and d{bar d} events is measured from the data, as is the analyzing power of the method for s{bar s} events. We measure: A{sub s} = 0.85 {+-} 0.06(stat.) {+-} 0.07(syst.)(preliminary).

We have updated our results on identified charged hadron production using the full SLD data sample of 550,000 hadronic Z{sup 0} decays taken between 1993 and 1998. The SLD Cherenkov Ring Imaging Detector allows the identification of clean samples of charged pions, kaons and protons over a wide momentum range, providing precise tests of perturbative QCD calculations and of fragmentation models. We have studied flavor-inclusive Z{sup 0} decays, as well as decays into light, c and b flavors, selected using the SLD vertex detector. In addition we have updated our comparison of hadron and antihadron production in light quark (rather than antiquark) jets, selected using the high SLC electron beam polarization. Differences between hadron and antihadron production at high momentum fraction provide precise measurements of leading particle production and new, stringent tests of fragmentation models.

We present a preliminary study of correlations in rapidity between pairs of identified charged pions, kaons and protons using the entire SLD data sample of 550,000 hadronic Z{sup 0} decays. Short range charge correlations are observed between all combinations of these hadron species, indicating local conservation of quantum numbers and charge ordering in the jet fragmentation process. The rapidity range of this effect is found to be independent of particle momentum. A strong long-range K{sup +}-K{sup {minus}} correlation is observed at high-momentum and weaker long-range {pi}{sup +}-{pi}{sup {minus}}, {pi}{sup +}-K{sup {minus}} and p-K{sup {minus}} and p{bar p} correlations are observed in light flavor events, providing new information on leading particle production in u, d and s jets. The long-range correlations observed in c{bar c} and b{bar b} events are markedly different and consistent with expectations based on known decay properties of the leading heavy hadrons. In addition, the SLC electron beam polarization is used to tag the quark hemisphere in each event, allowing the first study of rapidities signed such that positive rapidity is along the quark rather than antiquark direction. Distributions of ordered differences in signed rapidity between pairs of particles provide a direct probe of quantum number ordering …

The structure of e{sup +}e{sup {minus}} {r_arrow} b{bar b}g events was studied using Z{sup 0} decays recorded in the SLD experiment at SLAC. Three-jet final states were selected and the CCD-based vertex detector was used to identify two of the jets as b or {bar b}. Distributions of the gluon energy and polar angle were measured over the full kinematic range, and compared with perturbative QCD predictions. The energy distribution is potentially sensitive to an anomalous b chromomagnetic moment {kappa}. We measured {kappa} to be consistent with zero and set limits on its value, {minus}0.11 < {kappa} < 0.08 at 95% c.l. (preliminary).

We present a preliminary measurement of the rate of gluon splitting into bottom quarks, g {r_arrow} b{bar b}, in hadronic Z{sup 0} decays collected by SLD between 1996 and 1998. The analysis was performed by looking for secondary bottom production in 4-jet events of any primary flavor. 4-jet events were identified, and a topological vertex-mass technique was applied to each jet in order to identify b or {bar b} jets. The upgraded CCD based vertex detector gives very high B-tagging efficiency, especially for B hadrons of the low energies typical of this process. The two most nearly collinear b/{bar b} jets were tagged as originating from g {r_arrow} b{bar b}. We measured the rate of secondary b/{bar b} production per hadronic event, g{sub b{bar b}}, to be (3.07 {+-} 0.71(stat.) {+-} 0.66(syst.)) x 10{sup {minus}3} (preliminary).

The new proton radioactivity {sup 155}Ta has been observed. It was produced via the p4n fusion evaporation channel using a {sup 58}Ni beam on a {sup 102}Pd target. The measured decay properties were: E{sub p} = (1765 {+-} 10) keV and t{sub 1/2} = (12{sub {minus}3}{sup +4}) {micro}s. Using the WKB approximation a spin and parity of J{sup {pi}} = 11/2{sup 2{minus}} and a spectroscopic factor of S{sub p}{sup exp} = 0.58{sub {minus}0.17}{sup +0.22} were determined.

Proton emission half-lives are calculated within the DWBA formalism for {sup 131}Eu and {sup 141}Ho assuming permanent quadruple deformation. The decay rates are consistent with a decay from either [411 3/2] or [413 5/2] Nilsson states for {sup 131}Eu and [523 7/2] Nilsson state for {sup 141}Ho.

The goal of this research was a feasibility study for vitrifying the organic ion exchange resin in a stirred-tank melter. Tests were conducted to determine the fate of cesium including the feed, exit glass, and offgas streams and to assess any impact of feeding the resin on the melter or its performance.

Spontaneous improvements of plasma confinement during auxiliary heating have been observed in many tokamaks when the q profile has been modified from its normal resistive equilibrium so that q is greater than 1 and the magnetic shear is reduced or reversed in a region near the magnetic axis. The effects on the overall plasma confinement result from the formation in the plasma interior of transport barriers, regions where the thermal and particle transport coefficients are substantially reduced. These internal barriers are sometimes tied to unique magnetic surfaces, such as the surface where the shear reverses. The reduction in transport appears to result from the suppression of turbulence by sheared plasma flow, which has now been measured in TFTR. Extensions of the theory for turbulence suppression show that this underlying paradigm may also explain other regimes of improved core confinement. The excitement generated by these discoveries must be tempered by the realization that transport and stability to pressure-driven MHD instabilities are intimately linked in these plasmas through the bootstrap current and the effect of the resulting current profile on the transport. Thus the development of control tools and strategies is essential if these improved regimes of confinement are to be exploited …

This activity plan is prepared in accordance with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) Yucca Mountain Project procedure 033.YMP-QP 3.0, �Scientific Investigation Control.� This plan is written for activity E-20-46, entitled �Galvanic Corrosion Testing,� which is a part of the Scientific Investigation Plan (SIP) �Metal Barrier Selection and Testing� (SIP-CM-01, Rev 2, CN SIP-CM-01-2-l).