Bi-monthly report on average prices paid for standing timber in Texas, calculated based on reported timber sales.

Monthly publication documenting statistics related to economic information in the Mexico-Texas border areas including types of border crossings, employment, customs revenues, and other related data.

Monthly newsletter of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality "Take Care of Texas Program" containing information on environmental topics of interest to the general public and other groups including municipalities, businesses, corporate environmental managers, school teachers, and nonprofit organizations.

Magazine discussing natural resources, parks, hunting and fishing, and other information related to the outdoors in Texas.

Pamphlet containing a map of Texas outlining the three major dove-hunting zones, with summaries of general information regarding hours, limits, and special dates. A column at right provides information about reporting hunted doves that have metal leg bands for tracking information.

Monthly travel magazine discussing locations and events in Texas to encourage travel within the state.

Agency strategic plan for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice describing the organization's planned services, activities, and other goals during fiscal years 2009 through 2013.

Newsletter from the University of Texas System Cancer Center, M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute discussing cancer care and research to inform physicians of recent developments in the field.

The identification of crystalline phases in solids requires knowledge of two microstructural properties: crystallographic structure and chemical composition. Traditionally, this has been accomplished using X-ray diffraction techniques where the measured crystallographic information, in combination with separate chemical composition measurements for specimens of unknown pedigrees, is used to deduce the unknown phases. With the latest microstructural analysis tools for scanning electron microscopes, both the crystallography and composition can be determined in a single analysis utilizing electron backscatter diffraction and energy dispersive spectroscopy, respectively. In this chapter, we discuss the approach required to perform these experiments, elucidate the benefits and limitations of this technique, and detail via case studies how composition, crystallography, and diffraction contrast can be used as phase discriminators.

Real prices of major appliances (refrigerators, dishwashers, heating and cooling equipment) have been falling since the late 1970s despite increases in appliance efficiency and other quality variables. This paper demonstrates that historic increases in efficiency over time, including those resulting from minimum efficiency standards, incur smaller price increases than were expected by Department of Energy (DOE) forecasts made in conjunction with standards. This effect can be explained by technological innovation, which lowers the cost of efficiency, and by market changes contributing to lower markups and economies of scale in production of higher efficiency units. We reach four principal conclusions about appliance trends and retail price setting: 1. For the past several decades, the retail price of appliances has been steadily falling while efficiency has been increasing. 2. Past retail price predictions made by DOE analyses of efficiency standards, assuming constant prices over time, have tended to overestimate retail prices. 3. The average incremental price to increase appliance efficiency has declined over time. DOE technical support documents have typically overestimated this incremental price and retail prices. 4. Changes in retail markups and economies of scale in production of more efficient appliances may have contributed to declines in prices of efficient appliances.

Most current scanning electron microscopes (SEMs) have the ability to analyze samples in a low vacuum mode, whereby a partial pressure of water vapor is introduced into the SEM chamber, allowing the characterization of nonconductive samples without any special preparation. Although the presence of water vapor in the chamber degrades electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) patterns, the potential of this setup for EBSD characterization of nonconductive samples is immense. In this chapter we discuss the requirements, advantages and limitations of low vacuum EBSD (LV-EBSD), and present how this technique can be applied to a two-phase ceramic composite as well as hydrated biominerals as specific examples of when LV-EBSD can be invaluable.

Field sampling was conducted by the Energy & Environmental Research Center at two Lafarge North America cement kiln locations in Canada. Emissions including SO{sub x}, NO{sub x}, and particulate were measured and reported at various locations throughout the kilns. At each site data were collected on two kilns during field sampling. However, only Kiln 1 at the Ravena site was utilized for modeling efforts. Experimental work was then conducted to estimate the effectiveness of various NO{sub x} control techniques on limiting both NO{sub x} and SO{sub x} emissions in cement kiln exhaust. Theory-based models were constructed to estimate both NO{sub x} and SO{sub x} emissions from cement kilns. These models were then applied to estimating the impact of various NO{sub x} control strategies on kiln exhaust emissions. The sulfur model constructed as part of this work was successful at predicting SO{sub 2} emissions and sulfur capture in the Alpena kiln. This model is designed to run as a postprocessing step that uses the output of a NO{sub x} model as input. With an accurate NO{sub x} model, the sulfur model may prove to be a valuable tool in estimating the impact of kiln modifications on sulfur emissions. The NO{sub x} …

An Electrochromic (EC) Window is a solar control device that can electronically regulate the flow of sunlight and heat. In the case of the SageGlass{reg_sign} EC window, this property derives from a proprietary all-ceramic, intrinsically durable thin-film stack applied to an inner surface of a glass double-pane window. As solar irradiation and temperatures change, the window can be set to an appropriate level of tint to optimize the comfort and productivity of the occupants as well as to minimize building energy usage as a result of HVAC and lighting optimization. The primary goal of this project is to replace certain batch processes for EC thin film deposition resulting in a complete in-line vacuum process that will reduce future capital and labor coats, while increasing throughput and yields. This will require key technology developments to replace the offline processes. This project has enabled development of the next generation of electrochromic devices suitable for large-scale production. Specifically, the requirements to produce large area devices cost effectively require processes amenable to mass production, using a variety of different substrate materials, having minimal handling and capable of being run at high yield. The present SageGlass{reg_sign} production process consists of two vacuum steps separated by …

Bimonthly publication of the Texas Veterans Commission discussing specific topics of relevance to veterans in Texas. This pamphlet gives statistics for different types of VA services in Texas during 2007.

Summary describing the work completed at ICF International for 'Five-Year Meteorological Datasets for CALMET/CALPUFF and OCD5 Modeling of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Region.' It includes background information on the project funding and sponsorship, goals, methodology, and findings.

This report contains meteorological data collected over five years concerning the air quality and other environmental assessments of the Gulf of Mexico utilizing the Offshore and Coastal Dispersion (OCD5) model and the CALMET/CALPUFF modeling system.

A report on the role, importance, and development of liquefied natural gas regasification facilities along the Gulf of Mexico.

Summary describing the work completed at Science Applications International Corporation for 'Study of Deepwater Currents in the Northwestern Gulf of Mexico.' It includes background information on the project funding and sponsorship, goals, methodology, and findings.

"This report assesses the strengths and limitations of climate models."

This report discusses preschool curricula and the effects of these curricula on children's school readiness.

This report on the implementation of National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2008, section 904 "Management of the Department of Defense," presents the consensus recommendations of the Department's senior management team on the assignment of duties for the Chief Management Office (CMO), the Deputy Chief Management Office, and the Military Department CMO's, as well as summarizing the Department's inaugural Strategic Management Plan.

Using spectroscopic information for x ray magnetometry and magnetic microscopy requires detailed theoretical understanding of spectral shape and magnitude of dichroism signals. We have shown unambiguously that--contrary to common belief--spectral shape and magnitude of x ray magnetic linear dichroism (XMLD) are not only determined by the relative orientation of magnetic moments and x ray polarization, but also their orientations relative to the crystallographic axes must be taken into account for accurate interpretation of XMLD data.

ELECTRON DISSIPATION IN RECONNECTION Detailed comparisons are reported between laboratory observations of electron scale dissipation layers near a reconnecting X-line and direct two-dimensional full-particle simulations. Many experimental features of the electron layers, such as insensitivity to the ion mass, are reproduced by the simulations; the layer thickness, however, is about 3 - 5 times larger than the predictions. Consequently, the leading candidate 2D mechanism based on collisionless electron nongyrotropic pressure is insuffcient to explain the observed reconnection rates. These results suggest that, in addition to the residual collisions, 3D effects play an important role in electron-scale dissipation during fast reconnection.

The Jarzynski equality and the fluctuation theorem relate equilibrium free energy differences to nonequilibrium measurements of the work. These relations extend to single-molecule experiments that have probed the finite-time thermodynamics of proteins and nucleic acids. The effects of experimental error and instrument noise have not been considered previously. Here, we present a Bayesian formalism for estimating free energy changes from nonequilibrium work measurements that compensates for instrument noise and combines data from multiple driving protocols. We reanalyze a recent set of experiments in which a single RNA hairpin is unfolded and refolded using optical tweezers at three different rates. Interestingly, the fastest and farthest-from-equilibrium measurements contain the least instrumental noise and, therefore, provide a more accurate estimate of the free energies than a few slow, more noisy, near-equilibrium measurements. The methods we propose here will extend the scope of single-molecule experiments; they can be used in the analysis of data from measurements with atomic force microscopy, optical, and magnetic tweezers