Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to the Texas Education Agency's (Agency) ability to procure, manage, and monitor selected contracts for goods and services in accordance with applicable statutes, rules, Office of the Comptroller of Public Accounts (Comptroller) requirements, and state entity policies and procedures to help ensure that the State's interests were protected.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to determining whether the Railroad Commission has established and adheres to a risk assessment process to prioritize the plugging of wells with state funds; and whether the Commission has designed and implemented effective processes and related controls to help ensure that regulated entities establish and maintain the financial assurance required by Texas Natural Resources Code, Chapter 91, in amounts consistent with state law, administrative rules, and Commission policy, and the Commission collects funds from those sources in accordance with Commission policies and procedures, the administrative rules, and the terms of agreements related to that financial assurance.

This poster presents initial estimates of the net energy impacts of automated vehicles (AVs). Automated vehicle technologies are increasingly recognized as having potential to decrease carbon dioxide emissions and petroleum consumption through mechanisms such as improved efficiency, better routing, lower traffic congestion, and by enabling advanced technologies. However, some effects of AVs could conceivably increase fuel consumption through possible effects such as longer distances traveled, increased use of transportation by underserved groups, and increased travel speeds. The net effect on petroleum use and climate change is still uncertain. To make an aggregate system estimate, we first collect best estimates for the energy impacts of approximately ten effects of AVs. We then use a modified Kaya Identity approach to estimate the range of aggregate effects and avoid double counting. We find that depending on numerous factors, there is a wide range of potential energy impacts. Adoption of automated personal or shared vehicles can lead to significant fuel savings but has potential for backfire.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "While the Department of Transportation (DOT) is not required to implement the Future of Aviation Advisory Committee (FAAC) recommendations, DOT and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have taken actions on the 10 FAAC recommendations that GAO reviewed. DOT and FAA officials noted that they continue to work on three recommendations as part of long-term efforts and have ongoing work related to some of the seven recommendations that they believe are addressed."

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The ITER in-vessel coil system includes Vertical Stability (VS) coils and Edge Localized Mode (ELM) coils. There are two large VS ring coils, one upper and one lower. Each has four turns which are independently connected. The VS coils are needed for successful operation of ITER for most all of its operating modes. The VS coils must be highly reliable and fault tolerant. The operating environment includes normal and disruption Lorentz forces. To parametrically address all these design conditions in a tractable analysis requires a simplified model. The VS coils are predominately axisymmetric, and this suggests that an axisymmetric model can be meaningfully used to address the variations in mechanical design, loading, material properties, and time dependency. The axisymmetric finite element analysis described in this paper includes simulations of the bolted frictional connections used for the mounting details. Radiation and elastic-plastic response are modeled particularly for the extreme faulted conditions. Thermal connectivity is varied to study the effects of partial thermal connection of the actively cooled conductor to the remaining structure.

This report discusses the current state of Bahrain, which has undergone substantial political reforms since the late 1990s, but which still suffers from tension between the Shiite majority and the Sunni-led government. This report focuses particularly on Bahrain's relationship with Iran and with the United States.

Study intended to evaluate the potential effects of changes in water management resulting from new recommended environmental regimes.

This document provides information on becoming a Texas game warden.

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Representing the Nanoscale Control of Geologic CO2 (NCGC), this document is one of the entries in the Ten Hundred and One Word Challenge. As part of the challenge, the 46 Energy Frontier Research Centers were invited to represent their science in images, cartoons, photos, words and original paintings, but any descriptions or words could only use the 1000 most commonly used words in the English language, with the addition of one word important to each of the EFRCs and the mission of DOE energy. The mission of NCGC is to build a fundamental understanding of molecular-to-pore-scale processes in fluid-rock systems, and to demonstrate the ability to control critical aspects of flow, transport, and mineralization in porous rock media as applied to the injection and storage of carbon dioxide (CO2) in subsurface reservoirs.

There is growing interest in the United States and abroad to increase the use of biomass as an energy source due to environmental and energy security benefits. In the United States, the biofuel and biopower industries are regulated by different policies and different agencies and have different drivers, which impact the maximum price the industries are willing to pay for biomass. This article describes a dynamic computer simulation model that analyzes future behavior of bioenergy feedstock markets based on varying policy and technical options. The model simulates the long-term dynamics of these markets by treating advanced biomass feedstocks as a commodity and projecting the total demand of each industry, as well as the market price over time. The model is used for an analysis of the United States bioenergy feedstock market that projects supply, demand, and market price given three independent buyers: domestic biopower, domestic biofuels, and foreign exports. With base-case assumptions, the biofuels industry is able to dominate the market and meet the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) targets for advanced biofuels. Further analyses suggest that United States bioenergy studies should include estimates of export demand for biomass in their projections, and that GHG-limiting policy would partially shield both …

The Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Safeguards and Security (NA-241) is supporting the project Coincidence Counting With Boron-Based Alternative Neutron Detection Technology at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) for the development of a 3He proportional counter alternative neutron coincidence counter. The goal of this project is to design, build and demonstrate a system based upon 10B-lined proportional tubes in a configuration typical for 3He-based coincidence counter applications. This report provides results from testing of the active mode of the General Electric Reuter-Stokes Alternative Boron-Based Uranium Neutron Coincidence Collar (ABUNCL) at Los Alamos National Laboratory using sources and fuel pins.

Representing the Energy Materials Center (EMC), this document is one of the entries in the Ten Hundred and One Word Challenge. As part of the challenge, the 46 Energy Frontier Research Centers were invited to represent their science in images, cartoons, photos, words and original paintings, but any descriptions or words could only use the 1000 most commonly used words in the English language, with the addition of one word important to each of the EFRCs and the mission of DOE energy. The mission of EMC is advancing the science of energy conversion and storage by understanding and exploiting fundamental properties of active materials and their interfaces.

Report that provides an overview of the "digital divide", which is a term used to describe a perceived gap between those Americans who use or have access to telecommunications and information technologies and those who do not.

This report discusses the community connect broadband grants, Rural Broadband Access Loan and Loan Guarantee Program, Other Broadband Programs and pilot Broadband Loan and Grant Programs.

Representing the Center for Solar and Thermal Energy Conversion (CSTEC), this document is one of the entries in the Ten Hundred and One Word Challenge. As part of the challenge, the 46 Energy Frontier Research Centers were invited to represent their science in images, cartoons, photos, words and original paintings, but any descriptions or words could only use the 1000 most commonly used words in the English language, with the addition of one word important to each of the EFRCs and the mission of DOE energy. The mission of the Center for Solar and Thermal Energy Conversion (CSTEC) is to design and to synthesize new materials for high efficiency photovoltaic (PV) and thermoelectric (TE) devices, predicated on new fundamental insights into equilibrium and non-equilibrium processes, including quantum phenomena, that occur in materials over various spatial and temporal scales.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2009 through May 2013, the Department of Defense (DOD) allocated approximately $73.9 million from its Counternarcotics Central Transfer Account to the Regional Helicopter Training Center (RHTC) in Colombia. As of May 2013, about $47.0 million of this funding had been disbursed. Most of this funding was allocated to RHTC helicopter maintenance, including approximately $31.1 million (42 percent) to a maintenance contract and about $12.0 million (16 percent) for parts and tools. As of June 2013, the Department of State (State) had also allocated approximately $382,000 from its Foreign Military Financing (FMF) account toward training of helicopter mechanics for RHTC."

Report that provides an overview of how the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) manages the growing federal prison population and examines the BOP's appropriations since FY1980.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "During a 5-year period--fiscal years 2008 through 2012--costs for inmate mental health services in institutions run by the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) rose in absolute dollar amount, as well as on an annual per capita basis. Specifically, mental health services costs rose from $123 million in fiscal year 2008 to $146 million in fiscal year 2012, with increases generally due to three factors--inmate population increases, general inflationary increases, and increased participation rates in psychology treatment programs such as drug abuse treatment programs. Additionally, the per capita cost rose from $741 in fiscal year 2008 to $821 in fiscal year 2012. It is projected that these costs will continue to increase with an estimated per capita cost of $876 in fiscal year 2015, due, in part, to increased program funding and inflation."

This report consists of the buy American act in brief with preferences for "Domestic" supplies and construction materials in federal procurement's.

Spanish-language pamphlet providing information about hunting in public areas from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

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Report describing Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS), how it is supposed to work, why it has gained the interest and support of some members of Congress, and what some of the challenges are to its implementation and deployment across the United States.