For at least 15 years Members of Congress have continued to ask: How many U.S. manufacturing plants have closed? For at least 15 years they have continued to ask: How many U.S. manufacturing plants have relocated abroad, and where have they gone? For at least 15 years the answer has been: For the most part, those questions can't be answered, based on Government data. How many plants are moving to Mexico? What industries and what States are the plants from? How many U.S. workers are losing their jobs as a result? It appears that still, after two legislative attempts to mandate collection of these data, the Government publishes no counts of U.S. plant closings, and almost no information on plant relocations. Options for strengthening the data systems include addressing three main weaknesses: inadequate data program design, a plant closing definition that misses its mark, and publication of partial instead of complete survey results.

There are ten categories of courts (including the local courts of the District of Columbia) to which the President nominates judges. The report provides background and statistics concerning President Bush's judicial nominations in each court category as well as actions taken on those nominations by the United States Senate. Each of the report's ten sections discusses the composition and jurisdiction of the court in question and notes the committee to which nominations to this court were referred when received by the Senate. Also, statistics on judicial nominations received by the Senate during the four years of the Bush Presidency are presented.

Objectives are studies of equilibrium/nonequilibrium properties of asymmetric fluid mixtures through computer simulation (CS), development of predictive theories of mixture equilibrium properties, development and application of selection algorithm methodology for mixture equations of state, and use of theory to develop new engineering design models for fluid mixtures. Kirwood charging method CS of Lennard-Jones mixtures with large size ratios verified the Kirkwood-Buff/Baxter method of calculating chemical potentials. CS of n-butane showed that the rheology is not a function of system size. A modified stepwise regression algorithm was developed and applied to HFC R134a. An analytical expression was developed for conformal solution size correction for mixtures. The extended corresponding states theory (ECST) can be applied to systems having large polarity differences; an accurate representation was developed of bulk phase properties of water-hydrocarbon systems. It was found how to force ECST to reach the correct virial limit.

During the past year we have completed our characterization of the factors that control the structure of fully oxidized W and Mo on silica and have established that support hydroxyl groups play a central role in dispersing and attaching cations to the support oxide. Work with M[sub 2](CO)[sub 4]Cp[sub 2](M[sub 2]=MoMo, WW, MoW) system has been very encouraging and continues to support the notion that it may be possible to control the structure of adsorbed catalysts (in this case generate metal dimers) by use of organometallic precursors. Techniques are being developed necessary to employ XPS as a means to characterize the attachment process and the oxidation state of the cations after various thermal and photolytic reduction steps.

We report thick-target yields of [sup 126,128,130]I from the bombardment of natural Te targets with 15-, 30-, 45- and 50-MeV protons, together with the iodine production cross sections for 1.85- and 5.0-GeV protons. With these data, we have estimated the relative cosmic-ray induced production of [sup 126]Xe, [sup 128]Xe and [sup 13O]Xe in Te ores. These quantities affect the ratio of double-[beta] decay half-lives of [sup 13O]Te and [sup 128]Te. A revised correction of cosmic-ray induced xenon can change the half-life ratio by as much as 10%, from (3.52[plus minus]0.11) [times] 10[sup [minus]4] to (3.88[plus minus]0.14) [times] 10[sup [minus]4].

We performed a search for the [beta][sup +] branch of [sup 54]Mn decay. As a cosmic ray, [sup 54]Mn, deprived of its atomic electrons, can decay only via [beta][sup +] and [beta][sup [minus]] decay, with a half-life of the order of 10[sup 6] yr. This turns [sup 54] Mn into a suitable cosmic chronometer for the study of cosmic-ray confinement times. We searched for coincident back-to-back 511-keV [gamma]-rays using two germanium detectors inside a Nal(Tl) annulus. An upper limit of 2[times]10[sup [minus]8] was found for the [beta][sup +] decay branch, corresponding to a lower limit of 13.7 for the log ft value.

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: Authority of Texas Racing Commission pursuant to sections 6.09 and 10.05 of the Texas Racing Act, article 179e, V.T.C.S., to receive and regulate the use of breakage generated by pari-mutuel wagering on greyhounds (RQ-230)

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 school district may contract with off-duty police officers and deputy sheriffs for security services, and related questions (RQ-427)

We performed a search for the {beta}{sup +} branch of {sup 54}Mn decay. As a cosmic ray, {sup 54}Mn, deprived of its atomic electrons, can decay only via {beta}{sup +} and {beta}{sup {minus}} decay, with a half-life of the order of 10{sup 6} yr. This turns {sup 54} Mn into a suitable cosmic chronometer for the study of cosmic-ray confinement times. We searched for coincident back-to-back 511-keV {gamma}-rays using two germanium detectors inside a Nal(Tl) annulus. An upper limit of 2{times}10{sup {minus}8} was found for the {beta}{sup +} decay branch, corresponding to a lower limit of 13.7 for the log ft value.

We report on an efficient adaptive N-body method which we have recently designed and implemented. The algorithm computers the forces on an arbitrary distribution of bodies in a time which scales as N log N with particle number. The accuracy of the force calculations is analytically bounded, and can be adjusted via a user defined parameter between a few percent relative accuracy, down to machine arithmetic accuracy. Instead of using pointers to indicate the topology of the tree, we identify each possible cell with a key. The mapping of keys into memory locations is achieved via a hash table. This allows us to access data in an efficient manner across multiple processors using a virtual shared memory model. Performance of the parallel program is measured on the 512 processor Intel Touchstone Delta system. We also comment on a number of wide-ranging applications which can benefit from application of this type of algorithm.

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, Dan Morales, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether a teacher performing an internship under section 13.0321 of the Education Code to obtain an additional certification in speech and hearing therapy is violating V.T.C.S. article 4512j (ID# 16797)

During the past year we have completed our characterization of the factors that control the structure of fully oxidized W and Mo on silica and have established that support hydroxyl groups play a central role in dispersing and attaching cations to the support oxide. Work with M{sub 2}(CO){sub 4}Cp{sub 2}(M{sub 2}=MoMo, WW, MoW) system has been very encouraging and continues to support the notion that it may be possible to control the structure of adsorbed catalysts (in this case generate metal dimers) by use of organometallic precursors. Techniques are being developed necessary to employ XPS as a means to characterize the attachment process and the oxidation state of the cations after various thermal and photolytic reduction steps.

Field-emission displays (FEDS) offer potential advantages of high luminous efficiency, low power consumption, and low cost compared to AMLCD or CRT technologies. An LLNL team has developed silicon-point field emitters for vacuum triode structures and has also used thin-film processing techniques to demonstrate planar edge-emitter configurations. LLNL is interested in contributing its experience in this and other FED-related technologies to collaborations for commercial FED development. At LLNL, FED development is supported by computational capabilities in charge transport and surface/interface modeling in order to develop smaller, low-work-function field emitters using a variety of materials and coatings. Thin-film processing, microfabrication, and diagnostic/test labs permit experimental exploration of emitter and resistor structures. High field standoff technology is an area of long-standing expertise that guides development of low-cost spacers for FEDS. Vacuum sealing facilities are available to complete the FED production engineering process. Drivers constitute a significant fraction of the cost of any flat-panel display. LINL has an advanced packaging group that can provide chip-on-glass technologies and three-dimensional interconnect generation permitting driver placement on either the front or the back of the display substrate.

Objectives are studies of equilibrium/nonequilibrium properties of asymmetric fluid mixtures through computer simulation (CS), development of predictive theories of mixture equilibrium properties, development and application of selection algorithm methodology for mixture equations of state, and use of theory to develop new engineering design models for fluid mixtures. Kirwood charging method CS of Lennard-Jones mixtures with large size ratios verified the Kirkwood-Buff/Baxter method of calculating chemical potentials. CS of n-butane showed that the rheology is not a function of system size. A modified stepwise regression algorithm was developed and applied to HFC R134a. An analytical expression was developed for conformal solution size correction for mixtures. The extended corresponding states theory (ECST) can be applied to systems having large polarity differences; an accurate representation was developed of bulk phase properties of water-hydrocarbon systems. It was found how to force ECST to reach the correct virial limit.

We report thick-target yields of {sup 126,128,130}I from the bombardment of natural Te targets with 15-, 30-, 45- and 50-MeV protons, together with the iodine production cross sections for 1.85- and 5.0-GeV protons. With these data, we have estimated the relative cosmic-ray induced production of {sup 126}Xe, {sup 128}Xe and {sup 13O}Xe in Te ores. These quantities affect the ratio of double-{beta} decay half-lives of {sup 13O}Te and {sup 128}Te. A revised correction of cosmic-ray induced xenon can change the half-life ratio by as much as 10%, from (3.52{plus_minus}0.11) {times} 10{sup {minus}4} to (3.88{plus_minus}0.14) {times} 10{sup {minus}4}.

There exists a need to provide communication through a satellite- based network which allows a user to communicate from a remote site to a fixed site. This discussion provides a comparison, both technical and financial, between the existing ATS3 satellite system and the commercial INMARSAT system. This comparison identified the limitations of each system to provide various types of communication.

Steel jaw leghold traps are used in 47 States in the United States to capture furbearing animals (Florida and Rhode Island have prohibited use except with special permit for nuisance animals, and New Jersey has banned all uses). In addition to use by the fur industry, these traps are employed by State agencies in game management (e.g., to control predators and diseases). The leghold trap issue pits animal welfare groups opposed to the pain and suffering of trapped animals against supporters of the trap who maintain that alternatives are not cost effective and/or efficient.