Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The challenges posed by homeland security exceed the capacity and authority of any one level of government. Protecting the nation against these threats calls for a truly integrated approach, bringing together the resources of all levels of government. The proposed Department of Homeland Security will clearly have a central role in efforts to enhance homeland security. The proposed consolidation of homeland security programs has the potential to reduce fragmentation, improve coordination, and clarify roles and responsibilities. Realistically, the challenges that the new department faces will clearly require substantial time and effort, and it will take additional resources to make it effective. Moreover, formation of a department should not be considered a replacement for the timely issuance of a national homeland security strategy to guide implementation of the complex mission of the department. Appropriate roles and responsibilities within and between the levels of government and with the private sector are evolving and need to be clarified. New threats are prompting a reassessment and shifting of long-standing roles and responsibilities, but these shifts are being considered on a piecemeal basis without benefit of an overarching framework and criteria to guide …

The current paradigm for cancer initiation and progression rests on the groundbreaking discoveries of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. This framework has revealed much about the role of genetic alterations in the underlying signaling pathways central to normal cellular function and to tumor progression. However, it is clear that single gene theories or even sequential acquisition of mutations underestimate the nature of the genetic and epigenetic changes in tumors, and do not account for the observation that many cancer susceptibility genes (e.g. BRCA1, APC) show a high degree of tissue specificity in their association with neoplastic transformation. Therefore, the cellular and tissue context itself must confer additional and crucial information necessary for mutated genes to exert their influence. A considerable body of evidence now shows that cell - cell and cell - extracellular matrix (ECM) interactions are essential organizing principles that help define the nature of the tissue context, and play a crucial role in regulating homeostasis and tissue specificity. How this context determines functional integrity, and how its loss can lead to malignancy, appears to have much to do with tissue structure and polarity.

Appliance ownership and production has increased dramatically in China in the past two decades. From extremely low levels in 1980, China's appliance industry has become one of the largest in the world, with sales topping U.S. $14.4 billion in 2000. In 1981, less than 1 percent of urban Chinese households owned a refrigerator; by 1998, that number had increased to over 75 percent. This dramatic increase in sales and ownership leads to an excellent opportunity to impact energy consumption in China by affecting the energy efficiency of appliances being bought and sold. In general, Chinese consumers value energy efficiency and are knowledgeable about the operating costs of major appliances. However, the Chinese marketplace does not provide information that consumers trust about the energy consumption of specific products. Thus, several interdependent organizations have emerged in China to provide information and market supports for energy efficiency. This paper describes the appliance market in China and the evolution of its standards and labeling programs and the agencies that implement them. It discusses the authors' work with these organizations in developing energy efficiency criteria and supporting an energy efficiency endorsement labeling program in China. It describes how the authors have used their experience with …

The U.S. high-energy physics program needs an intense proton source, a 1-4 MW Proton Driver (PD), by the end of this decade. This machine will serve as a stand-alone facility that will provide neutrino superbeams and other high intensity secondary beams such as kaons, muons, neutrons, and anti-protons (cf. E1 and E5 group reports) and also serve as the first stage of a neutrino factory (cf. M1 group report). It can also be a high brightness source for a VLHC. Based on present accelerator technology and project construction experience, it is both feasible and cost-effective to construct a 1-4 MW Proton Driver. Two recent PD design studies have been made, one at FNAL and the other at the BNL. Both designed PD's for 1 MW proton beams at a cost of about U.S. $200M (excluding contingency and overhead) and both designs were upgradeable to 4 MW. An international collaboration between FNAL, BNL and KEK on high intensity proton facilities is addressing a number of key design issues. The superconducting (sc) RF cavities, cryogenics, and RF controls developed for the SNS can be directly adopted to save R&D efforts, cost, and schedule. PD studies are also actively being pursued at Europe …

A cleanroom is designed to control the concentration of airborne particles. As a result, large amount of cleaned air is often required to remove or dilute contaminants for satisfactory operations in critical cleanroom environment. Cleanroom environmental systems (HVAC systems) in semiconductor, pharmaceutical, and healthcare industries are much more energy intensive compared to their counterparts (HVAC systems) serving commercial buildings such as typical office buildings. There is a tendency in cleanroom design and operation, however, to provide excessive airflow rates by HVAC systems, largely due to design conservatism, lack of understanding in airflow requirements, and more often, concerns such as cleanliness reliability, design and operational liabilities. A combination of these likely factors can easily result in HVAC systems' over-design. Energy use of cleanroom environmental systems varies with the system design, cleanroom functions, and critical parameter control including temperatures and humidities. In particular, cleanroom cleanliness requirements specified by ''cleanliness class'' [1],[2] often cast large impact on energy use. A review of studies on cleanroom operation costs indicated that energy costs could amount to 65-75% of the total annual cost associated with cleanroom operation and maintenance in some European countries[3]. Depending on cleanroom cleanliness classes, annual cleanroom electricity use for cooling and fan …

In this paper we present a static scheduling algorithm for parallel sparse LU factorization with static pivoting. The algorithm is divided into mapping and scheduling phases, using the symmetric pruned graphs of L' and U to represent dependencies. The scheduling algorithm is designed for driving the parallel execution of the factorization on a distributed-memory architecture. Experimental results and comparisons with SuperLU{_}DIST are reported after applying this algorithm on real world application matrices on an IBM SP RS/6000 distributed memory machine.

This project was designed to demonstrate the feasibility of producing on-board power for MEMS devices using radioisotopes. MEMS is a fast growing field, with hopes for producing a wide variety of revolutionary applications, including ''labs on a chip,'' micromachined scanning tunneling microscopes, microscopic detectors for biological agents, microsystems for DNA identification, etc. Currently, these applications are limited by the lack of an on-board power source. Research is ongoing to study approaches such as fuel cells, fossil fuels, and chemical batteries, but all these concepts have limitations. For long-lived, high energy density applications, on-board radioisotope power offers the best choice. We have succeeded in producing such devices using a variety of isotopes, incorporation methods, and device geometries. These experiments have demonstrated the feasibility of using radioisotope power and that there are a variety of options available for MEMS designers. As an example of an integrated, self-powered application, we have created an oscillating cantilever beam that is capable of consistent, periodic oscillations over very long time periods without the need for refueling. Ongoing work will demonstrate that this cantilever is capable of radio frequency transmission, allowing MEMS devices to communicate with one another wirelessly. Thus, this will be the first self-powered wireless …

A glass-bonded, sodalite ceramic waste form that contains fission products, uranium, and plutonium is intended for disposition in a geologic repository. Over the many years the waste is expected to be in the repository, there is a potential for waste form degradation due to alpha decay damage. To investigate the effects of alpha-decay damage in glass-bonded, sodalite ceramic waste forms, several waste forms were produced with a {sup 238}Pu loading of 1.8 weight percent. This loading is roughly ten times greater than the plutonium loading for all isotopes in the waste form intended for the repository. Due to the higher specific activity of {sup 238}Pu as well as a higher fraction of total plutonium, the same number of alpha decays per gram of material has been achieved after four years as a waste form of nominal composition after ten thousand years. This paper describes the results of different tests near the completion of a four-year study. Trends of these {sup 238}Pu-doped waste forms include volume expansion of crystalline phases and possible increases in the release rates of several elements in the chemical durability tests. There have not yet been any indications of macroscopic swelling by density measurements, amorphization by x-ray …

This document is the fourth sub-report of the EUV AIM design study being conducted at LLNL on behalf of International SEMATECH (ISMT) and addresses the issue of preliminary system costing. The purpose of the LLNL study, as identified in section 1.2 of the statement of work, is to research the basic user requirements of an actinic defect characterization tool, potential design configurations and top-level specifications. The objectives of this design study specifically identified in section 1.3 of the statement of work were to: (1) Determine the user requirements of an actinic defect characterization tool; (2) Determine if an EUV AIM tool is an appropriate platform for actinic defect characterization; (3) Determine possible design configurations and top-level performance specifications; (4) Identify potential technical issues and risks of different technical approaches; (5) Provide estimates of cost relating to different technical approaches; and (6) Provide simulated performance for key subsystems and the entire system. The sub-sections of the study to be addressed were accordingly defined in the statement of work as being: (1) Formulation of top-level specifications; (2) Identification of system configurations suitable for meeting the top-level specifications; (3) Preliminary design of imaging systems; (4) Preliminary design of illumination systems; (5) Prediction and …

This report describes the various forms of tax conduit organizations found in the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), or the Internal Revenue Services (IRS) regulations and discusses how the form of organization affects the tax situation of the owners. It is organized according to the major types of conduit organization.

This document is the third sub-report of the EUV AIM design study being conducted at LLNL on behalf of International Sematech (ISMT). The purpose of this study as identified in section 1.2 of the statement of work is to research the basic user requirements of an actinic defect characterization tool, potential design configurations and top-level specifications. The objectives of this design study specifically identified in section 1.3 of the statement of work were to: (1) Determine the user requirements of an actinic defect characterization tool; (2) Determine if an EUV AIM tool is an appropriate platform for actinic defect characterization; (3) Determine possible design configurations and top-level performance specifications; (4) Identify potential technical issues and risks of different technical approaches; (5) Provide estimates of cost relating to different technical approaches; and (6) Provide simulated performance for key subsystems and the entire system. The sub-sections of the study to be addressed were accordingly defined in the statement of work as being: (1) Formulation of top-level specifications; (2) Identification of system configurations suitable for meeting the top-level specifications; (3) Preliminary design of imaging systems; (4) Preliminary design of illumination systems; (5) Prediction and comparison of performance through aerial image calculation; (6) Identification …

This report provides resources for starting and operating a Child Day Care center.

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The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) has long been active in development of advanced Monte-Carlo based computational dosimetry and treatment planning methods and software for advanced radiotherapy, with a particular focus on Neutron Capture Therapy (NCT) and, to a somewhat lesser extent, Fast-Neutron Therapy. The most recent INEEL software system of this type is known as SERA, Simulation Environment for Radiotherapy Applications. As a logical next step in the development of modern radiotherapy planning tools to support the most advanced research, INEEL and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), the developers of the PEREGRTNE computational engine for radiotherapy treatment planning applications, have recently launched a new project to collaborate in the development of a ''next-generation'' multi-modality treatment planning software system that will be useful for all modern forms of radiotherapy.

Following the successful demonstration of electrometallurgical treatment, the Spent Fuel Treatment Program was established at Argonne National Laboratory * (ANL) to treat sodium-bonded spent nuclear fuel. The treatment of 24,750 kg of heavy metal is included in this program. Production treatment operations begin in September 2000. The program also includes additional research and development activities to increase process throughput and to obtain final qualification of the resulting high-level waste. Through two years, all Department of Energy (DOE) milestones established for the program have been met or exceeded.

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This is the PROCEEDINGS OF THE 2002 NATIONAL OILHEAT RESEARCH ALLIANCE TECHNOLOGY SYMPOSIUM, which was Held at Oilheat Visions Conference, Rhode Island Convention Center, Providence, Rhode Island, August 20-21, 2002. The specific objectives of this conference are to: (1) identify and evaluate the current state-of-the-art and recommend new initiatives for higher efficiency, a cleaner environment, and to satisfy consumer needs cost-effectively, reliably, and safely; and (2) foster cooperative interactions among federal and industrial representatives for the common goal of sustained economic growth and energy security via energy conservation.

The DataFoundry bioinformatics application was designed to enable scientists to directly interact with large datasets, gathered from multiple remote data sources, through a graphical, interactive interface. Gathering information from multiple data sources, integrating that data, and providing an interface to the accumulated data is non-trivial. Advanced techniques are required to develop a solution that adequately completes this task. One possible solution to this problem involves the use of specialized information access programs that are able to access information and transmute that information to a form usable by a single application. These information access programs, called wrappers, were decided to be the most appropriate way to extend the DataFoundry bioinformatics application to support data integration from multiple sources. By adding wrapper support into the DataFoundry application, it is hoped that this system will be able to provide a single access point to bioinformatics data for scientists. We describe some of the computer science concepts, design, and the implementation of adding wrapper support into the DataFoundry bioinformatics application, and then discuss issues of performance.

The Department of Defense (DOD) administers five environmental programs in response to various requirements under federal environmental laws. These programs include environmental cleanup, environmental compliance, pollution prevention, environmental technology, and conservation. Additionally, the Department of Energy (DOE) is responsible for managing defense nuclear waste and cleaning up contaminated nuclear weapons sites. The Administration requested a total of $11.17 billion for these programs in FY2003, about $390 million more than the FY2002 funding level of $10.78 billion. Some of the ongoing issues associated with these programs are the adequacy, cost, and pace of cleanup, whether DOD and DOE adequately comply with environmental laws and regulations, and the extent to which environmental requirements encroach upon military readiness.

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Several dairy issues that were debated during the 108th Congress are expected to continue as issues of interest in the 109th Congress. Separate bills were introduced in the 108th Congress to extend authority for both the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) Program and the dairy forward pricing pilot program, and to address dairy producer concerns about the importation of milk protein concentrates.

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