Water covers more than two thirds of the surface of the Earth and about the same fraction of water forms the total mass of a human body. Since the early days of our civilization water has also been in the focus of technological developments, starting from converting it to wine to more modern achievements. The meeting will focus on recent advances in experimental, theoretical, and computational understanding of the behavior of the most important and fascinating liquid in a variety of situations and applications. The emphasis will be less on water properties per se than on water as a medium in which fundamental dynamic and reactive processes take place. In the following sessions, speakers will discuss the latest breakthroughs in unraveling these processes at the molecular level: Water in Solutions; Water in Motion I and II; Water in Biology I and II; Water in the Environment I and II; Water in Confined Geometries and Water in Discussion (keynote lecture and poster winners presentations).

This report discusses the budget for the 2008 Farm Bill, and its reauthorization. Moreover, the report discusses the increasing level of demand for fiscal constraint and the current large budget deficits.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) as part of its Department of Energy (DOE), Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), and Vehicle Technologies Program (VTP) effort has investigated class 8 tractor-trailer aerodynamics for many years. This effort has identified many drag producing flow structures around the heavy vehicles and also has designed and tested many new active and passive drag reduction techniques and concepts for significant on the road fuel economy improvements. As part of this effort a database of experimental, computational, and conceptual design for aerodynamic drag reduction devices has been established. The objective of this report is to provide design guidance for trailer base devices to improve their aerodynamic performance. These devices are commonly referred to as boattails, base flaps, tail devices, and etc. The information provided here is based on past research and our most recent full-scale experimental investigations in collaboration with Navistar Inc. Additional supporting data from LLNL/Navistar wind tunnel, track test, and on the road test will be published soon. The trailer base devices can be identified by 4 flat panels that are attached to the rear edges of the trailer base to form a closed cavity. These devices have been engineered in many different forms …

This report discusses the current political state of Afghanistan, as well as the Afghan government. This report also discusses Afghanistan's relationship with the United States, particularly U.S. efforts to urge President Hamid Karzai, to address corruption within the Afghan government. The report also includes discussion of election fraud and corruption in Afghanistan.

This report details the COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 and the American COMPETES Act, as well as policy issues: STEM education, Federal Research Programs and Activities, Broadening Participation, and Funding.

This report explains the American with Disabilities Act that provides nondiscrimination protection in employment, public services, public accomodations, and services operated by private entities, transportation, and telecommunications for individuals with disabilities.

We report on the simulations of recently observed correlations of the core electron transport with the sub-thermal ion cyclotron frequency instabilities in low aspect ratio plasmas of the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX). In order to model the electron transport of the guiding center code ORBIT is employed. A spectrum of test functions of multiple core localized Global shear Alfven Eigenmode (GAE) instabilities based on a previously developed theory and experimental observations is used to examine the electron transport properties. The simulations exhibit thermal electron transport induced by electron drift orbit stochasticity in the presence of multiple core localized GAE.

A new multiscale simulation tool has been developed to model the strength of tantalum under high-pressure dynamic compression. This new model combines simulations at multiple length scales to explain macroscopic properties of materials. Previously known continuum models of material response under load have built upon a mixture of theoretical physics and experimental phenomenology. Experimental data, typically measured at static pressures, are used as a means of calibration to construct models that parameterize the material properties; e.g., yield stress, work hardening, strain-rate dependence, etc. The pressure dependence for most models enters through the shear modulus, which is used to scale the flow stress. When these models are applied to data taken far outside the calibrated regions of phase space (e.g., strain rate or pressure) they often diverge in their predicted behavior of material deformation. The new multiscale model, developed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, starts with interatomic quantum mechanical potential and is based on the motion and multiplication of dislocations. The basis for the macroscale model is plastic deformation by phonon drag and thermally activated dislocation motion and strain hardening resulting from elastic interactions among dislocations. The dislocation density, {rho}, and dislocation velocity, {nu}, are connected to the plastic strain rate …

The purpose of this report is to provide a concise but comprehensive overview of Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Climate Research Facility instrumentation status. The report is divided into the following five sections: (1) new instrumentation in the process of being acquired and deployed, (2) field campaigns, (3) existing instrumentation and progress on improvements or upgrades, (4) proposed future instrumentation, and (5) Small Business Innovation Research instrument development.

This report briefly explores the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), 18 U.S.C. 924(e), which requires imposition of a minimum 15-year term of imprisonment for recidivists convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm under 18 U.S.C. 922(g). Section 924(e) applies only to those defendants who have three prior state or federal convictions for violent felonies or serious drug offenses. The report includes descriptions of constitutional challenges to the application of section 924(e), which have been generally unsuccessful.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory performed a demonstration to determine the acceptable location in which to place an air sampling probe for emissions monitoring for radionuclides in the exhaust air discharge from the new 3430 Building Filtered Pathway Stack . The method was to adopt the results of a previously performed test series for a system of similar configuration, followed by a partial test on the actual system to verify the applicability of previously performed tests. The qualification criteria included 1) a uniform air velocity, 2) an average flow angle that does not deviate from the axis of the duct by more than 20°, 3) a uniform concentration of tracer gases, and 4) a uniform concentration of tracer particles. Section 1 provides background information for the demonstration, and Section 2 describes the test strategy, including the criteria for the applicability of model results and the test matrix. Section 3 describes the flow angle test and the velocity uniformity test, Section 4 provides the test results, and Section 5 provides the conclusions. Appendix A includes the test data sheets, and Appendix B gives applicable qualification results from the previously tested model stack. The data from the previously tested and similarly designed stack …

This report discusses the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program, also known as fire grants of the FIRE Act grant program, which was established by Title XVII of the FY2001 National Defense Authorization Act. The program provides federal grants directly to local fire departments and unaffiliated Emergency Medical Services (EMS) organizations to help address a variety of equipment, training, and other firefighter-related and EMS needs. This report also discusses the possible reauthorization of AFG and the related Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Firefighters (SAFER) program. Current debates on the issue revolve around a competition for funding between career/urban/suburban departments and volunteer/rural departments. Complicating the issue is the recent economic downturn, which has left many local communities increasingly hard pressed to allocate funding for their local fire departments.

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A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) estimates that the number of flights in the United States will increase 20 percent by 2024. It also has identified numerous airports that will need to expand to handle more flights. However, increasing airport capacity and operations poses potentially significant impacts on the environment and quality of life for surrounding communities. This report addresses (1) airports' actions to reduce their environmental impacts, (2) the extent airports believe environmental issues delay development or operational changes, and (3) the strategies airports can adopt to address environmental issues. GAO reviewed pertinent federal laws and regulations; interviewed airport officials, state and local regulatory agencies, metropolitan planning organizations, and community groups for 10 selected airports, as well as federal officials and national industry and advocacy groups; and surveyed the 150 busiest airports as measured by the number of operations. This report does not contain recommendations. A draft was provided to the Department of Transportation, the Environmental Protection Agency, and two organizations representing airports and airport officials. GAO incorporated technical clarifications they provided as appropriate."

The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-246, 2008 farm bill) created the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP). This report discusses the two main purposes of BCAP, which are (1) to support the establishment and production of eligible crops for conversion to bioenergy in selected areas, and (2) to assist agricultural and forest land owners and operators with collection, harvest, storage, and transportation of eligible material for use in a biomass conversion facility.

This report discusses Bisphenol A (BPA). BPA is used to produce certain types of plastic that are used in thousands of formulations for myriad products. Containers made with these plastics may expose people to small amounts of BPA in food and water. Medical devices and other more ubiquitous products, such as thermal paper coatings, also may contribute significantly to human exposure. Some animal experiments have found that fetal and infant development may be harmed by small amounts of BPA, but scientists disagree about the value of the animal studies for predicting harmful effects in people.

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This report discusses the United States Border Patrol's history as our nation's first line of defense against unauthorized migration. Today, the USBP's primary mission is to detect and prevent the entry of terrorists, weapons of mass destruction, and illegal aliens into the country, and to interdict drug smugglers and other criminals along the border. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 dissolved the Immigration and Naturalization Service and placed the USBP within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

A new diagnostic for measuring Bragg diffraction from a laser-driven crystal using a 100ps 17.5 kV x-ray backlighter source is designed and tested successfully at the Omega EP laser facility on static Mo and Ta single crystal samples using a Mo Ka backlighter. The Bragg Diffraction Imager (BDI) consists of a heavily shielded enclosure and a precisely positioned beam block, attached to the main enclosure by an Aluminum arm. Image plate is used as the x-ray detector. The diffraction lines from Mo and Ta <222> planes are clearly detected with a high signal-to-noise using the 17.5 keV and 19.6 keV characteristic lines generated by a petawatt-driven Mo foil. This technique will be applied to shock and ramp-loaded single crystals on the Omega EP laser. Pulsed x-ray diffraction of shock- and ramp-compressed materials is an exciting new technique that can give insight into the dynamic behavior of materials at ultra-high pressure not achievable by any other means to date. X-ray diffraction can be used to determine not only the phase and compression of the lattice at high pressure, but by probing the lattice compression on a timescale equal to the 3D relaxation time of the material, information about dislocation mechanics, including …

This document catalogs the characteristics of current and potential future DC products and power systems.

This US Department of Energy (DOE) Environmental Remediation Sciences Project (ERSP) was designed to test fundamental hypotheses concerning the existence and nature of indigenous microbial populations of Nevada Test Site subsurface nuclear test/detonation cavities. Now called Subsurface Biogeochemical Research (SBR), this program’s Exploratory Research (ER) element, which funded this research, is designed to support high risk, high potential reward projects. Here, five cavities (GASCON, CHANCELLOR, NASH, ALEMAN, and ALMENDRO) and one tunnel (U12N) were sampled using bailers or pumps. Molecular and cultivation-based techniques revealed bacterial signatures at five sites (CHANCELLOR may be lifeless). SSU rRNA gene libraries contained diverse and divergent microbial sequences affiliated with known metal- and sulfur-cycling microorganisms, organic compound degraders, microorganisms from deep mines, and bacteria involved in selenate reduction and arsenite oxidation. Close relatives of Desulforudis audaxviator, a microorganism thought to subsist in the terrestrial deep subsurface on H2 and SO42- produced by radiochemical reactions, was detected in the tunnel waters. NTS-specific media formulations were used to culture and quantify nitrate-, sulfate-, iron-reducing, fermentative, and methanogenic microorganisms. Given that redox manipulations mediated by microorganisms can impact the mobility of DOE contaminants, our results should have implications for management strategies at this and other DOE sites.

This report discusses the security problem of China’s role in weapons proliferation and issues related to the U.S. policy response since the mid-1990s. China has taken some steps to mollify U.S. and other foreign concerns about its role in weapons proliferation.

This report provides an overview of the economic issues surrounding the current debate over China's currency policy. It identifies the economic costs and benefits of China's currency policy for both China and the United States, and possible implications if China were to allow its currency to significantly appreciate or to float freely. It also examines proposed legislation in the 111th Congress that seek to address China's currency policy.

This report discusses about Military Strategies and force structure. It further discusses about military force structure that includes what types of ground forces and special operation units are required for current and future operations.