This issue has the following articles: (1) Deterrence with a Minimum Nuclear Stockpile - Commentary by Bruce T. Goodwin; (2) Enhancing Confidence in the Nation's Nuclear Stockpile - Livermore experts are participating in a national effort aimed at predicting how nuclear weapon materials and systems will likely change over time; (3) Narrowing Uncertainties - For climate modeling and many other fields, understanding uncertainty, or margin of error, is critical; (4) Insight into a Deadly Disease - Laboratory experiments reveal the pathogenesis of tularemia in host cells, bringing scientists closer to developing a vaccine for this debilitating disease. (5) Return to Rongelap - On the Rongelap Atoll, Livermore scientists are working to minimize radiological exposure for natives now living on or wishing to return to the islands.

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We investigate the existence of the principal-agent (PA) problem in non-government, non-mall commercial buildings in the U.S. in 2003. The analysis concentrates on space heating and cooling energy consumed by centrally installed equipment in order to verify whether a market failure caused by the PA problem might have prevented the installation of energy-efficient devices in non-owner-occupied buildings (efficiency problem) and/or the efficient operation of space-conditioning equipment in these buildings (usage problem). Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) 2003 data for single-owner, single-tenant and multi-tenant occupied buildings were used for conducting this evaluation. These are the building subsets with the appropriate conditions for assessing both the efficiency and the usage problems. Together, these three building types represent 51.9percent of the total floor space of all buildings with space heating and 59.4percent of the total end-use energy consumption of such buildings; similarly, for space cooling, they represent 52.7percent of floor space and 51.6percent of energy consumption. Our statistical analysis shows that there is a usage PA problem. In space heating it applies only to buildings with a small floor area (<_50,000 sq. ft.). We estimate that in 2003 it accounts for additional site energy consumption of 12.3 (+ 10.5 ) TBtu (primary …

The goal of the feedstock assembly operation is to deliver uniform, quality-assured feedstock materials that will enhance downstream system performance by avoiding problems in the conversion equipment. In order to achieve this goal, there is a need for rapid screening tools and methodologies for assessing the thermochemical quality characteristics of biomass feedstock through the assembly process. Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) has been identified as potential technique that could allow rapid elemental analyses of the inorganic content of biomass feedstocks; and consequently, would complement the carbohydrate data provided by near-infrared spectrometry (NIRS). These constituents, including Si, K, Ca, Na, S, P, Cl, Mg, Fe and Al, create a number of downstream problems in thermochemical processes. In particular, they reduce the energy content of the feedstock, influence reaction pathways, contribute to fouling and corrosion within systems, poison catalysts, and impact waste streams.

Discusses the use of KIVA-3V to develop a model that reproduces ignition behavior inside the Ignition Quality Tester, which measures the ignition delay of low-volatility fuels.

This article evaluates the first year of the Section 1603 Treasury cash grant program, which enables renewable power projects in the U.S. to elect cash grants in lieu of the federal tax credits that are otherwise available. To date, the program has been heavily subscribed, particularly by wind power projects, which had received 86% of the nearly $2.6 billion in grants that had been disbursed as of March 1, 2010. As of that date, 6.2 GW of the 10 GW of new wind capacity installed in the U.S. in 2009 had applied for grants in lieu of production tax credits. Roughly 2.4 GW of this wind capacity may not have otherwise been built in 2009 absent the grant program; this 2.4 GW may have supported approximately 51,600 short-term full-time-equivalent (FTE) gross job-years in the U.S. during the construction phase of these wind projects, and 3,860 longterm FTE gross jobs during the operational phase. The program’s popularity stems from the significant economic value that it provides to renewable power projects, relative to the otherwise available tax credits. Although grants reward investment rather than efficient performance, this evaluation finds no evidence at this time of either widespread “gold-plating” or performance problems.

Pure cultures, including Desulfovibrio vulgaris and Methanococcus maripaludus, were combined with model oil samples and oil/diesel mixtures to optimize extraction techniques of signature lipids from oil in support of investigation of microbial communities in oil deposit samples targets for microbial enhanced hydrocarbon recovery. Several techniques were evaluated, including standard phospholipid extraction, ether linked lipid for Archaeal bacterial detection, and high pressure extractiontechniques. Recovery of lipids ranged from 50-80percent as compared to extraction of the pure culture. Extraction efficiency was evaluated by the use of internal standards. Field samples will also be tested for recovery of signature lipids with optimized extraction techniques.

The character of the war in Afghanistan evolved from a violent struggle against al Qaeda and its Taliban supporters to a multi-faceted counterinsurgency (COIN) effort. This report provides an examination of the war's background, context, and early execution; an analytical discussion of the COIN war to date, including strategy, organization, participation, and key facets of the effort including population security, advising the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), counter-narcotics, reconciliation, community outreach, and civil-military coordination; and an analysis of major strategic and operational issues and options that the 111th Congress may opt to consider.

This report discusses the Economic Development Administration, which was created with the enactment of the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 and has a 45-year history of supporting job creation and long-term economic recovery efforts in the nation's economically distressed areas.

Anaerobic Digestion technology may help to address two congressional concerns that have some measure of independence: Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction and Energy Generation.

Biochar is a charcoal produced under high temperatures using crop residues, animal manure, or any type of organic waste material. Depending on the feedstock, biochar may look similar to potting soil or to a charred substance. The combined production and use of biochar is considered a carbon-negative process, meaning that it removes carbon from the atmosphere. This report briefly describes biochar, its potential advantages and disadvantages, legislative support, and research and development activities underway in the United States.

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The layered perovskite PrBa{sub 0.5}Sr{sub 0.5}Co{sub 2}O{sub 5+{delta}} (PBSC) was investigated as a cathode material for a solid oxide fuel cell using a proton-conducting electrolyte based on BaCe{sub 0.7}Y{sub 0.2}Zr{sub 0.1}O{sub 3-{delta}} (BCYZ). The sintering conditions for the PBSC-BCYZ composite cathode were optimized resulting in the lowest area-specific resistance and apparent activation energy obtained with the cathode sintered at 1200 C for 2h. The maximum power densities of the PBSC-BCYZ/BZCY/NiO-BCYZ cell were 0.179, 0.274, 0.395, and 0.522 Wcm{sup -2} at 550, 600, 650, and 700 C, respectively with a 15{micro}m thick electrolyte. A relatively low cell interfacial polarization resistance of 0.132 {Omega}cm{sup 2} at 700 C indicated that the PBSC-BCYZ could be a good cathode candidate for intermediate temperature SOFCs with proton-conducting electrolyte.

This paper discusses solid oxide fuel cells, proton conductors, layered perovskite and Cathodes.

The development of metallic glasses in bulk form has led to a resurgence of interest into the utilization of these materials for a variety of applications. A potentially exciting application for these bulk metallic glass (BMG) materials is their use as composite membranes to replace high cost Pd/Pd-alloy membranes for enhanced gas separation processes. One of the major drawbacks to the industrial use of Pd/Pd-alloy membranes is that during cycling above and below a critical temperature an irreversible change takes place in the palladium lattice structure which can result in significant damage to the membrane. Furthermore, the cost associated with Pd-based membranes is a potential detractor for their continued use and BMG alloys offer a potentially attractive alternative. Several BMG alloys have been shown to possess high permeation rates, comparable to those measured for pure Pd metal. In addition, high strength and toughness when either in-situ or ex-situ second phase dispersoids are present. Both of these properties, high permeation and high strength/toughness, potentially make these materials attractive for gas separation membranes that could resist hydrogen 'embrittlement'. However, a fundamental understanding of the relationship between partially crystalline 'structure'/devitrification and permeation/embrittlement in these BMG materials is required in order to determine the …

The D0 Collaboration has recently measured the charge asymmetry of same-sign dimuon events in 6.1 fb{sup -1} of data collected in p{bar p} collisions at the Fermilab Tevatron collider. This allows the extraction of the same-sign dimuon charge asymmetry in semileptonic b-hadron decays, which is predicted to be extremely small in the standard model. The result is found to differ by 3.2 standard deviations from the standard model value, providing the first evidence for anomalous CP-violation in the mixing of neutral B mesons. The analysis, and the method used to extract the result are described in detail.

The MuCool RF Program focuses on the study of normal conducting RF structures operating in high magnetic field for applications in muon ionization cooling for Neutrino Factories and Muon Colliders. This paper will give an overview of the program, which will include a description of the test facility and its capabilities, the current test program, and the status of a cavity that can be rotated in the magnetic field which allows for a more detailed study of the maximum stable operating gradient vs. magnetic field strength and angle.

In response to a request by Picatinny Arsenal, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) was asked by the Army to conduct an energy audit of the Arsenal’s 3000 Area Laboratory Complex. The objective of the audit was to identify life-cycle cost-effective measures that the Arsenal could implement to reduce energy costs. A “walk-through” audit of the facilities was conducted on December 7-8, 2009. Findings and recommendations are included in this document.

Since the last successful RHIC Au+Au run in 2007 (Run-7), the RHIC experiments have made numerous detector improvements and upgrades. In order to benefit from the enhanced detector capabilities and to increase the yield of rare events in the acquired heavy ion data a significant increase in luminosity is essential. In Run-7 RHIC achieved an average store luminosity of <L> = 12 x 10{sup 26} cm{sup -2} s{sup -1} by operating with 103 bunches (out of 111 possible), and by squeezing to {beta}* = 0.85 m. This year, Run-10, we achieved <L> = 20 x 10{sup 26} cm{sup -2} s{sup -1}, which put us an order of magnitude above the RHIC design luminosity. To reach these luminosity levels we decreased {beta}* to 0.75 m, operated with 111 bunches per ring, and reduced longitudinal and transverse emittances by means of bunched-beam stochastic cooling. In addition we introduced a lattice to suppress intra-beam scattering (IBS) in both RHIC rings, upgraded the RF control system, and separated transition crossing times in the two rings. We present an overview of the changes and the results of Run-10 performance.

This report tracks the process by which Congress provides the funding for U.S. assessed contributions to the regular budgets of the United Nations, its agencies, and U.N. peacekeeping operation accounts, as well as for U.S. voluntary contributions to U.N. system programs and funds. It includes information on the President's request and the congressional response, as well as congressional initiatives during this legislative process. Basic information is provided to help the reader understand this process.

The 111th Congress has considered various immigration issues and has enacted a number of targeted immigration provisions. It has passed legislation to extend the life of several immigration programs--the E-Verify electronic employment eligibility verification system, the Immigrant Investor Regional Center Program, the Conrad State J-1 Waiver Program, and the special immigrant visa for religious workers--all of which are currently authorized until September 30, 2012. Among the other subjects of legislation enacted by this Congress are refugees and border security. This report discusses these and other immigration-related issues that have seen legislative action or are of significant congressional interest.

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This report discusses the increasing concern, within the scientific community, that rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere could detrimentally alter marine ecosystems. The report discusses how ocean acidification happens, its possible outcomes, as well as natural and human responses that could possibly limit or reduce the rate of the process.

This report provides the information related to the fishery, aquaculture, and marine mammal issues in the 111th Congress