This report provides an overview of the sociopolitical and economic situation in Iran, and discusses Iran's ballistic missile and space launch programs.

Recently, our lab has developed monoanionic tridentate ligand, To{sup R}, showing the corresponding coordination chemistry and catalyst reactivity of magnesium, zirconium, zinc and iridium complexes. This thesis details synthetic chemistry, structural study and catalytic reactivity of the To{sup R}-supported rhodium compounds. Tl[To{sup R}] has been proved to be a superior ligand transfer agent for synthesizing rhodium complexes. The salt metathesis route of Tl[To{sup M}] with [Rh({mu}-Cl)(CO)]{sub 2} and [Rh({mu}- Cl)(COE)]{sub 2} gives To{sup M}Rh(CO){sub 2} (2.2) and To{sup M}RhH({eta}{sup 3}-C{sub 8}H{sub 13}) (3.1) respectively while Tl[To{sup P}] with [Rh({mu}-Cl)(CO)]{sub 2} affords To{sup P}Rh(CO){sub 2} (2.3). 2.2 reacts with both strong and weak electrophiles, resulting in the oxazoline N-attacked and the metal center-attacked compounds correspondingly. Using one of the metal center-attacked electrophiles, 2.3 was demonstrated to give high diastereoselectivity. Parallel to COE allylic C-H activation complex 3.1, the propene and allylbenzene allylic C-H activation products have also been synthesized. The subsequent functionalization attempts have been examined by treating with Brønsted acids, Lewis acids, electrophiles, nucleophiles, 1,3-dipolar reagents and reagents containing multiple bonds able to be inserted. Various related complexes have been obtained under these conditions, in which one of the azide insertion compounds reductively eliminates to give an allylic functionalization product …

The Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) at SLAC is in full user operation and has met the stability goals for stable lasing. The 250pC bunch can be compressed to below 100fS before passing through an undulator. In a new mode of operation a 20pC bunch is compressed to about 10fS. Experimenters are regularly using this shorter X-ray pulse and getting pristine data. The 10fS bunch has timing jitter on the order of 100fS. Physicists are requesting that the RF system achieve better stability to reduce timing jitter. Drifts in the RF system require longitudinal feedbacks to work over large ranges and errors result in reduced performance of the LCLS. A new RF system is being designed to help diagnose and reduce jitter and drift in the SLAC linac.

None

This report consists of business investment and employment tax incentives to stimulate the economy.

The project was carried out in 2 distinct phases. In the first phase we established the general validity of using an ensemble approach to Single Column Modeling (SCM) using the Manus and Nauru sites. In the second phase we derived and applied an ensemble forcing derivation technique to observations. First we derived an ensemble forcing estimate for the TWP-ICE experiment and then by extended the method to provide three wet seasons of “continuous ensemble forcing” for the Darwin site. The main purpose of using ensemble techniques in SCM simulation is to be able to assess how much of the overall SCM simulation error is due to model errors and how much due to errors in the forcing.

This report provides an overview of how DNA is used to investigate crimes and help protect the innocent. It also reviews current statutory law on collecting DNA samples, sharing DNA profiles generated from those samples, and providing access to post-conviction DNA testing. The report also includes a summary of grant programs authorized by Congress to assist state and local governments with reducing DNA backlogs, provide post-conviction DNA testing, and promote new technology in the field.

During the operational history of the Savannah River Site (SRS), many different radionuclides have been released from site facilities. However, only a relatively small number of the released radionuclides have been significant contributors to doses and risks to the public. At SRS dose and risk assessments indicate tritium oxide in air and surface water, and Cs-137 in fish and deer have been, and continue to be, the critical radionuclides and pathways. In this assessment, indepth statistical analyses of the long-term trends of tritium oxide in atmospheric and surface water releases and Cs-137 concentrations in fish and deer are provided. Correlations also are provided with 1) operational changes and improvements, 2) geopolitical events (Cold War cessation), and 3) recent environmental remediation projects and decommissioning of excess facilities. For example, environmental remediation of the F- and H-Area Seepage Basins and the Solid Waste Disposal Facility have resulted in a measurable impact on the tritium oxide flux to the onsite Fourmile Branch stream. Airborne releases of tritium oxide have been greatly affected by operational improvements and the end of the Cold War in 1991. However, the effects of SRS environmental remediation activities and ongoing tritium operations on tritium concentrations in the environment are …

None

This report discusses the current political state of Afghanistan, focusing particularly on the influence of the Taliban and other militant groups and on the leadership of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. This report also discusses the U.S.-Afghanistan relationship, in both the short and long term, and U.S. efforts under the Obama Administration to provide military, reconstructive, and stabilization aid.

This report discusses the political structure, reform efforts, and human rights issues in Bahrain. It also discusses the U.S.-Bahrain security and foreign policy relations as well as Bahrain's economic ties with the United States and Saudi Arabia.

This report focuses on the United States' relationship with Iran and how the Obama Administration is handling prior administration's economic sanctions against Iran. The Obama Administration's policy approach toward Iran has contrasted with the Bush Administration's by attempting to couple the imposition of sanctions to an active and direct U.S. effort to negotiate with Iran on the nuclear issue. That approach was not initially altered because of the Iranian dispute over its June 12, 2009, elections.

This report focuses on the United States' relationship with Iran and how the Obama Administration is handling prior administration's economic sanctions against Iran. The Obama Administration's policy approach toward Iran has contrasted with the Bush Administration's by attempting to couple the imposition of sanctions to an active and direct U.S. effort to negotiate with Iran on the nuclear issue. That approach was not initially altered because of the Iranian dispute over its June 12, 2009, elections. However, with subsequent negotiations yielding no firm Iranian agreement to compromise, since early 2010 the Administration has focused on achieving the imposition of additional U.N., U.S., and allied country sanctions whose cumulative effect would be to compel it to accept a nuclear bargain.

This report looks at Kuwait's relationships with its neighbors in the Persian Gulf, and its own political system which has been in turmoil since 2006.

Silicon sensors with a three-dimensional (3-D) architecture, in which the n and p electrodes penetrate through the entire substrate, have many advantages over planar silicon sensors including radiation hardness, fast time response, active edge and dual readout capabilities. The fabrication of 3D sensors is however rather complex. In recent years, there have been worldwide activities on 3D fabrication. SINTEF in collaboration with Stanford Nanofabrication Facility have successfully fabricated the original (single sided double column type) 3D detectors in two prototype runs and the third run is now on-going. This paper reports the status of this fabrication work and the resulted yield. The work of other groups such as the development of double sided 3D detectors is also briefly reported.

None

This report documents the history of attempts to directly measure cloud extinction, the current measurement device known as the Cloud Extinction Probe (CEP), specific problems with direct measurement of extinction coefficient, and the attempts made here to address these problems. Extinction coefficient is one of the fundamental microphysical parameters characterizing bulk properties of clouds. Knowledge of extinction coefficient is of crucial importance for radiative transfer calculations in weather prediction and climate models given that Earth's radiation budget (ERB) is modulated much by clouds. In order for a large-scale model to properly account for ERB and perturbations to it, it must ultimately be able to simulate cloud extinction coefficient well. In turn this requires adequate and simultaneous simulation of profiles of cloud water content and particle habit and size. Similarly, remote inference of cloud properties requires assumptions to be made about cloud phase and associated single-scattering properties, of which extinction coefficient is crucial. Hence, extinction coefficient plays an important role in both application and validation of methods for remote inference of cloud properties from data obtained from both satellite and surface sensors (e.g., Barker et al. 2008). While estimation of extinction coefficient within large-scale models is relatively straightforward for pure water …

A look at government agencies spending on advertising.

None

The delayed neutron fraction and prompt neutron lifetime have been calculated at different times in the fuel cycle for the NBSR when fueled with both high-enriched uranium (HEU) and low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel. The best-estimate values for both the delayed neutron fraction and the prompt neutron lifetime are the result of calculations using MCNP5-1.60 with the most recent ENDFB-VII evaluations. The best-estimate values for the total delayed neutron fraction from fission products are 0.00665 and 0.00661 for the HEU fueled core at startup and end-of-cycle, respectively. For the LEU fuel the best estimate values are 0.00650 and 0.00648 at startup and end-of-cycle, respectively. The present recommendations for the delayed neutron fractions from fission products are smaller than the value reported previously of 0.00726 for the HEU fuel. The best-estimate values for the contribution from photoneutrons will remain as 0.000316, independent of the fuel or time in the cycle.The values of the prompt neutron lifetime as calculated with MCNP5-1.60 are compared to values calculated with two other independent methods and the results are in reasonable agreement with each other. The recommended, conservative values of the neutron lifetime for the HEU fuel are 650 {micro}s and 750 {micro}s for the startup and …

This report discusses how the Federal Reserve (Fed) handles monetary policy, including background information about the execution of monetary policy, the recent and current stance of monetary policy, and current legislation and Congressional oversight that would affect the Fed's practices.

This report discusses economic effects of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy, monetary policy vs. fiscal policy, the current stance of monetary policy given the financial crisis, and Congressional oversight and disclosure on the issue.

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping (pronounced Shee Jin-ping) is scheduled to visit the United States in mid-February, 2012, returning Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.'s August 2011 visit to China, which Xi hosted. The fact that Xi is the heir apparent to China's current top leader, Hu Jintao, who is scheduled to retire in the coming year, makes this more than an ordinary vice presidential visit. Xi's trip is designed to help him build relationships with American policymakers and legislators and introduce himself to the American business community and the American people on the eve of his becoming China's top leader. As important to the Chinese side, the trip could also play an important role in helping boost Xi's stature back home, where he is so far known as much for having a famous father, early Communist Party revolutionary Xi Zhongxun, and a famous wife, military folk singer Peng Liyuan, as for his own achievements.

PROTEUS is a suite of the neutronics codes, both old and new, that can be used within the SHARP codes being developed under the NEAMS program. Discussion here is focused on updates and verification and validation activities of the SHARP neutronics code, DeCART, for application to thermal reactor analysis. As part of the development of SHARP tools, the different versions of the DeCART code created for PWR, BWR, and VHTR analysis were integrated. Verification and validation tests for the integrated version were started, and the generation of cross section libraries based on the subgroup method was revisited for the targeted reactor types. The DeCART code has been reorganized in preparation for an efficient integration of the different versions for PWR, BWR, and VHTR analysis. In DeCART, the old-fashioned common blocks and header files have been replaced by advanced memory structures. However, the changing of variable names was minimized in order to limit problems with the code integration. Since the remaining stability problems of DeCART were mostly caused by the CMFD methodology and modules, significant work was performed to determine whether they could be replaced by more stable methods and routines. The cross section library is a key element to obtain …