Annual financial report of Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas for fiscal year 2012, including organizational data and financial statements, with supplemental notes and schedules.

The BABAR Collaboration performed a search for x (2220) production in the initial-state radiation process e{sup +}e{sup -} {yields} {gamma} J/{Psi}, J/{Psi} {yields} {gamma}K{sup +}K{sup -} or J/{Psi} {yields} {gamma}K{sub S}{sup 0}K{sub S}{sup 0}. No evidence for the {xi} (2220) resonance has been found. The 90% confidence level upper limits on the product of branching fractions are sensitive to the spin and helicity hypotheses. These upper limits are of the order 10{sup -5}, below the values reported in previous experiments. Also at BABAR, the decays B {yields} J/{Psi} {pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -}{pi}{sup 0}K are studied to search for the decay X(3872) {yields} J/{Psi}{gamma}. This search yields a four standard deviation evidence for X(3872) {yields} J/{Psi}{omega}, with product branching fractions of {Beta}(B{sup +} {yields} X(3872)K{sup +}) x {Beta}(X(3872) {yields} J/{Psi}{omega}) = [0.6 {+-} 0.2(stat) {+-} 0.1(syst)] x 10{sup -5}, and {Beta}(B{sup 0} {yields} X(3872)K{sup 0}) x {Beta}(X(3872) {yields} J/y{Psi}) = [0.6 {+-} 0.3(stat) {+-} 0.1(syst)] x 10{sup -5}. A detailed study of the {pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -}{pi}{sup 0} mass distribution from X(3872) decay favors a negative-parity assignment but does not rule out the positive-parity hypothesis.

In the early 1990s, Congress recognized that several federal agencies had ongoing high performance computing programs, but no central coordinating body existed to ensure long-term coordination and planning. To provide such a framework, Congress passed the High-Performance Computing and Communications Program Act of 1991 to enhance the effectiveness of the various programs. In conjunction with the passage of the act, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy released Grand Challenges: High-Performance Computing and Communications. Current concerns are the role of the federal government in supporting IT R&D and the level of funding to allot to it. This report also looks at federal budgets for the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program.

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This report provides a brief overview of the early history of the negotiations, a more detailed review of the negotiations since 2008, and a description of some of the issues involved in the talks.

Tokamak start-up on present-day devices usually relies on inductively induced voltage from a central solenoid. In some cases inductive startup is assisted with auxiliary power from electron cyclotron radio frequency heating. ITER, the National Spherical Torus eXperiment Upgrade and JT60, now under construction, will make use of the understanding gained from present-day devices to ensure successful start-up. Design of a spherical tokamak (ST) with DT capability for nuclear component testing would require an alternative to a central solenoid because the small central column in an ST has insufficient space to provide shielding for the insulators in the solenoid. Alternative start-up techniques such as induction using outer poloidal field coils, electron Bernstein wave start-up, coaxial helicity injection and point source helicity injection have been used with success, but require demonstration of scaling to higher plasma current.

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Health care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) are benefit plans established by employers to reimburse employees for health care expenses such as deductibles and copayments. The contributions to and withdrawals from FSAs are tax-exempt. On June 7, 2012, the House passed H.R. 436, the Health Care Cost Reduction Act of 2012, which would allow up to $500 of unused balances in health FSAs to be distributed back to the account holder after the plan year ends and to allow over-the-counter prescriptions to be a qualified medical expense. The bill has been sent to the Senate for its consideration. Similar bills in the Senate have been referred to the Senate Finance Committee (S. 1368 and S. 1404). This report discusses these bills in greater detail.

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The Doppler lidar (DL) is an active remote sensing instrument that provides range- and time-resolved measurements of radial velocity and attenuated backscatter. The principle of operation is similar to radar in that pulses of energy are transmitted into the atmosphere; the energy scattered back to the transceiver is collected and measured as a time-resolved signal. From the time delay between each outgoing transmitted pulse and the backscattered signal, the distance to the scatterer is inferred. The radial or line-of-sight velocity of the scatterers is determined from the Doppler frequency shift of the backscattered radiation. The DL uses a heterodyne detection technique in which the return signal is mixed with a reference laser beam (i.e., local oscillator) of known frequency. An onboard signal processing computer then determines the Doppler frequency shift from the spectra of the heterodyne signal. The energy content of the Doppler spectra can also be used to determine attenuated backscatter.

This report discusses the information related to recent developments and U.S interests in Georgia.

Our results from the 10-year elevated atmospheric CO{sub 2} concentration study at the Nevada Desert FACE (Free-air CO{sub 2} Enrichment) Facility (NDFF) indicate that the Mojave Desert is a dynamic ecosystem with the capacity to respond quickly to environmental changes. The Mojave Desert ecosystem is accumulating carbon (C), and over the 10-year experiment, C accumulation was significantly greater under elevated [CO{sub 2}] than under ambient, despite great fluctuations in C inputs from year to year and even apparent reversals in which [CO{sub 2}] treatment had greater C accumulations.

This report looks at the cost of funding the Coast Guard's program of record's (POR) call for procuring eight National Security Cutters (NSCs), 25 Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPCs), and 58 Fast Response Cutters (FRCs) as replacements for 90 aging Coast Guard cutters and patrol craft. It also addresses issues for maintenance, future acquisition, and definitions of the types of cutters.

This report looks at how the Navy carries out irregular warfare (IW) and counterterrorism (CT) activities. It looks at recent successes with these measures, such as the assassination of Osama bin Laden. It also looks at the ways in which these two programs can grow. The report ends with a discussion of how these programs can change the definition of Navy IW activities and how they will affect Navy budgeting.

This report provides background information and potential issues for Congress on the Navy's irregular warfare (IW) and counterterrorism (CT) operations. News reports about the May 1, 2011, U.S. military operation in Pakistan that killed Osama Bin Laden state that the operation was carried out by a team of 20 to 25 Navy special operations forces, known as SEALs, specifically an elite unit known as Seal Team 6.

This report discusses current issues for Congress concerning the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program including the program's mission modules, the combat survivability of the LCS, hull cracking and engine problems on LCS-1, and corrosion on LCS-2. The LCS is a relatively inexpensive Navy surface combatant equipped with modular "plug-and-fight" mission packages. The Navy wants to field a force of 55 LCSs. Twelve LCSs have been funded through FY2012, and the FY2013-FY2017 Future Years Defense Plan (FYDP) calls for procuring 16 more, in annual quantities of 4-4-4-2-2.

This report provides background information and issues for Congress on multiyear procurement (MYP) and block buy contracting (BBC),1 which are special contracting mechanisms that Congress permits the Department of Defense (DOD) to use for a limited number of defense acquisition programs. Compared to the standard or default approach of annual contracting, MYP and BBC have the potential for reducing weapon procurement costs by several percent.

Small modular reactors (SMRs) are a promising approach to meeting future energy needs. Although the electrical output of an individual SMR is relatively small compared to that of typical commercial nuclear plants, they can be grouped to produce as much energy as a utility demands. Furthermore, SMRs can be used for other purposes, such as producing hydrogen and generating process heat. The design characteristics of many SMRs differ from those of current conventional plants and may require a distinct concept of operations (ConOps). The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) conducted research to examine the human factors engineering (HFE) and the operational aspects of SMRs. The research identified thirty potential human-performance issues that should be considered in the NRC's reviews of SMR designs and in future research activities. The purpose of this report is to support NRC HFE reviewers of SMR applications by identifying some of the questions that can be asked of applicants whose designs have characteristics identified in the issues. The questions for each issue were identified and organized based on the review elements and guidance contained in Chapter 18 of the Standard Review Plan (NUREG-0800), and the Human Factors Engineering Program Review Model (NUREG-0711).

The anti-de Sitter/conformal field theory (AdS/CFT) correspondence is a powerful tool that promises to provide new insights toward a full understanding of field theories under extreme conditions, including but not limited to quark-gluon plasma, Fermi liquid, and superconductor. In many such applications, one typically models the field theory with asymptotically AdS black holes. These black holes are subjected to stringy effects that might render them unstable. Horava-Lifshitz gravity, in which space and time undergo different transformations, has attracted attention due to its power-counting renormalizability. In terms of AdS/CFT correspondence, Horava-Lifshitz black holes might be useful to model holographic superconductors with Lifshitz scaling symmetry. It is thus interesting to study the stringy stability of Horava-Lifshitz black holes in the context of AdS/CFT. We find that uncharged topological black holes in {lambda} = 1 Horava-Lifshitz theory are nonperturbatively stable, unlike their counterparts in Einstein gravity, with the possible exceptions of negatively curved black holes with detailed balance parameter {epsilon} close to unity. Sufficiently charged flat black holes for {epsilon} close to unity, and sufficiently charged positively curved black holes with {epsilon} close to zero, are also unstable. The implication to the Horava-Lifshitz holographic superconductor is discussed.

Nearly half a million miles of pipeline transporting natural gas, oil, and other hazardous liquids crisscross the United States. While an efficient and fundamentally safe means of transport, many pipelines carry materials with the potential to cause public injury and environmental damage. The nation's pipeline networks are also widespread and vulnerable to accidents and terrorist attack. As it oversees the federal pipeline safety program and the federal role in pipeline security, Congress may wish to assess how the various elements of U.S. pipeline safety and security fit together in the nation's overall strategy to protect transportation infrastructure. Pipeline safety and security necessarily involve many groups: federal agencies, oil and gas pipeline associations, large and small pipeline operators, and local communities. Reviewing how these groups work together to achieve common goals could be an oversight challenge for Congress.

Nearly half a million miles of pipeline transporting natural gas, oil, and other hazardous liquids crisscross the United States. While an efficient and fundamentally safe means of transport, many pipelines carry materials with the potential to cause public injury and environmental damage. The nation's pipeline networks are also widespread and vulnerable to accidents and terrorist attack. As it oversees the federal pipeline safety program and the federal role in pipeline security, Congress may wish to assess how the various elements of U.S. pipeline safety and security fit together in the nation's overall strategy to protect transportation infrastructure. Pipeline safety and security necessarily involve many groups: federal agencies, oil and gas pipeline associations, large and small pipeline operators, and local communities. Reviewing how these groups work together to achieve common goals could be an oversight challenge for Congress.

This report describes the Keystone XL pipeline proposal and the process required for federal approval. It summarizes key arguments for and against the pipeline put forth by the pipeline's developers, federal agencies, environmental groups, and other stakeholders. The report discusses potential consistency challenges faced by the State Department in reviewing the pipeline application given its recent prior approvals of similar pipeline projects. Finally, the report reviews the constitutional basis for the State Department's authority to issue a Presidential Permit, and opponents' possible challenges to this authority.