This report looks at the purposes and results of U.S. sanctions on Iran, which were initiated as a result of Iran's nuclear program and human rights issues. It ends by discussing future issues that Congress can consider regarding the sanctions.

None

None

Resolution of the nation's high-level tank waste legacy requires the design, construction, and operation of large and technically complex one-of-a-kind processing waste treatment and vitrification facilities. While the ultimate limits for waste loading and melter efficiency have yet to be defined or realized, significant reductions in glass volumes for disposal and mission life may be possible with advancements in melter technologies and/or glass formulations. This test report describes the experimental results from a small-scale test using the research-scale melter (RSM) at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to demonstrate the viability of iron-phosphate-based glass with a selected waste composition that is high in sulfate (4.37 wt% SO3). The primary objective of the test was to develop data to support a cost-benefit analysis related to the implementation of phosphate-based glasses for Hanford low-activity waste (LAW) and/or other high-level waste streams within the U.S. Department of Energy complex. The testing was performed by PNNL and supported by Idaho National Laboratory, Savannah River National Laboratory, Missouri University of Science and Technology, and Mo-Sci Corporation.

DNV Renewables (USA) Inc. (DNV KEMA) received a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to develop the curriculum for a series of short courses intended to address Topic Area 5 – Workforce Development, one of the focus areas to achieve the goals outlined in 20% Wind by 2030: Increasing Wind Energy’s Contribution to Electricity Supply. The aim of the curriculum development project was to provide material for instructors to use in a training program to help professionals transition into careers in wind energy. Under this grant DNV KEMA established a “knowledge boosting” program for the wind energy industry with the following objectives: 1. Develop technical training curricula and teaching materials for six key topic areas that can be implemented in a flexible format by a knowledgeable instructor. The topic areas form a foundation that can be leveraged for subsequent, more detailed learning modules (not developed in this program). 2. Develop an implementation guidance document to accompany the curricula outlining key learning objectives, implementation methods, and guidance for utilizing the curricula. This curriculum is intended to provide experienced trainers course material that can be used to provide course participants with a basic background in wind energy and wind project …

None

None

None

This report looks at political instability that has plagued the country since 2009. It address other concerns that Congress has about the country as well, specifically threats to Madagascar's unique ecosystem.

Nuclear fusion has the potential to satisfy the prodigious power that the world will demand in the future, but it has yet to be harnessed as a practical energy source. The entry of fusion as a viable, competitive source of power has been stymied by the challenge of finding an economical way to provide for the confinement and heating of the plasma fuel. It is the contention here that a simpler path to fusion can be achieved by creating fusion conditions in a different regime at small scale (~ a few cm). One such program now under study, referred to as Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF), is directed at obtaining fusion in this high energy density regime by rapidly compressing a compact toroidal plasmoid commonly referred to as a Field Reversed Configuration (FRC). To make fusion practical at this smaller scale, an efficient method for compressing the FRC to fusion gain conditions is required. In one variant of MTF a conducting metal shell is imploded electrically. This radially compresses and heats the FRC plasmoid to fusion conditions. The closed magnetic field in the target plasmoid suppresses the thermal transport to the confining shell, thus lowering the imploding power needed to compress …

We present improved measurements of CP-violation parameters in the decays B{sup 0} {yields} {pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -}, B{sup 0} {yields} K{sup +}{pi}{sup -}, and B{sup 0} {yields} {pi}{sup 0}{pi}{sup 0}, and of the branching fractions for B{sup 0} {yields} {pi}{sup 0}{pi}{sup 0} and B{sup 0} {yields} K{sup 0}{pi}{sup 0}. The results are obtained with the full data set collected at the {Upsilon}(4S) resonance by the BABAR experiment at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy B factory at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, corresponding to 467 {+-} 5 million B{bar B} pairs. We find the CP-violation parameter values and branching fractions S{sub {pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -}} = -0.68 {+-} 0.10 {+-} 0.03, C{sub {pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -}} = -0.25 {+-} 0.08 {+-} 0.02, {Alpha}{sub K{sup -}{pi}{sup +}} = -0.107 {+-} 0.016{sub -0.004}{sup +0.006}, C{sub {pi}{sup 0}{pi}{sup 0}} = -0.43 {+-} 0.26 {+-} 0.05, {Beta}(B{sup 0} {yields} {pi}{sup 0}{pi}{sup 0}) = (1.83 {+-} 0.21 {+-} 0.13) x 10{sup -6}, {Beta}(B{sup 0} {yields} K0{pi}{sup 0}) = (10.1 {+-} 0.6 {+-} 0.4) x 10{sup -6}, where in each case, the first uncertainties are statistical and the second are systematic. We observe CP violation with a significance of 6.7 standard deviations for B{sup 0} {yields} {pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -} and 6.1 standard …

None

None

None

None

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Use of some preventive services--cardiovascular disease screening and cervical cancer screening--by FFS beneficiaries generally aligned with clinical recommendations, but use of other cancer screenings for certain age groups, osteoporosis screening, and immunizations did not. In particular, among women aged 65 to 74, for whom breast cancer screening is recommended biannually by the Task Force, only two out of three received a mammogram in 2008 or 2009. Among beneficiaries aged 65 to 75, about one out of four received any of the Task Force recommended regimens for colorectal cancer screening from 2005 through 2009. Among men aged 75 or older, about two out of five received a Prostate-Specific Antigen test for prostate cancer--a test that required no cost sharing--from 2006 through 2009 even though the Task Force recommended against this service for that age group. Use of osteoporosis screening--for which Medicare coverage is limited--and influenza and pneumococcal immunizations was generally lower than recommended by the Task Force or ACIP. The Department of Health and Human Services has the authority to modify coverage of Medicare preventive services--such as osteoporosis screening--consistent with Task Force recommendations."

None

This report provides an overview of midnight rulemaking (regulations issued at the end of a presidential administration) and discusses actions that recent outgoing and incoming administrations have taken pertaining to midnight rules. It explains how an incoming President could change or eliminate midnight rules, and provides options for congressional oversight of midnight rules.

This report provides an overview of the MDBs and highlights major issues for Congress. The first section discusses how the MDBs operate, including the history of the MDBs, their operations and organizational structure, and the effectiveness of MDB financial assistance. The second section discusses the role of Congress in the MDBs, including congressional legislation authorizing and appropriating U.S. contributions to the MDBs; congressional oversight; and U.S. commercial interests in the MDBs.

None

None

This report discusses the Navy's plan to develop and design a class of 12 next-generation ballistic missile submarines, or SSBN(X)s, as replacements for the 14 Ohio class SSBNs currently in operation. The report explores certain related issues for Congress, including the affordability of the project and its potential impact on other Navy shipbuilding programs, alternatives to the program, and which shipyard or shipyards will build the proposed ships.

This report discusses the process of naming Navy ships, which have traditionally been chosen and announced by the Secretary of the Navy. Congress in recent years has proposed, and sometimes passed, legislation regarding the naming of specific ships.

For the 2010 ANS Embedded Topical Meeting on Decommissioning, Decontamination and Reutilization and Technology, Savannah River National Laboratory's Mike Serrato reported initial information on the newly developed specialty grout materials necessary to satisfy all requirements associated with in-situ decommissioning of P-Reactor and R-Reactor at the U.S. Department of Energy's Savannah River Site. Since that report, both projects have been successfully completed and extensive test data on both fresh properties and cured properties has been gathered and analyzed for a total of almost 191,150 m{sup 3} (250,000 yd{sup 3}) of new materials placed. The focus of this paper is to describe the (1) special grout mix for filling the P-Reactor vessel (RV) and (2) the new flowable structural fill materials used to fill the below grade portions of the facilities. With a wealth of data now in hand, this paper also captures the test results and reports on the performance of these new materials. Both reactors were constructed and entered service in the early 1950s, producing weapons grade materials for the nation's defense nuclear program. R-Reactor was shut down in 1964 and the P-Reactor in 1991. In-situ decommissioning (ISD) was selected for both facilities and performed as Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensations …