This report discusses California's current hydrological situation and provides background on regulatory restrictions affecting California water deliveries, as well as on the long-established state water rights system, which also results in uneven water deliveries in times of shortages.

This report explores various aspects of the Chinese economy, including specific policies that some Members of Congress consider a form of currency manipulation, the U.S.-China economic relationship, and the state of the Chinese economy with respect to the current global economic crisis.

This report gives an overview of the federal debt limit, its history, and recent increases.

Ferroelectrics and other materials that exhibit spontaneous polar ordering have demonstrated immense promise for applications ranging from non-volatile memories to microelectromechanical systems. However, experimental evidence of polar ordering and effective synthetic strategies for accessing these materials are lacking for low-dimensional nanomaterials. Here, we demonstrate the synthesis of size-controlled nanocrystals of the polar material germanium telluride (GeTe) using colloidal chemistry and provide the first direct evidence of room-temperature polar ordering in nanocrystals less than 5 nm in size using aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy. Synchrotron x-ray diffraction and Raman studies demonstrate a sizeable polar distortion and a reversible size-dependent polar phase transition in these nanocrystals. The stability of polar ordering in solution-processible nanomaterials suggests an economical avenue to Tbit/in2-density non-volatile memory devices and other applications.

This document presents the differences between two HLW glass formulation models (GFM): The 1996 GFM and 2009 GFM. A glass formulation model is a collection of glass property correlations and associated limits, as well as model validity and solubility constraints; it uses the pretreated HLW feed composition to predict the amount and composition of glass forming additives necessary to produce acceptable HLW glass. The 2009 GFM presented in this report was constructed as a nonlinear optimization calculation based on updated glass property data and solubility limits described in PNNL-18501 (2009). Key mission drivers such as the total mass of HLW glass and waste oxide loading are compared between the two glass formulation models. In addition, a sensitivity study was performed within the 2009 GFM to determine the effect of relaxing various constraints on the predicted mass of the HLW glass.

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The ability to mobilize and transport non-Newtonian waste is essential to advance the closure of highly radioactive storage tanks. Recent waste removal operations from Tank 12H at the Savannah River Site (SRS) encountered sludge mixtures with a yield stress too high to pump. The waste removal equipment for Tank 12H was designed to mobilize and transport a diluted slurry mixture through an underground 550m long (1800 ft) 0.075m diameter (3 inch) pipeline. The transfer pump was positioned in a well casing submerged in the sludge slurry. The design allowed for mobilized sludge to enter the pump suction while keeping out larger tank debris. Data from a similar tank with known rheological properties were used to size the equipment. However, after installation and startup, field data from Tank 12H confirmed the yield stress of the slurry to exceed 40 Pa, whereas the system is designed for 10 Pa. A revision to the removal strategy was required, which involved metered dilution, blending, and mixing to ensure effective and safe transfer performance. The strategy resulted in the removal of over 255,000 kgs of insoluble solids with four discrete transfer evolutions for a total transfer volume of 2400 m{sup 3} (634,000 gallons) of sludge …

Data from ITS was analyzed to understand the issues at LLNL and to identify issues that may require additional management attention and these that meet the threshold for reporting to the DOE Noncompliance Tracking System (NTS). In this report we discuss assessments and issues entered in ITS and compare the number and type presently entered in ITS to previous time periods. Issues reported in ITS were evaluated and discussed. The analysis identified two noncompliances that meet the threshold for reporting to the DOE NTS. All of the data in ITS is analyzed; however, the primary focus of this report is to meet requirements for performance analysis of specific functional areas. The DOE Office of Enforcement expects LLNL to 'implement comprehensive management and independent assessments that are effective in identifying deficiencies and broader problems in safety and security programs, as well as opportunities for continuous improvement within the organization' and to 'regularly perform assessments to evaluate implementation of the contractor's's processes for screening and internal reporting.' LLNL has a self-assessment program, described in the document applicable during this time period, ES&H Manual Document 4.1, that includes line, management and independent assessments. LLNL also has in place a process to identify and …

Efficient and robust Variable Relaxation Solver, based on pseudo-transient continuation, is developed to solve nonlinear anisotropic thermal conduction arising from fusion plasma simulations. By adding first and/or second order artificial time derivatives to the system, this type of method advances the resulting time-dependent nonlinear PDEs to steady state, which is the solution to be sought. In this process, only the stiffness matrix itself is involved so that the numerical complexity and errors can be greatly reduced. In fact, this work is an extension of integrating efficient linear elliptic solvers for fusion simulation on Cray XIE. Two schemes are derived in this work, first and second order Variable Relaxations. Four factors are observed to be critical for efficiency and preservation of solution's symmetric structure arising from periodic boundary condition: refining meshes in different coordinate directions, initializing nonlinear process, varying time steps in both temporal and spatial directions, and accurately generating nonlinear stiffness matrix. First finer mesh scale should be taken in strong transport direction; Next the system is carefully initialized by the solution with linear conductivity; Third, time step and relaxation factor are vertex-based varied and optimized at each time step; Finally, the nonlinear stiffness matrix is updated by just scaling …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For over 70 years, Social Security has been the foundation of retirement income for American workers and their families and has been instrumental in reducing poverty among the elderly. The Congressional Research Service estimates that if Social Security benefits did not exist, an estimated 44 percent of all elderly people would be poor today. Still, some people who receive Social Security retirement benefits remain vulnerable to poverty in old age. The elderly poverty rate in 2007 was 9.7 percent. In addition, the long-term financing shortfall currently facing the Social Security program is growing and has made reform of the program a priority for policy makers. Thus, the nation faces the challenge of improving long-term program solvency, while also ensuring benefit adequacy for economically vulnerable beneficiaries. Many Social Security reform proposals have suggested modifying the system to restore its financial balance by reducing benefits or increasing payroll or other taxes, and several also include options to address concerns about benefit adequacy for economically vulnerable groups of beneficiaries. Economically vulnerable beneficiaries generally have limited income from other sources, such as employer-sponsored pension plans or personal savings, and therefore depend heavily …

The United States and Soviet Union signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty in 1991; it entered into force in December 1994 and expired in December 2009. This report provides background information about the START Treaty and reviews the discussions about a possible successor to START. It also presents a range of alternatives that the United States and Russia might consider if they choose to follow START with a new framework for the arms control process.

The aim of the summer school is to nurture the next generation of scientists so that the community will have sufficient manpower to realize the next generation facility for rare-isotope beams (FRIB) and effectively use it when FRIB comes online. A special emphasis will be made to train Ph.D. students from US universities and young post-docs starting to work in one of the fields related to rare-isotope beams. The format of the school is morning lectures, given by prominent researchers in the field, followed by hands-on training sessions in the afternoon. The students will be instructed in how to produce a radioactive ion beam using the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory Coupled Cyclotron Facility. On the last day of the school they will have the opportunity to produce a beam. The School is an annual event and is jointly organized by the 88-Inch Cyclotron, ATLAS, HRIBF, N-Division/LLNL and NSCL, and with the exception of LLNL is rotating among these laboratories. This proposal is for subsistence support for graduate students and post-docs attending the school.

This work offers the first, thin, MEMS contact-stress (CS) sensor capable of accurate in situ measruement of time-varying, contact-stress between two solid interfaces (e.g. in vivo cartilage contact-stress and body armor dynamic loading). This CS sensor is a silicon-based device with a load sensitive diaphragm. The diaphragm is doped to create piezoresistors arranged in a full Wheatstone bridge. The sensor is similar in performance to established silicon pressure sensors, but it is reliably produced to a thickness of 65 {micro}m. Unlike commercial devices or other research efforts, this CS sensor, including packaging, is extremely thin (< 150 {micro}m fully packaged) so that it can be unobtrusively placed between contacting structures. It is built from elastic, well-characterized materials, providing accurate and high-speed (50+ kHz) measurements over a potential embedded lifetime of decades. This work explored sensor designs for an interface load range of 0-2 MPa; however, the CS sensor has a flexible design architecture to measure a wide variety of interface load ranges.

This report discusses the evolving economic and strategic architectures of Asia. One part of this evolving architecture is the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (TPP), a free trade agreement that includes nations on both sides of the Pacific.

The scintillation properties of BaBrI:Eu2+ are reported. Crystals were produced by the vertical Bridgman technique in a sealed quartz ampoule. Excellent scintillation properties were measured. A light yield of 81,0007 +- 3000 photons per MeV (ph/MeV) of absorbed gamma-ray energy was measured. An energy resolution (FWHM over peak position) of 4.870.5percent was observed for the 662keV full absorption peak. Pulsed X-ray luminescence measurements show two exponential decay components of 297 and 482 ns with a contribution to the total light output of 23percent and 77percent, respectively. Under X-ray and UV excitation, the emission corresponds to a broadband center at 413 nm. These initial values make BaBrI:Eu2+ one of the brightest and the fastest known Eu2+ doped scintillators.

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The decennial census is a constitutionally-mandated activity that produces data used to apportion congressional seats, redraw congressional districts, and help allocate billions of dollars in federal assistance. In March 2008, GAO designated the 2010 Census a high-risk area in part because of information technology (IT) shortcomings. The U.S. Census Bureau (Bureau) has since strengthened its risk management efforts and made other improvements; however, in March 2009, GAO noted that a number of challenges and uncertainties remained. This testimony discusses the Bureau's readiness for 2010 and covers: (1) the delivery of key IT systems, (2) preliminary findings on the results of address canvassing and the lessons learned from that operation that can be applied to subsequent field operations, and (3) the Bureau's progress in improving its cost estimation abilities. The testimony is based on previously issued and ongoing GAO work."

This report provides current statistical information, profiles the Afghanistan narcotics trade's participants, explores linkages between narcotics, insecurity, and corruption, and reviews U.S. and international policy responses since late 2001. The report also considers ongoing policy debates regarding the counternarcotics role of coalition military forces, poppy eradication, alternative livelihoods, and funding issues for Congress.

This report provides background information on the C-17 Aircraft program, including previous appropriations, related programs, and issues for Congress. The primary issue for Congress in FY2010 is whether to procure additional C-17s. An additional issue is whether to pass legislation relating to the airlift aircraft force structure. Congress's decisions on these issues could affect DOD capabilities and funding requirements and the U.S. military aircraft industrial base.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since fiscal year 2002, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have invested over $795 million in technologies to screen passengers at airport checkpoints. The DHS Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is responsible, with TSA, for researching and developing technologies, and TSA deploys them. GAO was asked to evaluate the extent to which (1) TSA used a risk-based strategy to prioritize technology investments; (2) DHS researched, developed, and deployed new technologies, and why deployment of the explosives trace portal (ETP) was halted; and (3) DHS coordinated research and development efforts with key stakeholders. To address these objectives, GAO analyzed DHS and TSA plans and documents, conducted site visits to research laboratories and nine airports, and interviewed agency officials, airport operators, and technology vendors."

Other written product issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This is a supplement to GAO-10-113. We obtained information from 13 selected federal departments and agencies on their current and planned climate change adaptation efforts as part of a broader review of climate change adaptation (see GAO-10-113). We present this information to provide a more complete picture of the activities that federal agencies consider to be related to climate change adaptation than has been available publicly. We obtained this information directly from the agencies participating in the U.S. Global Change Research Program. Importantly, we did not modify the content of the agency submissions (except to remove references to named individuals) or assess its validity. In addition, because this information represents the efforts of a selected group of federal agencies, the agency activities compiled in this report should not be considered a comprehensive list of all recent and ongoing climate change adaptation efforts across the federal government."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Changes in the climate attributable to increased concentrations of greenhouse gases may have significant impacts in the United States and the world. For example, climate change could threaten coastal areas with rising sea levels. Greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere will continue altering the climate system into the future, regardless of emissions control efforts. Therefore, adaptation--defined as adjustments to natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climate change--is an important part of the response to climate change. GAO was asked to examine (1) what actions federal, state, local, and international authorities are taking to adapt to a changing climate; (2) the challenges that federal, state, and local officials face in their efforts to adapt; and (3) actions that Congress and federal agencies could take to help address these challenges. We also discuss our prior work on similarly complex, interdisciplinary issues. This report is based on analysis of studies, site visits to areas pursuing adaptation efforts, and responses to a Web-based questionnaire sent to federal, state, and local officials."

The contents of this report detail the information related to U.S dairy market situation, current policies, and current regulatory issues.

This report provides information on the Lisbon Treaty and possible U.S.-EU implications that may be of interest to the 112th Congress.