A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (Defense), through its Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan (CSTC-A) and with the Department of State (State), directs international efforts to train and equip Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). As part of these efforts, the U.S. Army Security Assistance Command (USASAC) and the Navy spent about $120 million to procure small arms and light weapons for ANSF. International donors also provided weapons. GAO analyzed whether Defense can account for these weapons and ensure ANSF can safeguard and account for them. GAO reviewed Defense and State documents on accountability procedures, reviewed contractor reports on ANSF training, met with U.S. and Afghan officials, observed accountability practices, analyzed inventory records, and attempted to locate a random sample of weapons."

This report discusses the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group, which is a regional development bank (RDB) "dedicated to combating poverty and improving the lives of people of the continent." It comprises three lending facilities: the market rate facility, the AfDB; a concessional lending facility, the African Development Fund; and a trust fund established by Nigeria to lend to low-income African countries. The Bank has 53 African members, as well as 24 non-regional members, including the United States.

The purpose of this assessment is to compare underwater and above water settler sludge sampling methods to determine if the added cost for underwater sampling for the sole purpose of worker dose reductions is justified. Initial planning for sludge sampling included container, settler and knock-out-pot (KOP) sampling. Due to the significantly higher dose consequence of KOP sludge, a decision was made to sample KOP underwater to achieve worker dose reductions. Additionally, initial plans were to utilize the underwater sampling apparatus for settler sludge. Since there are no longer plans to sample KOP sludge, the decision for underwater sampling for settler sludge needs to be revisited. The present sampling plan calls for spending an estimated $2,500,000 to design and construct a new underwater sampling system (per A21 C-PL-001 RevOE). This evaluation will compare and contrast the present method of above water sampling to the underwater method that is planned by the Sludge Treatment Project (STP) and determine if settler samples can be taken using the existing sampling cart (with potentially minor modifications) while maintaining doses to workers As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) and eliminate the need for costly redesigns, testing and personnel retraining.

Water quality is a major concern with regard to development of coalbed methane (CBM) in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming. Large quantities of water are being produced and discharged as a by-product in the process of releasing natural gas from coal. Current practices of discharging large volumes of water into drainage channels or using it to irrigate cropland areas has the potential to elevate salinity and sodicity in soils. Elevated salinity affects the ability of plants to uptake water to facilitate biochemical processes such as photosynthesis and plant growth. Elevated sodicity in irrigation water adversely affects soil structure necessary for water infiltration, nutrient supply, and aeration. Salinity and sodicity concentrations are important in that a sodic soil can maintain its structure if the salinity level is maintained above the threshold electrolyte concentration. In this study, cropland soil and CBM water were treated with gypsum and sulfur. Changes in soil chemistry among different treatments were monitored using a split plot experiment. The CBM water used for irrigation had an EC of 1380 {micro}S cm{sup -1} and SAR of 24.3 mmol{sup 1/2} L{sup -1/2}. Baseline and post treatment soil samples were collected to a depth of 60 cm within each study plot, …

This report discusses U.S. policy and legislation in response to Pyongyang's human rights record. North Korea's systematic violation of its citizens' human rights and the plight of North Koreans trying to escape their country have been well documented in multiple reports issued by governments and other international bodies.

The production of energy feedstocks and fuels requires substantial water input. Not only do biofuel feedstocks like corn, switchgrass, and agricultural residues need water for growth and conversion to ethanol, but petroleum feedstocks like crude oil and oil sands also require large volumes of water for drilling, extraction, and conversion into petroleum products. Moreover, in many cases, crude oil production is increasingly water dependent. Competing uses strain available water resources and raise the specter of resource depletion and environmental degradation. Water management has become a key feature of existing projects and a potential issue in new ones. This report examines the growing issue of water use in energy production by characterizing current consumptive water use in liquid fuel production. As used throughout this report, 'consumptive water use' is the sum total of water input less water output that is recycled and reused for the process. The estimate applies to surface and groundwater sources for irrigation but does not include precipitation. Water requirements are evaluated for five fuel pathways: bioethanol from corn, ethanol from cellulosic feedstocks, gasoline from Canadian oil sands, Saudi Arabian crude, and U.S. conventional crude from onshore wells. Regional variations and historic trends are noted, as are opportunities …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "A timing difference between cash in- and outflows poses challenges for the Department of the Treasury. Increased volatility of monthly cash flows may lead to unexpected short-term debt issuance and hence increased borrowing. While Social Security payments made at the start of the month will diminish gradually in coming years, start-of month payments to Medicare plan sponsors for Medicare Advantage and Part D benefits are projected to grow. As requested, this report (1) describes how Treasury, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and plan sponsors operate under the current payment schedule; (2) identifies timing options; and (3) describes potential implications for Treasury, CMS, and Medicare. GAO analyzed Treasury cash flows, and interviewed Treasury, CMS officials, and plan sponsor representatives."

Structural chromosome aberrations are hallmarks of many human genetic diseases. The precise mapping of translocation breakpoints in tumors is important for identification of genes with altered levels of expression, prediction of tumor progression, therapy response, or length of disease-free survival as well as the preparation of probes for detection of tumor cells in peripheral blood. Similarly, in vitro fertilization (IVF) and preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) for carriers of balanced, reciprocal translocations benefit from accurate breakpoint maps in the preparation of patient-specific DNA probes followed by a selection of normal or balanced oocytes or embryos. We expedited the process of breakpoint mapping and preparation of case-specific probes by utilizing physically mapped bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) clones. Historically, breakpoint mapping is based on the definition of the smallest interval between proximal and distal probes. Thus, many of the DNA probes prepared for multi-clone and multi-color mapping experiments do not generate additional information. Our pooling protocol described here with examples from thyroid cancer research and PGD accelerates the delineation of translocation breakpoints without sacrificing resolution. The turnaround time from clone selection to mapping results using tumor or IVF patient samples can be as short as three to four days.

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians was awarded a grant under the U.S. Department of Energy Tribal Energy Program (TEP) to develop a Tribal Strategic Energy Plan (SEP). The grant, awarded under the “First Steps” phase of the TEP, supported the development of a SEP that integrates with the Tribe’s plans for economic development, preservation of natural resources and the environment, and perpetuation of Tribal heritage and culture. The Tribe formed an Energy Committee consisting of members from various departments within the Tribal government. This committee, together with its consultant, the South Carolina Institute for Energy Studies, performed the following activities: • Develop the Tribe’s energy goals and objectives • Establish the Tribe’s current energy usage • Identify available renewable energy and energy efficiency options • Assess the available options versus the goals and objectives • Create an action plan for the selected options

It is shown that Fermi-Dirac statistics is guaranteed by the Dirac current, from which spin-dependent quantum velocity fields and spin-dependent quantum trajectories can be inferred. Pauli's exclusion principle is demonstrated using the spin-dependent quantum trajectories. The Dirac current, unlike the Schroedinger current, is nonzero for stationary bound states due to the permanent magnetic moment of the electron. It is of order c{sup 0} in agreement with observation that Fermi-Dirac statistics is independent of electronic velocity. In summary the physical basis for exchange-correlation is found in Dirac's equation, although Schroedinger's equation may be used to evaluate the Dirac current in the nonrelativistic regime of electronic velocity.

Current research projects have focused Environmental Biosciences Program (EBP) talent and resources on providing the scientific basis for risk-based standards, risk-based decision making and the accelerated clean-up of widespread environmental hazards. These hazards include trichloroethylene, low-dose ionizing radiation (gamma and neutron) and alpha radiation from plutonium. Trichloroethylene research has been conducted as a joint collaborative effort with the University of Georgia. Work on the trichloroethylene research projects has been slowed as a result of funding uncertainties. The impact of these funding uncertainties has been discussed with the United States Department of Energy (DOE). Laboratory work has been completed on several trichloroethylene risk assessment projects, and these projects have been brought to a close. Plans for restructuring the performance schedule of the remaining trichloroethylene projects have been submitted to the department. A comprehensive manuscript on the scientific basis of trichloroethylene risk assessment is in preparation. Work on the low-dose radiation risk assessment projects is also progressing at a slowed rate as a result of funding uncertainties. It has been necessary to restructure the proponency and performance schedule of these projects, with the project on Low-Dose Radiation: Epidemiology Risk Models transferred to DOE Office of Science proponency under a separate funding instrument. …

Residual elastic strain in naturally deformed, quartz-containing rocks can be measured quantitatively in a petrographic thin section with high spatial resolution using Laue microdiffraction with white synchrotron x-rays. The measurements with a resolution of one micrometer allow the quantitative determination of the deviatoric strain tensor as a function of position within the crystal investigated. The observed equivalent strain values of 800-1200 microstrains represent a lower bound of the actual preserved residual strain in the rock, since the stress component perpendicular to the cut sample surface plane is released. The measured equivalent strain translates into an equivalent stress in the order of {approx} 50 MPa.

This report identifies programs administered by federal agencies to provide a range of assistance to individual victims; state, territorial, and local governments; and non-governmental entities after major disasters, including certain terrorist attacks. It provides brief descriptive information to help congressional offices determine which programs bear further consideration in the planning, organization, or implementation of recovery operations.

Daily publication of the U.S. Office of the Federal Register contains rules and regulations, proposed legislation and rule changes, and other notices, including "Presidential proclamations and Executive Orders, Federal agency documents having general applicability and legal effect, documents required to be published by act of Congress, and other Federal agency documents of public interest" (p. ii). Table of Contents starts on page iii.

This report provides a brief overview of federal statutes and where to find them, both in print and on the Internet.

This report provides a brief overview of the key provisions related to education programs that are or will be administered by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) that were included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) under Division A, Title VIII, Department of Education, and under Title XIV, State Fiscal Stabilization Fund. It also includes a discussion of relevant provisions that were included in the House and Senate bills.

GeoChip is a comprehensive functional gene array that targets key functional genes involved in the geochemical cycling of N, C, and P, sulfate reduction, metal resistance and reduction, and contaminant degradation. Studies have shown the GeoChip to be a sensitive, specific, and high-throughput tool for microbial community analysis that has the power to link geochemical processes with microbial community structure. However, several challenges remain regarding the development and applications of microarrays for microbial community analysis.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The nation's highway transportation system is vast and open--vehicles and their operators can move freely and with almost no restrictions. Securing the U.S. highway infrastructure system is a responsibility shared by federal, state and local government, and the private sector. Within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has primary responsibility for ensuring the security of the sector. GAO was asked to assess the progress DHS has made in securing the nation's highway infrastructure. This report addresses the extent to which federal entities have conducted and coordinated risk assessments; DHS has developed a risk-based strategy; and stakeholders, such as state and local transportation entities, have taken voluntary actions to secure highway infrastructure -- and the degree to which DHS has monitored such actions. To conduct this work, GAO reviewed risk assessment results and TSA's documented security strategy, and conducted interviews with highway stakeholders."

Antimatter exists! We routinely make it in laboratories. For every familiar particle type we find a matching antiparticle with opposite charge, but exactly the same mass. For example, a positron with positive charge has the same mass as an electron; an antiproton with negative charge has the same mass as a proton. Antimatter occurs naturally all over the universe wherever high-energy particles collide. The laws of physics for antimatter are very, very similar to those for antimatter--so far we know only one tiny difference in them, a detail of the weak interactions of quarks that earned Makoto Kobayashi and Toshihide Maskawa a share of the 2008 Nobel Prize for Physics. Our understanding of the early Universe also tells us that after inflation ended equal amounts of matter and antimatter were produced. Today there's a lot of matter in the universe, but very little antimatter. This leaves a big question for cosmology. How did matter gain the upper hand over antimatter? It's a question at the root of our existence. Without this excess, there would be no stars, no Earth, and no us! When a particle meets its antiparticle, they annihilate each other in a flash of radiation. This process removed …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, authorizes the federal government to enter into agreements with state and local law enforcement agencies to train officers to assist in identifying those individuals who are in the country illegally. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is responsible for supervising state and local officers under this program. GAO was asked to review this program. This report reviews (1) the extent to which ICE has designed controls to govern 287(g) program implementation; and (2) how program resources are being used and the activities, benefits, and concerns reported by participating agencies. GAO reviewed memorandums of agreement (MOA) between ICE and the 29 program participants as of September 1, 2007. GAO compared controls ICE designed to govern the 287(g) program with criteria in GAO's Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government. GAO interviewed officials from both ICE and participating agencies on program implementation, resources, and results."

This report focuses on relations between the United States and India. India is South Asia's dominant actor with more than one billion citizens, one that many analysts view as a potential counterweight to China's growing clout.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau within the Department of the Treasury, relies extensively on its own computer systems, as well as those at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Treasury Communications System (TCS), to administer the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and fulfill its mission of safeguarding the U.S. financial system from financial crimes. Effective information security controls over these systems are essential to ensuring that BSA data, which contains sensitive financial information used by law enforcement agencies to prosecute financial crime, is protected from inappropriate or deliberate misuse, improper disclosure, or destruction. GAO evaluated whether security controls that effectively protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the information and systems that support FinCEN's mission have been implemented. To do this, GAO examined security policies and controls for systems at three organizations."

This report reviews hundreds of instances in which the United States has utilized military forces abroad in situations of military conflict or potential conflict to protect U.S. citizens or promote U.S. interests.

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