Coal gasifier is one of the most promising solutions for clean fossil energy. Refractory thickness monitoring and online real-time temperature measurement is needed for improved reliability and advanced process control for current and future generation power plants. The objective of this program is to design and implement an optical fiber based sensing system that could potentially be used to monitor refractory wall thickness and temperature inside a coal gasifier. For the thickness monitoring, the system should be able to operate at temperatures up to 1000 C. For this temperature range, silica fiber can still work so it is chosen for the sensor design. The measurement is based on a photon counting optical time domain reflectometer. A narrow light pulse is launched into a silica fiber which could be embedded into the gasifier refractory wall, and is partially reflected by the far end of the fiber. The time of flight of the light pulse in the fiber then gives an indication of the position of the fiber end, which is a function of the wall thickness when the fiber is embedded. Results obtained show a measurement accuracy of {+-}2cm in environment of 1000 C with a saw cut fiber end. When …

This report presents brief test descriptions and analysis results for multiple, stress-level slug tests that were performed at selected test/depth intervals within well 399-3-21 as part of the 300-Area volatile organic compound characterization program. The test intervals were characterized as the borehole was advanced to its final drill depth (45.7 m) and before its completion as a monitor-well facility. The primary objective of the slug tests was to provide information pertaining to the vertical distribution of hydraulic conductivity with depth at this location and to select the final screen-depth interval for the monitor well. This type of characterization information is important for predicting/simulating contaminant migration (i.e., numerical flow/transport modeling) and designing proper monitor-well strategies within this area.

This report discusses the current political state of Afghanistan, as well as the Afghan government. This report also discusses Afghanistan's relationship with the United States, particularly U.S. efforts to urge President Hamid Karzai to address corruption within the Afghan government.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) established an area monitoring dosimeter program in accordance with Article 514 of the Department of Energy (DOE) Radiological Control Manual (RCM) in January 1993. This program is to minimize the number of areas requiring issuance of personnel dosimeters and to demonstrate that doses outside Radiological Buffer Areas are negligible. In accordance with 10 CFR Part 835.402 (a)(1)-(4) and Article 511.1 of the PNNL Radiological Control Program Description, personnel dosimetry shall be provided to 1) radiological workers who are likely to receive at least 100 mrem annually, and 2) declared pregnant workers, minors, and members of the public who are likely to receive at least 50 mrem annually. Program results for calendar years 1993-2005 confirm that personnel dosimetry is not needed for individuals located in areas monitored by the program.

This report provides information about the Data Mining and Homeland Security. Data mining has become one of the key features of the homeland security initiatives. Data mining can be a potential means to identify terrorist activities such as money transfer etc.

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The carbon isotope ratios of carbon dioxide fluxes from terrestrial ecosystems are key measurements needed to constrain interpretations of carbon sinks in North American carbon cycle analyses. The completed research was a multi-faceted effort addressing photosynthetic and respiratory isotope exchanges across the biosphere-atmosphere boundary at five AmeriFlux sites (Harvard Forest, Howland Forest, Rannalls Ranch, Niwot Ridge Forest, and Wind River Crane Site), spanning the dominant ecosystem types of the United States. The sampling and analysis protocols developed in this project have become the fundamental analytical approach for all sites measuring ecosystem isotope studies across the United States and Canada. It is the first network of long-term observations to characterize the isotopic composition of the biosphere-atmosphere CO2 flux. We focused on understanding the magnitude of changes in the carbon isotope ratio of respiration and of photosynthetic discrimination on seasonal and interannual bases. Focusing at AmeriFlux sites provided a direct link to NEE measurements associated with studies of the North American carbon cycle and an opportunity to provide mechanistic insights relating observed isotope changes and the controls over carbon sequestration and loss on seasonal and interannual bases. An additional component of our research linked directly with eddy covariance monitoring to partition NEE …

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A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 1986, an explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine destroyed the reactor building and released massive amounts of radioactive contamination. A temporary shelter was built over the damaged reactor to prevent further contamination. The United States is a major donor to an international project to build a new shelter to replace the existing one, which is badly deteriorating. GAO was asked to (1) assess the progress toward completing the new shelter, (2) review the cost estimates to complete the project, and (3) assess the U.S. role in overseeing and funding the project. To carry out its work, GAO analyzed program documents, interviewed U.S. and international program officials, and visited the Chernobyl nuclear power plant."

In this paper, we discuss some of the issues in obtaining high performance for block-structured adaptive mesh refinement software for partial differential equations. We show examples in which AMR scales to thousands of processors. We also discuss a number of metrics for performance and scalability that can provide a basis for understanding the advantages and disadvantages of this approach.

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Historically, domestic violence, sexual assaults, and stalking incidents have often been ignored by society and treated as private family matters. However, in 1984, Congress passed and the President signed the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) to, among other things, help prevent domestic violence and provide shelter and related assistance for victims. Grants funded under the act are administered by the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Administration for Children and Families and are available to states, Indian tribal governments and organizations, state domestic violence coalitions, and public and private nonprofit entities. In response to continued concerns about domestic violence as well as sexual assault and stalking incidents, Congress passed and the President signed the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in 1994. VAWA created new federal criminal laws and established additional grant programs within HHS and the Department of Justice (DOJ) for state, local, and Indian tribal governments and nonprofit organizations. These grant programs have various purposes, such as providing funding for direct services including emergency shelter, counseling, and legal services for victims of domestic violence, sexual assaults, and stalking across all segments of the population. …

This report discusses the radio frequency spectrum that is used for all forms of wireless communications, including cellular telephony, paging, personal communications service, radio and television broadcast, telephone radio relay, aeronautical and maritime radio navigation, and satellite command and control. The issues discussed here refer principally to spectrum management for terrestrial technologies.

In this paper we report on strangeness measurements in p+p, Au+Au and Cu+Cu collisions at different energies in the STAR detector at RHIC. We will focus on two momentum regions in particular: Firstly we look at strangeness enhancement in A+A collisions with respect to p+p. These yields are dominated by low transverse momentum. We compare the enhancements from Au+Au and Cu+Cu data at {radical}s{sub NN} = 200 GeV with Pb+Pb data at {radical}s{sub NN} = 17.2 GeV and find that the enhancement does not scale with N{sub part} as expected, but rather scales with N{sub part}{sup 1/3}, where N{sub part} represents the number of participants; We then examine {Lambda}/K{sub S}{sup 0} ratios at intermediate transverse momentum in both Au+Au and Cu+Cu data where we find a greater enhancement in Cu+Cu compared to Au+Au data when we compare integrated ratios between 1.5 < p{sub T} < 3.5 GeV/c.

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Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 seeks to ensure equal opportunity for persons with disabilities in employment, transportation, and other matters. ADA sets minimum standards for the accessibility of public transportation systems. For example, for persons unable to use a fixed-route bus or rail system due to disability, transit systems must provide service within three-quarters of a mile of the fixed-route service and during the same hours as the fixed-route service. In February 2001, the Bush Administration announced the New Freedom Initiative, a comprehensive program intended to extend and enhance efforts begun under ADA to help bring Americans with disabilities into mainstream life. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2005 there were about 40 million noninstitutionalized persons over the age of 5 with one or more disabilities. In August 2005, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act--A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) authorized the New Freedom program, to be administered by the Department of Transportation's Federal Transit Administration (FTA). This program is designed to support new public transportation services and public transportation alternatives beyond those required by ADA. Congress appropriated $77.2 million for the New …

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This annual operations report describes the requirements followed and activities conducted to inspect, monitor, and maintain the items installed during performance of the Waste Area Group 3, Operable Unit 3-13, Group 1, Tank Farm Interim Action, at the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center. This report describes inspection and monitoring activities fro the surface-sealed areas within the tank farm, concrete-lined ditches and culverts in and around the tank farm, the lift station, and the lined evaporation pond. These activities are intended to assure that the interim action is functioning adequately to meet the objectives stated in the Operable Unit 3-13, Record of Decision for the Group 1, Tank Farm Interim Action, (DOE/ID-10660) and as amended by the agreement to resolve dispute, which was effective in February 2003.

Of the numerous energy conversion options available for a space nuclear power plant (SNPP), one that shows promise in attaining reliable operation and high efficiency is the direct gas Brayton (GB) system. In order to increase efficiency, the GB system incorporates a recuperator that accounts for nearly half the weight of the energy conversion system (ECS). Therefore, development of a recuperator that is lighter and provides better performance than current heat exchangers could prove to be advantageous. The feasibility of a carbon-carbon (C/C) composite recuperator core has been assessed and a mass savings of 60% and volume penalty of 20% were projected. The excellent thermal properties, high-temperature capabilities, and low density of carbon-carbon materials make them attractive in the GB system, but development issues such as material compatibility with other structural materials in the system, such as refractory metals and superalloys, permeability, corrosion, joining, and fabrication must be addressed.

We present a novel approach to characterize the colliding-beam phase space at the interaction point of the energy-asymmetric PEP-II B-Factory. The method exploits the fact that the transverse-boost distribution of e{sup +}e{sup -} {yields} {mu}{sup +}{mu}{sup -} events reconstructed in the BABAR detector reflects that of the colliding electrons and positrons. The mean boost direction, when combined with the measured orientation of the luminous ellipsoid, determines the e{sup +}-e{sup -} crossing angles. The average angular spread of the transverse boost vector provides an accurate measure of the angular divergence of the incoming high-energy beam, confirming the presence of a sizeable dynamic-{beta} effect. The longitudinal and transverse dependence of the boost angular spread also allow to extract from the continuously-monitored distributions detailed information about the emittances and IP {beta}-functions of both beams during high-luminosity operation.

This report discusses a new foreign exchange system which is intended to allow more flexibility and to permit the international value of the yuan to be established by market forces.

This report provides an overview of selected topics which the 109th Congress may address in its examination of telecommunication issue.