Report which discusses issues related to the North Atlantic Trade Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU) including the level of involvement of the entities in using political and military actions to defend against terrorism and proliferation, the types of military forces necessary, the role of the EU in crisis management, the appropriateness of decision-making procedures to respond to emerging threats, and the role of other international institutions.

This paper presents results of a study of the behavior of technetium-99 (Tc-99) during high level waste (HLW) processing operations at Savannah River Site (SRS). Its behavior during HLW processing is important to understand because Tc-99 can fractionate in the waste and appear in both the sludge and the salt tanks at SRS. It can also be soluble in groundwaters and thus is an important radionuclide that may dictate how much waste has to be removed from a tank to prepare it for permanent closure. The HLW processing steps considered in this study are: (1) The initial caustic neutralization of the acidic waste streams generated in the SRS canyons to prepare the waste for storage in the mild steel tanks in the SRS Tank Farm. Waste that is insoluble in caustic precipitates while soluble elements remain in the supernates. At SRS insoluble components are segregated into sludge tanks and soluble components into the salt tanks. (2) The operations in the SRS Tank Farm that wash the sludge in preparation for immobilization for permanent disposal. (3) The sludge immobilization process in the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) that solidifies the solids into a stable borosilicate glass. The data in this study …

This report discusses federal programs aimed at promoting farmers’ markets. Policy issues include the extent to which the programs contribute to the markets’ success, and the need if any for additional governmental support.

At the Savannah River Site (SRS) the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) has been immobilizing SRS's radioactive high-level waste (HLW) sludge into a borosilicate glass for approximately nine years. Currently the DWPF is immobilizing HLW sludge in Macrobatch 4 (MB4). Each macrobatch is nominally five hundred thousand gallons of HLW and produces nominally five hundred stainless steel canisters two feet in diameter ten feet tall filled with the borosilicate glass. This paper presents results of the characterization of a sample of MB4 glass taken directly from the pour stream of the DWPF melter during the filling of the canister S02312. This canister was the 275th canister filled during immobilizing MB4. The purpose of the sample was to confirm that the leachability of the glass in a standard ASTM test was less than the leachability criterion set forth in the Waste Acceptance Product Specifications (WAPS) for vitrified waste forms for permanent disposal in a Federal geologic repository. The sample was sent to the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) for characterization.

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It is unclear whether making a “.xxx” domain mandatory would violate the First Amendment. Some propose making use of a “.xxx” domain voluntary, but others propose that Congress make it mandatory. The latter proposal raises the question whether a mandatory separate domain would violate the First Amendment, and this report focuses on that question.

Congress has recently focused legislative attention on narrow bills to extend or modify selected Clean Water Act (CWA) programs, rather than taking up comprehensive proposals. In the 109th Congress, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has approved S. 1400, a bill authorizing $20 billion in federal grants to capitalize state clean water infrastructure loan programs. Also, a House committee has approved bills to reauthorize several Clean Water Act programs: H.R. 624 would provide $1.5 billion in grants over six years for sewer overflow projects; H.R. 1359 would extend a pilot program for alternative water source projects; H.R. 1721 would reauthorize coastal water quality programs; and H.R. 3963 would extend the Long Island Sound Program.

A review is presented of recent advances in optical imaging and spectroscopy and the use of light for addressing breast cancer issues. Spectroscopic techniques offer the means to characterize tissue components and obtain functional information in real time. Three-dimensional optical imaging of the breast using various illumination and signal collection schemes in combination with image reconstruction algorithms may provide a new tool for cancer detection and monitoring of treatment.

The chemical vapor deposition and properties of the boron-rich semiconductors B12As2 and B12P2 on 6H-SiC(0001) and silicon substrates were investigated. Crystalline, stoichiometric films were deposited between 1200 C and 1500 C using two types of reactants, hydrides (B2H6 and AsH3) for B12As2 and halides (BBr3 and PBr3) for B12P2. 6H-SiC proved to be the better substrate for B12As2 heteroepitaxy, in terms of the residual impurity concentrations. Films on Si substrates suffered from high concentrations of Si (up to 4at.%); in contrast, the Si and C concentrations in the B12As2 films deposited on 6H-SiC at 1300 C were at or below the detection limits of secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). The deposition temperature was significant as films deposited at 1450 C contained high residual C and Si concentrations (>1020 cm-3), probably due to the decomposition of the substrate. The hydrogen concentration in all B12As2 films was relatively high, with a minimum concentration of 3x1019 cm-3 in undoped B12As2. SIMS measurements showed that the hydrogen concentration was directly proportional to and tracked the Si concentration, reaching values as high as 3 x 1020 cm-3. The structural properties of the B12As2 films were characterized by x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The FWHM …

The work presented in this report consists of a compilation of individual activity reports sent to BSC at the conclusion of the FY04 fiscal year. A chapter is dedicated for each individual activity, and describes the accomplishments at the time of writing the original reports, and includes experimental data when appropriate. It is important to note that since work for most of the activities was intended for completion in FY05, no DTN numbers are given in the present report and the results presented here are to be considered preliminary at the time of their writing. Information and results presented in the FY05 Summary Report (UCRL-TR-217339) are more comprehensive and complete and supersede those given in the present report. The five activities addressed in this report are: (1) Preliminary evaluation of burnished and peened samples-metallurgy; (2) Preliminary heat-to-heat variability study-metallurgical; (3) Evaluation of FY00 mockup samples-metallurgy; (4) Weld stability with thick prototypical welds; and (5) Effect of solution annealing onweld metallurgy.

This report examines the key factors that shape French foreign policy. From that context, it analyzes some of the reasons for the tensions in and the accomplishments of U.S.-French relations.

This report discusses notable majority and dissenting opinions written by Judge Alito relating to immigration.

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The Nanoscale Synthesis and Characterization Laboratory's (NSCL) primary mission is to create and advance interdisciplinary research and development opportunities in nanoscience and technology. The initial emphasis of the NSCL has been on development of scientific solutions in support of target fabrication for the NIF laser and other stockpile stewardship experimental platforms. Particular emphasis has been placed on the design and development of innovative new materials and structures for use in these targets. Projects range from the development of new high strength nanocrystalline alloys to graded density materials to high Z nanoporous structures. The NSCL also has a mission to recruit and train personnel for Lab programs such as the National Ignition Facility (NIF), Defense and Nuclear Technologies (DNT), and Nonproliferation, Arms control and International security (NAI). The NSCL continues to attract talented scientists to the Laboratory.

Report on the military retirement system, including benefits, disability, budget, costs, cash bonuses, and more.

This report provides brief summaries of the issues in the 2005 reauthorization legislation, including (1) the market in security futures, or futures contracts based on single stocks, which were authorized by the CFMA, but trade in much lower volumes than their proponents had hoped, (2) regulation of energy derivatives markets, where some see excessive price volatility and a lack of effective regulation, and (3) the legality of futures-like contracts based on foreign currency prices offered to retail investors.

Congressional oversight of policy implementation and administration, which has occurred throughout the U.S. government experience under the Constitution, takes a variety of forms and utilizes various techniques. These range from specialized investigations by select committees to annual appropriations hearings, and from informal communications between Members or congressional staff and executive personnel to the use of extra congressional mechanisms, such as offices of inspector general and study commissions. Oversight, moreover, is supported by a variety of authorities—the Constitution, public law, and chamber and committee rules—and is an integral part of the system of checks and balances between the legislature and the executive

We present a first principle investigation of the electronicstructure and the band gap bowing parameter of zinc-blende \AlGaN usingboth local density approximation and screened-exchange density functionalmethod. The calculated sX-LDA band gaps for GaN and AlN are 95 percentand 90 percent of the experimentally observed values, respectively, whileLDA under estimates the gaps to 62 percent and 70 percent. In contrast tothe gap itself, the band gap bowing parameter is found to be very similarin sX-LDA and LDA. Because of the difference in the conduction bandstructure, the direct to indirect band gap crossover is predicted tooccur at different Al concentration.

A new iterative method is developed to numerically calculate the periodic, matched beam envelope solution of the coupled Kapchinskij-Vladimirskij (KV) equations describing the transverse evolution of a beam in a periodic, linear focusing lattice of arbitrary complexity. Implementation of the method is straightforward. It is highly convergent and can be applied to all usual parameterizations of the matched envelope solutions. The method is applicable to all classes of linear focusing lattices without skew couplings, and also applies to parameters where the matched beam envelope is strongly unstable. Example applications are presented for periodic solenoidal and quadrupole focusing lattices. Convergence properties are summarized over a wide range of system parameters.

The increased presence of foreign students in graduate science and engineering programs and in the scientific workforce has been and continues to be of concern to some in the scientific community. Enrollment of U.S. citizens in graduate science and engineering programs has not kept pace with that of foreign students in those programs. In addition to the number of foreign students in graduate science and engineering programs, a significant number of university faculty in the scientific disciplines are foreign, and foreign doctorates are employed in large numbers by industry. This report examines these issues and discusses their policy implications.

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Major amendments to the Clean Air Act were among the first items on the agenda of the 109th Congress, with S. 131 (the Clear Skies Act) scheduled for markup by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee March 9. The most prominent air quality issues discussed in this report are; Clear Skies / Multi-Pollutant Legislation, Mercury from Power Plants, New Source Review (NSR), MTBE and Ethanol, Ozone Nonattainment Area Deadlines, Conformity of Transportation Plans and SIPs, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

This document defines the procedure necessary to qualify the airborne molecular cleanliness (AMC) of vacuum systems (enclosures or large components) that are placed within the National Ignition Facility (NIF) target chamber or are attached to it and communicate with it during vacuum operation. This test is specific to the NIF target chamber because the allowable time dependent rate of rise in the pore filling of a sol-gel coated SAW sensor is based on some nominal change-out time for the disposable debris shields. These debris shields will be sol-gel coated and thus they represent a means of ''pumping'' AMCs from the target chamber. The debris shield pumping rate sets the allowable change in pore filling with time specified in the test procedure. This document describes a two-part procedure that provides both a static measurement of sol-gel pore filling at the end of a 48-hour test period and a dynamic record of pore-filling measured throughout the test period. Successful qualification of a vacuum system requires that both the static and dynamic measurements meet the criteria set forth in Section 7 of this document.

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) is a 192 beam Nd-glass laser facility presently under construction at LLNL. When completed, NIF will produce 1.8 MJ, 500 TW of ultraviolet light making it the world's largest and most powerful laser system. NIF will be the world's preeminent facility for performing experiments for Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) and High Energy Density Science (HEDS). The Project, begun in 1995, is over 80% complete. The building and the beam path are essentially complete. Nearly all of the functionality of the laser subsystems has been demonstrated. NIF has demonstrated on a single beam basis that it meets its performance goals and shown the laser's precision and flexibility for pulse shaping, pointing, and timing. Beam conditioning techniques, important for target performance, were also demonstrated. The focal spot can be tailored to user specifications using phase plates. Temporal smoothing using smoothing by spectral dispersion (SSD) as well as polarization smoothing was demonstrated. The remaining work is mostly to complete the optics and install them in the beam path and complete the utilities. Presently, eight beams have been activated through the amplifiers and spatial filters to the switchyard wall. Over 150 kJ of 1{omega} light has been produced with …