In December of 2005 a series of experiments were performed at the U400 Cyclotron at the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions in Dubna, Russia, using the reaction {sup 243}Am ({sup 48}Ca,3n) {sup 288}115 which, after a sequence of five alpha decays, produces a long-lived ({approx}1d) fission activity that had been detected previously in experiments using the Dubna Gas Filled Recoil Separator (DGFRS). These experiments were attempts to establish the elemental identity of the fissioning species as dubnium (element 105), which in turn confirms the identity of the original parent nucleus as element 115 through genetic correlation of the subsequent alpha decays. A series of approximately 24-hour bombardments were followed by chemical separations designed to isolate the Group Four and Five chemical fractions, and then separate the Nb and Ta fractions, which are Group Five homologues of dubnium and should therefore behave chemically similar. The samples were prepared for alpha and fission measurement and counted for an extended period of time. Fission events were detected in the Ta-like fractions only, which correspond to the fission coming from either the {sup 268}Db isotope directly or long-lived electron-capture decay in {sup 268}Db followed by a short half-life fission of {sup 268}Rf. In May …

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.

This report provides information about the Vulnerabilities and Policy Issues for Congress from Botnets, Cyber-crime, and Cyber-terrorism.

This report provides information about the Regulatory and Policy Issues Broadband over Power lines.

The Central Asian states (Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) face common security challenges from crime, corruption, terrorism, and faltering commitments to economic and democratic reforms. This report contains information on Central Asia's external security context, security problems and progress, border tensions, crime and corruption, economic and defense security, implications for U.S. interests, U.S. security assistance, and related issues and figures.

This report is on A Civilian Reserve for Stabilization and Reconstruction Abroad: Summary of a Workshop on U.S. Proposals and International Experiences and Related Issues for Congress.

This report provides an overview of the complexities of the Copyright Act's Provisions concerning music licensing in the digital age. Copyright law provides protection for original works of authorship by conferring certain exclusive rights upon their creators.

Aerosols generated from burning different plant fuels were characterized to determine relationships between chemical, optical and physical properties. Single scattering albedo ({omega}) and Angstrom absorption coefficients ({alpha}{sub ap}) were measured using a photoacoustic technique combined with a reciprocal nephelometer. Carbon-to-oxygen atomic ratios, sp{sup 2} hybridization, elemental composition and morphology of individual particles were measured using scanning transmission X-ray microscopy coupled with near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (STXM/NEXAFS) and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersion of X-rays (SEM/EDX). Particles were grouped into three categories based on sp2 hybridization and chemical composition. Measured {omega} (0.4-1.0 at 405 nm) and {alpha}{sub ap} (1.0-3.5) values displayed a fuel dependence. The category with sp{sup 2} hybridization >80% had values of {omega} (<0.5) and {alpha}{sub ap} ({approx}1.25) characteristic of light absorbing soot. Other categories with lower sp2 hybridization (20 to 60%) exhibited higher {omega} (>0.8) and {alpha}{sub ap} (1.0 to 3.5) values, indicating increased absorption spectral selectivity.

This report provides an Overview, Issues, and Options for Congress on Defense Acquisition.Department of defense activities to provide military capabilities for the defense of the nation are usually controversial and always complex.

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A new imaging high resolution x-ray crystal spectrometer (XCS) has been developed to measure continuous profiles of ion temperature and rotation velocity in fusion plasmas. Following proof-of-principle tests on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak and the NSTX spherical tokamak, and successful testing of a new silicon, pixilated detector with 1 MHz count rate capability per pixel, an imaging XCS is being designed to measure full profiles of Ti and vφ on C-Mod. The imaging XCS design has also been adopted for ITER. Ion-temperature uncertainty and minimum measurable rotation velocity are calculated for the C-Mod spectrometer. The affects of x-ray and uclear-radiation background on the measurement uncertainties are calculated to predict performance on ITER.

This report provides information about The Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act on Digital Surveillance. CALEA is intended to preserve the ability of law enforcement officials to conduct electronic surveillance effectively and efficiently.

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This report explains the different measures of the U.S. government debt, discusses the historical growth in the debt, identifies the current owners of the debt, presents comparisons with government debt in other countries, and examines the potential economic risks associated with a growing federal debt.

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for ensuring the safety of roughly 80 percent of the U.S. food supply, including $417 billion worth of domestic food and $49 billion in imported food annually. The recent outbreaks of E. coli in spinach, Salmonella in peanut butter, and contamination in pet food highlight the risks posed by the accidental contamination of FDA-regulated food products. Changing demographics and consumption patterns underscore the urgency for effective food safety oversight. In response to these challenges, in November 2007, FDA and others released plans that discuss the oversight of food safety. FDA's Food Protection Plan sets a framework for food safety oversight. In addition, FDA's Science Board released FDA Science and Mission at Risk, which concluded that FDA does not have the capacity to ensure the safety of the nation's food supply. This testimony focuses on (1) federal oversight of food safety as a high-risk area that needs a governmentwide reexamination, (2) FDA's opportunities to better leverage its resources, (3) FDA's Food Protection Plan, and (4) tools that can help agencies to address management challenges. To address these issues, GAO interviewed FDA …

This report provides Budget and Statutory history related to the Food and Drug Administration from FY1980 through FY2007.

This report provides information about the Possible Issues for Congressional Oversight on the Homeland Security Advisory System. The homeland security advisory system is a color-coded terrorist threat warning system administered by the DHS.

This report contains information on the federal response to homelessness, including programs within different federal agencies, current issues relating to homelessness that are being considered by Congress, legislation enacted in the 110th Congress, and federal funding.

This project employed a combination of in silico modeling and physiological studies to begin the construction of models that could predict the activity of Geobacter species under different environmental conditions. A major accomplishment of the project was the development of the first genome-based models of organisms known environmental relevance. This included the modeling of two Geobacter species and two species of Pelobacter. Construction of these models required increased sophistication in the annotation of the original draft genomes as well as collection of physiological data on growth yields, cell composition, and metabolic reactions. Biochemical studies were conducted to determine whether proposed enzymatic reactions were in fact expressed. During this process we developed an Automodel Pipeline process to accelerate future model development of other environmentally relevant organisms by using bioinformatics techniques to leverage predicted protein sequences and the Genomatica database containing a collection of well-curated metabolic models. The Automodel Pipeline was also used for iterative updating of the primary Geobacter model of G. sulfurreducens to expand metabolic functions or to add alternative pathways. Although each iteration of the model does not lead to another publication, it is an invaluable resource for hypothesis development and evaluation of experimental data. In order to develop …

The Integrated Status and Effectiveness Monitoring Program (ISEMP - BPA project No.2003-017-00) has been created as a cost effective means of developing protocols and new technologies, novel indicators, sample designs, analytical, data management and communication tools and skills, and restoration experiments that support the development of a region-wide Research, Monitoring and Evaluation (RME) program to assess the status of anadromous salmonid populations, their tributary habitat and restoration and management actions. The most straightforward approach to developing a regional-scale monitoring and evaluation program would be to increase standardization among status and trend monitoring programs. However, the diversity of species and their habitat, as well as the overwhelming uncertainty surrounding indicators, metrics, and data interpretation methods, requires the testing of multiple approaches. Thus, the approach ISEMP has adopted is to develop a broad template that may differ in the details among subbasins, but one that will ultimately lead to the formation of a unified RME process for the management of anadromous salmonid populations and habitat across the Columbia River Basin. ISEMP has been initiated in three pilot subbasins, the Wenatchee/Entiat, John Day, and Salmon. To balance replicating experimental approaches with the goal of developing monitoring and evaluation tools that apply as broadly …

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This report explains how countries are represented at the IMF, discusses the reform agenda, analyzes various options to reform the quota system, and evaluates the role of Congress.