The Hanford Seismic Assessment Program (HSAP) provides an uninterrupted collection of high-quality raw and processed seismic data from the Hanford Seismic Network for the U.S. Department of Energy and its contractors. The HSAP is responsible for locating and identifying sources of seismic activity and monitoring changes in the historical pattern of seismic activity at the Hanford Site. The data are compiled, archived, and published for use by the Hanford Site for waste management, natural phenomena hazards assessments, and engineering design and construction. In addition, the HSAP works with the Hanford Site Emergency Services Organization to provide assistance in the event of a significant earthquake on the Hanford Site. The Hanford Seismic Network and the Eastern Washington Regional Network consist of 44 individual sensor sites and 15 radio relay sites maintained by the Hanford Seismic Assessment Team. During fiscal year 2008, the Hanford Seismic Network recorded 1431 triggers on the seismometer system, which included 112 seismic events in the southeast Washington area and an additional 422 regional and teleseismic events. There were 74 events determined to be local earthquakes relevant to the Hanford Site. The highest-magnitude event (3.7 Mc) occurred on May 18, 2008, and was located approximately 17 km east …

The Northeast Regional Biomass Program successfully employed a three pronged approach to build the regional capacity, networks, and reliable information needed to advance biomass and bioenergy technologies and markets. The approach included support for state-based, multi-agency biomass working groups; direct technical assistance to states and private developers; and extensive networking and partnership-building activities to share objective information and best practices.

Our team of investigators from MIT (Michael Laub) and Stanford (Harley McAdams and Lucy Shapiro) conducted a multi-faceted, systematic experimental analysis of the 106 Caulobacter two-component signal transduction system proteins (62 histidine kinases and 44 response regulators) to understand how they coordinate cell cycle progression, metabolism, and response to environmental changes. These two-component signaling proteins were characterized at the genetic, biochemical, and genomic levels. The results generated by our laboratories have provided numerous insights into how Caulobacter cells sense and respond to a myriad of signals. As nearly all bacteria use two-component signaling for cell regulation, the results from this project help to deepen our general understanding of bacterial signal transduction. The tools and approaches developed can be applied to other bacteria. In particular, work from the Laub laboratory now enables the systematic, rational rewiring of two-component signaling proteins, a major advance that stands to impact synthetic biology and the development of biosensors and other designer molecular circuits. Results are summarized from our work. Each section lists publications and publicly-available resources which result from the work described.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is responsible for providing beneficiaries timely and accurate information about Medicare. Receiving nearly 30 million calls in 2007, 1-800-MEDICARE, operated by a contractor, is the most common way members of the public get program information. The help line provides services both to English-speaking and limited English proficiency (LEP) callers. In this report, GAO describes (1) the extent to which access performance standards and targets have been met by the current contractor, (2) the efforts by CMS to provide LEP callers access to help line services and wait times experienced by these callers, and (3) CMS's oversight of callers' access to 1-800-MEDICARE and the information's accuracy. To conduct this work, GAO reviewed documents and analyzed help line data through July 2008. In addition, GAO interviewed agency staff, industry experts, and officials at four federal agencies with high call volume contact centers."

This report examines the history of the Medicare Part B Premium. The report considers issues including the changing factors that go into determining the premium. The report also discusses the comparative cost adjustment program, the Part B deductible, and the Part A premium.

This manual describes the safe and cost effective operation, inspection, maintenance, and repair requirements for cranes, hoists, fork trucks, slings, rigging hardware, and hoisting equipment. It is intended to be a user's guide to requirements, codes, laws, regulations, standards, and practices that apply to Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and its subcontractors.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Although competitive oil and natural gas markets generally provide incentives for companies to invest in research and development (R&D), some industry experts believe these companies may underinvest in certain areas. A recent GAO report noted important criteria for the Department of Energy (DOE) to consider in evaluating its oil and natural gas R&D efforts--including the likelihood that industry would perform the research without federal funding. The Office of Management and Budget has raised similar concerns. In this context, GAO was asked to review (1) how much U.S. industry has invested in oil and natural gas R&D over the last 10 years, and the current focus of these activities; (2) how DOE's oil and natural gas R&D funding and activities compare with industry's; and (3) to what extent DOE ensures that its oil and natural gas R&D would not occur without federal funding. GAO reviewed DOE and U.S. industry data for oil and natural gas R&D spending, and interviewed DOE officials and representatives from various segments of the industry."

Setting the Foundation for Transforming the U.S. Energy System: Three Federal Action Plans for Near- and Long-term Success is a short document written for the incoming U.S. Federal Administration's Transistion Team. The document represents what we believe to be foundational elements of a broad campaign to make rapid progress towards these goals for the longterm transformation necessary to meet our national economic, security, and environmental goals. The three immediate action plans include: * Creating Tomorrow’s Electricity Infrastructure * Decarbonizing the Energy Economy *Enabling Science-Based Policy

The Laboratory Director is pleased to have the opportunity to present the 2008 Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) annual report. This is my first opportunity to do so, and only the second such report that has been issued. As will be obvious, SRNL has built upon the excellent start that was made with the LDRD program last year, and researchers have broken new ground in some important areas. In reviewing the output of this program this year, it is clear that the researchers implemented their ideas with creativity, skill and enthusiasm. It is gratifying to see this level of participation, because the LDRD program remains a key part of meeting SRNL's and DOE's strategic goals, and helps lay a solid scientific foundation for SRNL as the premier applied science laboratory. I also believe that the LDRD program's results this year have demonstrated SRNL's value as the EM Corporate Laboratory, having advanced knowledge in a spectrum of areas, including reduction of the technical risks of cleanup, separations science, packaging and transportation of nuclear materials, and many others. The research in support of Energy Security and National and Homeland Security has been no less notable. SRNL' s researchers have shown again …

The research project was related to the Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative and was in direct alignment with advancing knowledge in the area of Nuclear Fuel Development related to the use of TRISO fuels for high-temperature reactors. The importance of properly coating nuclear fuel pellets received a renewed interest for the safe production of nuclear power to help meet the energy requirements of the United States. High-temperature gas-cooled nuclear reactors use fuel in the form of coated uranium particles, and it is the coating process that was of importance to this project. The coating process requires four coating layers to retain radioactive fission products from escaping into the environment. The first layer consists of porous carbon and serves as a buffer layer to attenuate the fission and accommodate the fuel kernel swelling. The second (inner) layer is of pyrocarbon and provides protection from fission products and supports the third layer, which is silicon carbide. The final (outer) layer is also pyrocarbon and provides a bonding surface and protective barrier for the entire pellet. The coating procedures for the silicon carbide and the outer pyrocarbon layers require knowledge of the detailed kinetics of the reaction processes in the gas phase and at …

Critics of the conventional theory of biological evolution have asserted that while natural processes might result in some limited diversity, nothing fundamentally new can arise from 'random' evolution. In response, biologists such as Richard Dawkins have demonstrated that a computer program can generate a specific short phrase via evolution-like iterations starting with random gibberish. While such demonstrations are intriguing, they are flawed in that they have a fixed, pre-specified future target, whereas in real biological evolution there is no fixed future target, but only a complicated 'fitness landscape'. In this study, a significantly more sophisticated evolutionary scheme is employed to produce text segments reminiscent of a Charles Dickens novel. The aggregate size of these segments is larger than the computer program and the input Dickens text, even when comparing compressed data (as a measure of information content).

The meaning of the phrase 'constraint effect in fracture' has changed in the past two decades from 'contained plasticity' to a broader description of 'dependence of fracture toughness value on geometry of test specimen or structure'. This paper will first elucidate the fundamental mechanics reasons for the apparent 'constraint effects in fracture', followed by outlining a straightforward approach to overcoming this problem in both brittle (elastic) and ductile (elastic-plastic) fracture. It is concluded by discussing the major difference in constraint effect on fracture event in elastic and elastic-plastic materials.

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The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) decided at its scheduled meeting held on October 29 to lower the target rate for federal funds to 1% from 1½% set at its unscheduled meeting of October 8, 2008. In making its decision to reduce the target, the FOMC stressed the following factors: (1) the pace of economic growth appears to have slowed markedly owing importantly to a softening of consumer spending; (2) business equipment spending and industrial production have weakened; (3) economic slowdowns abroad have dampened the prospects for U.S. exports; (4) intensified strains in financial markets are also likely to further reduce spending; and (5) inflation prospects have improved due to declines in energy and other commodity prices. The next schedule meeting of the FOMC is set for December 11, 2008.

The Senate follows a well-established routine on the opening day of a new Congress. This report discusses the various opening-day procedures, including the swearing in of new members, administrative business, and election of the President pro tempore.

This report presents, first, recent developments and a brief history, economic rationale, and legal background leading to the establishment of the GSP. Second, the report presents a discussion of the U.S. implementation of the GSP. Third, the report presents an analysis of the U.S. program's effectiveness and the positions of various stakeholders. Fourth, implications of the expiration of the U.S. program and possible options for Congress are discussed.

The U.S. military is building up forces on the U.S. territory of Guam to increase deterrence and power projection for possible responses to crises and disasters, counterterrorism, and contingencies in support of South Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Taiwan, or elsewhere in Asia. But the defense buildup on Guam is moderate. Guam's role has increased with plans to withdraw some U.S. forces from Japan and South Korea. The buildup will cost $10.3 billion, with Japan contributing about 60% ($6.1 billion).

This report summarizes the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) and jurisdiction in cases against foreign defendants and analyzes the recent court of appeals decision. This report examines the legal bases for those dismissals.

This report provides a detailed history of mental health parity legislation, including a discussion of bills introduced in each Congress, and accompanying legislative action, including hearings, markups, and floor votes. This legislation is in response to concerns about the coverage of mental health benefits in group health plans, which is often much more restricted than the coverage of physical illness. Updated October 29, 2008.

This report discusses military pay and benefits. Debate continues over what kinds of pay and benefit increases are best for improving recruiting and retention. Of particular interest is the balance between across-the-board pay raises on the one hand, and ones targeted by grade, years of service, and occupational skill, on the other; and between cash compensation on the one hand and improvements in benefits such as housing, health care, and installation services on the other.

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The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) conducts U.S. civilian space and aeronautics activities. For FY2009, the Administration requested $17.614 billion for NASA, and increase of 1.8% from the FY2008 appropriation of $17.309 billion. The President's 2004 Moon/Mars Vision for Space Exploration is the major focus of NASA's activities. Issues for Congress regarding this goal include the development of new vehicles for human spaceflight, plans for the transition to these vehicles after the space shuttle is retired in 2010, and the balance in NASA's priorities between human space exploration and the agency's activities in science and aeronautics.

One of the activities associated with cleanup throughout the Department of Energy (DOE) complex is packaging radioactive materials into storage containers. Much of this work will be performed in high-radiation environments requiring fully remote operations, for which existing, proven systems do not currently exist. These conditions demand a process that is capable of producing acceptable (defect-free) welds on a consistent basis; the need to perform weld repair, under fully-remote operations, can be extremely costly and time consuming. Current closure welding technology (fusion welding) is not well suited for this application and will present risk to cleanup cost and schedule. To address this risk, Fluor and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), are proposing that a new and emerging joining technology, Friction Stir Welding (FSW), be considered for this work. FSW technology has been demonstrated in other industries (aerospace and marine) to produce near flaw-free welds on a consistent basis. FSW is judged capable of providing the needed performance for fully-remote closure welding of containers for radioactive materials for the following reasons: FSW is a solid-state process; material is not melted. As such, FSW does not produce the type of defects associated with fusion welding, e.g., solidification-induced porosity, cracking, distortion due …