Award Data

THERE ARE AN ESTIMATED 600,000 CHILDREN UNDER SIX YEARS OLD WITH ELEVATED BLOOD LEAD LEVELS AND ONLY 5,000 PER YEAR UNDERGOING TREATMENT; AS YET, NO TECHNIQUE IS AVAILABLE TO MEASURE TOTAL BODY LEAD BURDEN. THIS PROPOSAL DESCRIBES A TECHNIQUE WHICH USES X-RAY FLUORESCENCE IN A TRANSMISSION GEOMETRY TO MEASURE THE TOTAL BODY-BURDEN OF LEAD, IN VIVO, NONINVASIVELY. A SYSTEM USING A GOLD CALIBRATION ...

A NUMBER OF SYNTHESES OF SMALL MAGNETIC PARTICLES PERMITTINGTHE COVALENT ATTACHMENT OF ANTIBODIES WILL BE EXAMINED. CHANGES IN MAGNETIC RESONANCE (MR) PROTON RELAXATION AFTER MAGNETIC ANTIBODIES HAVE BOUND TO CELL SURFACE ANTIGENS WILLBE UTILIZED TO DEMONSTRATE THE BINDING OF ANTIBODY (AND MAGNETIC LABEL) TO ANTIGENS. THE MAGNETIC LABELS INVESTIGATED WILL POSESS THE MAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF A CRYSTA ...

METAL MATRIX COMPOSITES THAT MAY BE USED IN DEEP SPACE VEHICLES MIGHT HAVE SEVERE INTERNAL STRESSES DUE TO THE THERMAL EXPANSION DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE MATRIX AND THE FIBERS. SINCE THE TEMPERATURES EXPERIENCED WITH THESE VEHICLES MAY BE AS LOW AS A FEW DEGREES ABOVE ABSOLUTE ZERO, IT IS NECESSARY TO KNOW THE THERMAL MECHANICAL BEHAVIOR OF METAL MATRIX COMPOSITES TO BE USED AS STRUCTURAL MATERIALS ...

ACCURATE MEASUREMENTS OF TURBINE BLADE TEMPERATURES ARE IMPORTANT IN MONITORING TURBINE HEALTH AND PERFORMANCE AND IN DIAGNOSING PROBLEMS. CURRENT INTRUSIVE AND OPTICAL TECHNIQUES HAVE SHORTCOMINGS. THERMOCOUPLES HAVE PROBLEMS WITH DURABILITY AND ACCURACY. TWO COLOR PYROMETRY LSO ENCOUNTERS PROBLEMS WITH ACCURACY DUE TO INTERFERENCE BY REFLECTED RADIATION AND PARTICULARLY REFLECTED EMISSION FROM T ...

MEDICAL IMAGING SYSTEMS ARE NOW PRODUCING IMAGERY OF SUCH COMPLEXITY THAT THE TRADITIONAL SLICE PRESENTATIONS ARE INSUFFICIENT FOR COMMUNICATING THE INFORMATION TO THE OBSERVER. CURRENT DISPLAY TECHNIQUES, SUCH AS PRODUCING 2-DPROJECTIONS OF 3-D DATA, ARE A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. THIS PROGRAM IS CONCERNED WITH DEVELOPING TRUE 3-D DISPLAY SYSTEMS THAT INCLUDE STEREO AND MOTION PARALLAX. SPECI ...

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TO INCREASE THE BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF THE CARDIAC FUNCTION TO IMPROVE TECHNIQUES TO AID IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF HEART DISEASE. WE PROPOSE TO CONDUCT RESEARCH ON AN IMPROVED METHOD OF EVALUATING MYOCARDIAL FUNCTION IN ACTIVE PATIENTS. THIS APPROACH INVOLVES THE USE OF A VERY COMPACT, VESTLIKE INSTRUMENT WHICH USES NUCLEAR MEDICINE TECHNIQUES TO MEASURE THE EJECTION FRACTION OF THE HIGH VENTRICLE ON A ...

TWO DIMENSIONAL X-RAY DETECTORS ARE FINDING INCREASING USE IN DIFFRACTION STUDIES OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES, ESPECIALLY WITH THE ADVENT OF HIGH INTENSITY X-RAY SOURCES AND COMPUTER AIDED ANALYSIS SYSTEMS. CURRENTLY AVAILABLE DETECTORS ALL SUFFER FROM PERFORMANCE LIMITATIONS, MAINTENANCE REQUIREMENTS AND/OR EXORBITANT COSTS. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS AIMED AT THE DEVELOPMENT OF A LARGE AREA SINGL ...

ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT CRITERIA FOR SUCCESSFUL RADIATION THERAPY IS THE ABILITY TO DELIVER THE HIGHEST POSSIBLE TUMOR DOSE AND MINIMIZE THE DOSE TO NORMAL TISSUE. MOST TECHNIQUES CURRENTLY USED FOR SHAPING RADIATION THERAPY BEAMS INVOLVE THE FABRICATION OF CUSTOM MADE, DENSE ALLOY BLOCKS. WHILE THESE BLOCKS HAVE PROVEN TO BE RELATIVELY EFFECTIVE, THEIR CONSTRUCTION IS VERY LABOR INTENSIVE AND E ...

AN UNDERSTANDING OF GENETIC INFORMATION ACHIEVED BY SEQUENCING DNA IS ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING RECENT ADVANCES IN BIOCHEMISTRY. GEL ELECTROPHORESIS IS THE MOST WIDELY USED METHOD TO ACHIEVE THIS IMPORTANT RESULT. TYPICALLY, THE SEPARATION OF THE DIFFERENT MOLECULAR-WEIGHT FRAGMENTS IN THE GEL REQUIRES SEVERAL HOURS, AND THE GEL IS THEN REMOVED FROM THE APPARATUS AND SUBSEQUENTLY ANALYZED TOREVEAL ...