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SPUTTER INITIATED RESONANCE IONIZATION SPECTROSCOPY (SIRIS),BASED ON THE CONCEPT OF RESONANCE IONIZATION OF SPUTTERED ATOMS, OFFERS THE POTENTIAL TO MAKE IN SITU CHEMICAL AND ISOTOPIC MICROANALYSES WITH EXCELLENT SENSITIVITY, MINIMAL FRACTIONATION AND MATRIX EFFECTS, AND FREEDOM FROM ISOBARIC INTERFERENCES-FACTORS WHICH FREQUENTLY LIMIT ION MICROPROBE ANALYSES IN GEOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS. MEASUREME ...

THE CONTROL OF TERMITES IS A MAJOR PROBLEM IN THE UNITED STATES. THE PRINCIPAL METHODS OF WOOD PRESERVATION ARE INORGANIC ARSENIC COMPOUNDS, PENTACHLOROPHENOL AND CREOSOTE. THESE AGENTS APPEAR TO BE ENVIRONMENTALLY HAZARDOUS, INCLUDING CARCINOGENIC. PRELIMINARY RESEARCH HASREVEALED THAT THE HEARTWOOD AND LEAF COMPONENTS OF THE JUNIPERS (JUNIPERUS) HAVE VERY HIGH TERMITICIDAL ACTIVITIES. THE PROPOS ...

THERE IS A LARGE POTENTIAL MARKET FOR BIOSENSORS IN THE CLINICAL AND HEALTH CARE FIELDS AND FOR INDUSTRIAL PROCESS MONITORING. OFTEN BIO-SENSORS REQUIRE EXPENSIVE EQUIPMENT AND PROCEDURES THAT ARE CONFINED TO THE SKILLED OPERATOR ANDTHUS ARE UNSUITABLE FOR MANY PURPOSES OUTSIDE THE ANALYTICALLABORATORY. A NOVEL SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION METHOD IS DESCRIBEDTHAT COULD LEAD TO SIMPLIFIED MONOCLONAL ANTIBOD ...

THIS PROJECT WILL TAKE AN IMPORTANT STEP TOWARD THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN INTELLIGENT GENERAL PURPOSE ROBOTIC SYSTEMCAPABLE OF OBJECT LOCATION, IDENTIFICATION, AND MANIPULATIONTHROUGH THE JUDICIAL USE OF NON-VISUAL SENSING MODALITIES. CURRENTLY, ROBOTIC APPLICATIONS IN MANUFACTURING REQUIRE A HIGHLY STRUCTURED ENVIRONMENT SO THAT POSITION CONTROL OF THE ROBOT IS SATISFACTORY FOR THE TASK (E.G., PAINT ...

A NOVEL METHOD FOR STRENGTHENING CERAMICS AND ALLOWING STRENGTH RETENTION TO HIGH TEMPERATURE IS PROPOSED. THE PHASE I RESEARCH WILL DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY OF INTRODUCING SUBSTANTIAL SURFACE COMPRESSIVE RESIDUAL STRESSES IN ALUMINA, SILICON CARBIDE, AND SILICON NITRIDE USING A DIFFERENTIAL CREEP MECHANISM. THE PHASE II RESEARCHWILL OPTIMIZE PARAMETERS FOR CONTROLLING THE MAGNITUDE AND STRESS DI ...

THERE IS A NEED FOR A DEVICE TO CONTINUOUSLY MONITOR CATIONSAND ANIONS IN THE PPB RANGE IN THE PRESENCE OF OTHER MORE CONCENTRATED MATRIX SPECIES. THIS NEED EXISTS IN RELATION TO SPECIES THAT ARE TOXIC, VALUABLE, OR OTHERWISE OF INTEREST. SUCH A DEVICE IS NEEDED IN MUNICIPAL WATER TREATMENT PLANTS, INDUSTRIAL PLANTS, AND OTHER PLACES WHERE THESE SPECIES SHOULD BE MONITORED WITH GREATER ACCURACY AN ...

THE PROPOSED RESEARCH ADDRESSES THE DEVELOPMENT OF A COMPUTER-BASED MODEL TO PERFORM CONCURRENT LIFE-CYCLE ANALYSIS FOR THE DESIGN OF ADVANCED LAUNCH SYSTEM CONCEPTS. THE MOTIVATION FOR THIS EFFORT STEMS FROM THE HIGH COST OF MANUFACTURING, OPERATING, AND SUPPORTING CURRENT EARTH-TO-ORBIT VEHICLE DESIGNS. UNITED STATES ACCESS TO SPACE HAS BEEN SEVERELY LIMITED AS A RESULT OF THE ANALYTICAL DESIGN ...

THIS PROPOSAL SPECIFICALLY ADDRESSES "KNOWLEDGE REPRESENTATION" BY PERFORMING RESEARCH INTO "SOFTWARE DEVICES FOR CAPTURING KNOWLEDGE FROM A REAL-TIME CONTEXT ANDCONVERTING IT TO AN EFFECTIVE COMPUTATIONAL FORM". THE PROPOSED ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORK LEARNING PARADIGM OPERATES ON SPATIOTEMPORAL PATTERNS AND HAS THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERISTICS: (1) OPERATES CONTINUOUSLY WITHOUT AD HOC SUPERVISION; ( ...

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THE PHYSICALLY LARGE DRIVERS CURRENTLY USED TO DEMONSTRATE AMPLIFIED SPONTANEOUS EMISSION (ASE) IN THE SOFT X-RAY REGION MAKE THEIR USE AS LABORATORY X-RAY LASERS IMPRACTICAL. A CAPILLARY DISCHARGE OR SLIDING SPARK DEVICE PROVIDES AN ALTERNATE WAY TO ACHIEVE THE PLASMA CONDITIONS NECESSARY FOR SOFT X-RAY ASE IN ELEMENTS SUCH AS ARGON AND KRYPTON. CAPILLARY DISCHARGES RESULT IN REPRODUCIBLE, STABLE ...