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IMAGE SEGMENTATION IS A CRUCIAL STEP IN IMAGE ANALYSIS AND IS REQUIRED BEFORE ANY HIGH-LEVEL SYMBOLIC MANIPULATION CAN BE DONE USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TECHNIQUES. THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO CARRY OUT VERY LARGESCALE INTEGRATION (VLSI) DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF IMAGE SEGMENTATION ALGORITHMS USEFUL FOR ANALYZING INDUSTRIAL, BIOMEDICAL AND MILITARY IMAGES. DURING PHASE I ONE ...

ALUMINUM NITRIDE (A1N) IS AN IMPORTANT CANDIDATE MATERIAL FOR ADVANCED PACKAGING OF INTEGRATED CIRCUITS AS A HIGH THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY ALTERNATIVE TO BERYLLIUM OXIDE THAT COULD POTENTIALLY BE MADE AVAILABLE AT LOW COST. MUCH EXPERIMENTAL WORK HAS BEEN CONDUCTED ON A1N, BUT THE TECHNOLOGY STILL HAS NOT REACHED A LEVEL SUITABLE FOR APPLICATION. ADVANCES ARE NEEDED ESPECIALLY IN SINTERING TECHNOLOGY ...

OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS, A NEW FAMILY OF MATERIALS CALLED NZP (NAZR2 (PO4)3 AND ITS ANALOGS) HAS BECOME WELL KNOWN FORITS LOW THERMAL EXPANSION BEHAVIOR. RECENTLY, IT HAS BEEN SHOWN THAT ZR4 (PO4)6 AND SRZR4(PO4)6 HAVE OPPOSITE ANISOTROPY IN THERMAL EXPANSION AS WELL AS OPPOSITE BULK THERMAL EXPANSION AND THAT THEIR SOLID SOLUTION RESULTS IN LOWER ANISOTROPY AND NEAR ZERO THERMAL EXPANSION. THESE ...

CERAMIC-MATRIX COMPOSITES WITH OPTIMUM FIBER-MATRIX INTERFACIAL BONDING EXHIBIT HIGH STRENGTHS, FRACTURE TOUGHNESS, AND A DAMAGE-INSENSITIVE FAILURE MODE, AND THEY ARE VASTLY SUPERIOR IN RELIABILITY TO MONOLITHIC CERAMICS. THE DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF THESE COMPOSITES REQUIRE INNOVATIVE TECHNIQUES TO CONTROL, MODIFY, AND CHARACTERIZE THE FIBER-MATRIX BONDING. TWO NOVEL TECHNIQUES FOR MEASURING TH ...

A CATALYTIC COMBUSTION FLOW CALORIMETER FOR THE MEASUREMENT OF NATURAL GAS ENERGY CONTENT WILL BE DEVELOPED AND TESTED. THIS NEW CALORIMETER (GAS ENERGY METER) WILL BE DESIGNED TO BE A PROTOTYPE FOR DEVELOPMENT OF AN INSTRUMENT SUITABLE FOR REMOTE INSTALLATION, AS ACCURATE AS PRESENT LABORATORY CALORIMETERS, OPERABLE CONTINUOUSLY FOR PRECISE ACCOUNTING AT CUSTODY TRANSFER POINTS, AND LOW IN COST. ...

CURRENTLY AVAILABLE VOLUME HOLOGRAPHIC RECORDING MATERIALS OFFER IMPROVED EFFICIENCY, SIGNAL TO NOISE AND ENVIRONMENTAL STABILITY. THE OPTIMUM PREDICTED BEHAVIOR AND PERFORMANCE OF CERTAIN OF THE MOST PROMISING MATERIALS IS INVESTIGATED IN THIS DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL. DCG IS THE STANDARD FOR PERFORMANCE WITH ALL OTHER MEDIA COMPETING FOR PREFERENCE. THREE MEDIA OF PARTICULAR INTEREST FOR THIS STUDY ...

INTRA-AORTIC BALLOON PUMPING (IABP) HAS BECOME A STANDARD TREATMENT MODALITY FOR CARDIOGENIC SHOCK IN ADULTS BUT HAS BEEN USED ONLY SPARINGLY IN INFANTS. THIS IS DUE IN PART TOTHE LIMITATIONS OF THE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE DRIVE SYSTEMS, WHICH ARE DESIGNED TO MEET THE PHYSIOLOGIC NEEDS OF AN ADULT. A BALLOON PUMP, SPECIFICALLY TAILORED TO THE SMALL VOLUMES AND HIGHER RATES OFTEN SEEN IN PEDIATRIC CASE ...

A FOUR-ELEMENT FEASIBILITY STUDY IS PROPOSED TO EVALUATE A NOVEL IDEA FOR PROVIDING URINARY BLADDER CONTINENCE TO INCONTINENT INDIVIDUALS, ESPECIALLY THE AGED. THE DEVICE IS A NONSURGICALLY INSERTED FLEXIBLE SEAL. MICTURITION CAN BE INITIATED BY AN EXTERNAL SEAL CONTROLLER. BECAUSE THE DEVICE CAN BE INSERTED INTO THE BLADDER THROUGH A UROCATHETER, SURGERY IS NOT REQUIRED. THE PHASE I FEASIBILITY S ...

TITANIUM HYDRIDE REACTION WITH AMMONIA IN THE PRESENCE OF A NICKEL CATALYST TO FORM TITANIUM NITRIDE SHOWS UNEXPECTED KINETIC BEHANVIOR. A FUNDAMENTAL STUDY TO DETERMINE IF THE CAUSE OF THIS BEHAVIOR IS RELATED TO TITANIUM PHASE CHANGES IS PROPOSED. THE EFFECTS OF NITROGEN CONTENT ON WETTING OF TIN WITH NI WILL ALSO BE EVALUATED.

THE FIRST WALL STRUCTURE OF FUSION REACTORS WILL BE EXPOSED TO HOT PLASMAS AND HIGH HEAT FLUXES. THIS RESEARCH WILL DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY OF USING BIDIRECTIONAL GRAPHITE REINFORCEMENT IN COPPER ALLOYS TO PROVIDE A TRANSITION BETWEEN CERAMIC ARMOR (WHICH PROVIDES RESISTANCE TO THE PLASMA ENVIRONMENT) AND A COPPER CONTAINMENT VESSEL WHERE THE HEAT OF REACTION IS EXTRACTED. AFTER REVIEWING THE CU ...