Award Data

COHERENT OPTICAL DETECTION OFFERS THE POTENTIAL TO SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASE THE CAPABILITIES OF EXISTING LONG-HAUL AND LOCAL AREA FIBER-OPTIC NETWORKS. HOWEVER, RANDOM DRIFT OF THE SIGNAL POLARIZATION PRESENTS THE MAJOR OBSTACLE TO THIS METHOD OF DETECTION. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROPOSED PROGRAM IS TO DEVELOP A POLARIZATION CONTROLLER THAT WILL COMPENSATE FOR THIS POLARIZATION DRIFT ENABLING THE USE ...

HIGH DENSITY INTEGRATION OF EXTERNAL OPTICAL WAVEGUIDE MODULATORS THAT MAY BE USED EFFECTIVELY AT BANDWIDTHS IN EXCESS OF 30 GHZ IS TO BE INVESTIGATED. THIS REQUIRES LAUNCHING MICROWAVE MODULATION ENERGY TO THE MODULATION TRANSMISSION LINE WITH MINIMUM RADIATED ENERGY, INTERCONNECTING THE TRANSMISSION LINE TO COAXIAL CABLE IN MINIMAL SPACE, INCREASED ISOLATION BETWEEN SIGNAL LINES OF MULTIPLE MODU ...

THE TRANSDERMAL ROUTE TO DRUG DELIVERY HAS THE ADVANTAGES ASSOCIATED WITH RATE-CONTROLLED DRUG-DELIVERY SYSTEMS (E.G.,GREATER SAFETY, EFFECTIVENESS, AND CONVENIENCE). IN ADDITION, UNLIKE OTHER RATE-CONTROLLED SYSTEMS, TRANSDERMAL DRUG DELIVERY AVOIDS HEPATIC "FIRST-PASS" EFFECTS AND GASTROINTESTINAL INCOMPATIBILITY, AND OFFERS THE POTENTIAL FOR LOCALIZED DRUG DELIVERY. THE PRIMARY FACTOR RESPONSIB ...

THE PROPOSED WORK IS DIRECTED TOWARD THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NOVEL AND HIGHLY SELECTIVE MEMBRANE FOR THE CONTINUOUS PURIFICATION OF VALUABLE PROTEINS SUCH AS INTERFERON FROM COMPLEX AND DILUTE MIXTURES. PRODUCTION OF PROTEINS REQUIRES THREE MAIN STEPS: (1) FERMENTATION OR CELL CULTURE;(2) ISOLATION; AND (3) PURIFICATION. ALTHOUGH FERMENTATION AND CELL-CULTURE PROCESSES HAVE UNDERGONE MUCH DEVELOPMENT ...

MANY PESTICIDES ARE CHIRAL--THAT IS, THEIR CHEMICAL STRUCTURES EXIST AS A PAIR OF "HANDED" STEREOISOMERS CALLED ENANTIOMERS. CHIRAL PESTICIDES GENERALLY EXHIBIT ENANTIOSELECTIVE ACTION, WHERE ONLY ONE ENANTIOMER IS ACTIVE AND EXHIBITS THE DESIRED BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY. DESPITE MOUNTING EVIDENCE THAT CHIRAL PESTICIDES SHOULD OPTIMALLY BE DEVELOPED AND MARKETED AS SINGLE ENANTIOMERS, MORE THAN 90% OF ...

NATURAL GAS PROVIDES AN INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT PORTION OF THE U.S. ENERGY SUPPLY. ESTIMATED U.S. GAS RESERVES ARE ABOUT 1,000 TRILLION STANDARD CUBIC FEET (SCF), OR ABOUT 1,000 QUADS. ALL NATURAL GAS AT THE WELLHEAD CONTAINS CONTAMINANTS THAT MUST BE REMOVED BEFORE THE GAS IS TRANSPORTED THROUGH PIPELINES. CONVENTIONAL NATURAL GAS PURIFICATION PROCESSES ARE RECEIVING INCREASED ENVIRONMENTALSCRUTIN ...

THE USE OF PROTECTING GROUPS IS A VITAL TOOL IN THE SYNTHESIS OF MULTIFUNCTIONAL MOLECULES SUCH AS VALUABLE "NEWGENERATION" PHARMACEUTICALS. WHEN A REACTION MUST BE CARRIED OUT AT A SPECIFIC REACTION SITE, PROTECTING GROUPS ARE USED TO TEMPORARILY BLOCK OTHER SENSITIVE REACTION SITESON THE MOLECULE. SUBSTITUTED BENZYL ALCOHOLS ARE PARTICULARLY USEFUL AS PROTECTING GROUPS. THEY ARE PREPARED BY REAC ...

PROTEINS ARE INCREASINGLY BEING USED AS PHARMACEUTICALS, DIAGNOSTIC AGENTS, CATALYSTS IN BIOCHEMICAL PROCESSES, AND GROWTH PROMOTERS IN MAMMALIAN CELL CULTURE. COMMERCIAL PROCESSES INVOLVING THE ISOLATION, STORAGE, AND USE OF THIOL-CONTAINING PROTEINS ARE HAMPERED BY THE LACK OF PRACTICAL PROCESSES TO MANIPULATE THE OXIDATION STATE OF PROTEIN THIOLS. ALTHOUGH PROTEIN THIOLS CAN BE MANIPULATED BY T ...

ONE GOAL OF MEDICAL RESEARCH ON HEMATOPOIESIS-THE GROWTH AND DIFFERENTIATION OF PLURIPOTENT STEM CELLS WITHIN THE BONE MARROW-IS TO DUPLICATE THAT PROCESS IN VITRO FOR TREATMENT OF DISEASE. CURRENT METHODS ARE PLAGUED BY THE INHERENT COMPLEXITY OF THE PROCESS; FOR EXAMPLE, THE SAME GROWTH FACTORS THAT STIMULATE STEM-CELL GROWTH CAN ALSO STIMULATE UNWANTED DIFFERENTIATION. A METHOD THAT COULD REMOV ...

AS THE U.S. SEEKS ENERGY INDEPENDENCE, COAL CONVERSION AND UTILIZATION PROCESSES WILL PLAY AN INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT ROLE IN PROVIDING ENERGY SOURCES. FOR THESE PROCESSES TO BESUCCESSFULLY EXPLOITED, METHODS MUST BE DEVELOPED FOR REMOVING CONTAMINANTS, PARTICULARLY HYDROGEN SULFIDE (H2S), FROM THE HOT COAL GAS STREAMS. THUS, MULTICONTAMINANT-CONTROL TECHNOLOGIES ARE NEEDED THAT ALSO REDUCE H2S TO ...