Award Data

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Multiple sequence alignment (MSA) is a core element of bioinformatics, comparative genomics, phylogenetics, molecular, and structural biology. Several excellent software tools for MSA construction are heavily used by the biomedical community; however, essentially all automatically constructed MSAs require significant editing (error corrections) prior to their a ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Renal transplantation has been a clinical reality for nearly 40 years. Transplantation is the only effective solution for organ end-stage renal failure. Long term renal function following transplantation has been shown to be better when kidneys are not subjected to cold preservation storage. However, despite the fact that cold preservation elicits significant k ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In an effort to reduce the use of animals for toxicity testing, companies have developed in vitro skin models or equivalents to replace the Draize skin irritation test. This development has been further pushed by a European Union regulation that will prohibit the use of animals for collecting toxicological data on cosmetic ingredients beginning in 2009. Recentl ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Available methods for molecular structure determination, based primarily on x-ray crystallography and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) solution methods, have had limited success on the insoluble proteins that are critical to biological function. Various recent developments have enhanced the effectiveness of solids NMR methods incorporating Magic Angle sample Sp ...

This SBIR Phase I project will demonstrate that a novel thermodynamic cycle could enable a 50% improvement in conversion efficiency from geothermal and concentrated solar sources when the two are synergistically combined. The broader/commercial impact of the proposed project could be as much as a 50% improvement in system efficiency and the enabling of a new paradigm for geothermal and concentrate ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): According to the American Diabetes Association, there are more than 16 million people in the United States with known diabetes. Diabetic patients commonly demonstrate impaired wound healing. Approximately 20 percent of patients with diabetes will develop foot ulceration in their lifetime. Diabetic foot ulceration (DFU) represents a major problem that can signif ...

Advanced Core Technologies brings 3 advanced competencies together to identify, foster, and deploy technologies promising reliability enhancing materials and manufacturing innovations. Self-learning search methods, sophisticated information association techniques, and stochastic forecaasting enables the Technology Monitoring and Mapping Module (TM3) capable of 5, 10, and 20 year forecasts for pro ...

The availability of ultra-high speed imaging equipment capable of frame rates up to 1 GHz has opened the potential for measurement of full-field three-dimensional deformation data during highly dynamic events by employing the digital image correlation method. However, due to the characteristics of ultra-high speed cameras as well as experimental conditions during ballistic events, the application ...

A user-friendly software package for rapid fatigue evaluation of specific scalable flaw geometries, as well as stable tearing after crack length reaches a specified size, is being developed. The package will employ modified CRACK3D code and use VCCT with 10-noded tetrahedral elements to determine fatigue crack tip parameters (e.g. dK1, dK2, etc.) for fatigue cracks undergoing (a) mixed mode, in-ph ...

The objective of this proposal is to demonstrate the feasibility and performance of compact, efficient, radiation hardened laser technology for LADAR detection, ranging and range-gated imaging applications. Traditional laser designs exhibit modest wall plug efficiencies. They are limited in scalability, tough to miniaturize and often intolerant of space radiation. Conventional diode pumped lase ...