[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 108 (Tuesday, June 4, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28176-28177]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-13969]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Applications for Duty-Free Entry of Scientific Instruments

    Pursuant to Section 6(c) of the Educational, Scientific and 
Cultural Materials Importation Act of 1966 (Pub. L. 89-651; 80 Stat. 
897; 15 CFR part 301), we invite comments on the question of whether 
instruments of equivalent scientific value, for the purposes for which 
the instruments shown below are intended to be used, are being 
manufactured in the United States.
    Comments must comply with 15 CFR 301.5(a)(3) and (4) of the 
regulations and be filed within 20 days with the Statutory Import 
Programs Staff, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230. 
Applications may be examined between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. in Room 4211, 
U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW., 
Washington, DC.
    Docket Number: 96-033. Applicant: University of Southern 
California, Department of Neurobiology, 3614 Watt Way, Los Angeles, CA 
90089-2520. Instrument: Xenon Flashlamp System, Model XF-10. 
Manufacturer: Hi-Tech Scientific, United Kingdom. Intended Use: The 
instrument will be used to rapidly photolyze CA2+ cage compounds 
in a biophysical study of the action of intracellular CA2+ on 
voltage-activated CA2+ channels. The CA2+ currents activated 
by depolarization will be monitored during and after the flashes to 
determine the kinetics of the blocking mechanism. Photolysis of diazo-4 
will produce rapid (<1 ms) reductions in the concentrations of 
CA2+, so that the kinetics of recovery of channel function can be 
determined. Application Accepted by Commissioner of Customs: March 13, 
1996.
    Docket Number: 96-034. Applicant: National Institutes of Health, 
6120 Executive Boulevard, Bethesda, MD 20892-7260. Instrument: Electron 
Microscope, Model JEM-1010. Manufacturer: JEOL Ltd, Japan. Intended 
Use: The instrument will be used for investigations of autoimmune 
diseases and ocular complications of diabetes from control, 
experimental animal tissues and diseased human tissues (mainly ocular) 
with the objectives of development of improved diagnosis and treatment 
of human ocular diseases. Application Accepted by Commissioner of 
Customs: March 13, 1996.
    Docket Number: 96-035. Applicant: State University of New York, 
Department of Physics, 1400 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12222. 
Instrument: Electron Microscope, Model JEM-2010F. Manufacturer: JEOL 
Ltd., Japan. Intended Use: The instrument will be used to study the 
microstructure of semiconductors, metals, ceramics, polymers and 
superconductors. Experiments will be conducted on the following: (1) 
Long-range order and defects in II-VI and III-V semiconductor alloys, 
(2) process-induced defects in metals, semiconductors and insulators, 
(3) plasma etching induced surface defects, (4) ion beam induced 
surface defects, (5) chemical vapor deposited metal, semiconductor, and 
insulator thin films, and (6) structure of polymer thin films. In 
general, the objective of these microscopic investigations is to 
understand the structure-properties correlation and the effects of 
materials processing. In addition, the instrument will be used for 
educational purposes in the course Electron Microscopy, PHY 784. 
Application Accepted by Commissioner of Customs: March 14, 1996.
    Docket Number: 96-036. Applicant: Lehigh University, Chemistry 
Department, 7 Asa Drive, Bethlehem, PA 18015. Instrument: Automatic 
Sample Manipulator. Manufacturer: Scienta Instruments, AB, Sweden. 
Intended Use: The instrument will be used to study a wide category of 
single crystal and thin film materials which include metal single 
crystals such as Pd

[[Page 28177]]

and crystals of ZnO-type materials and transition metal chalcogenides 
such as MoS2, NbS, TaS, WS or ReS. There will also be studies of 
thin film materials that are laterally homogeneous, but which have 
compositional variation with depth. The instrument will also be 
routinely incorporated into advanced undergraduate and graduate 
courses, such as CHEM 338--Advanced Analytical Chemistry and CHEM 350--
Special Topics--Electron Microscopy for Surface Analysis. Application 
Accepted by Commissioner of Customs: March 14, 1996.
    Docket Number: 96-037. Applicant: Massachusetts Institute of 
Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139. Instrument: 
Microprobe Laser Ablation System. Manufacturer: VG Fisons, United 
Kingdom. Intended Use: The instrument will be used for the trace 
element chemical analysis of environmental materials such as marine 
sediments, fossils and rocks. The research will be focused on the 
mechanisms responsible for fractionation of minor elements between 
mineral phases, but will also include paleoclimatological studies based 
on the trace element composition of fossil shells. Application Accepted 
by Commissioner of Customs: March 15, 1996.
    Docket Number: 96-038. Applicant: Purdue University, Department of 
Biological Science, Lilly Hall, West Lafayette, IN 49707. Instrument: 
Stopped-Flow Fluorimeter, Model SX.17MV. Manufacturer: Applied 
Photophysics Ltd., United Kingdom. Intended Use: The instrument will be 
used to measure the binding and insertion of proteins into membranes 
through changes in fluorescence properties of the protein upon binding. 
The ``stopped-flow'' aspect will allow the protein to be mixed very 
rapidly (1/1000 of a second, or ``millisecond''), so that the time 
course of the binding insertion of the protein into the membrane can be 
followed through the variation with time. In addition, the instrument 
will be used to train graduate and postdoctoral students in use of fast 
fluorescence methods for studies on protein structure and conformation. 
Application Accepted by Commissioner of Customs: March 15, 1996.
    Docket Number: 96-039. Applicant: Columbia University, Lamont-
Doherty Observatory, Route 9W, Palisades, NY 10964-8000. Instrument: 
Mass Spectrometer, Model VG 5400. Manufacturer: Fisons Instruments, 
United Kingdom. Intended Use: The instrument will be used for argon 
isotope measurements of rocks and minerals in investigations of the 
ages of rocks for earth science questions. In addition, the instrument 
will be used for training of graduate students in methods of noble gas 
analysis. Application Accepted by Commissioner of Customs: March 20, 
1996.
    Docket Number: 96-040. Applicant: Washington University, Department 
of Earth and Planetary Science, One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO 
63130-4899. Instrument: ICP Mass Spectrometer, Model Element. 
Manufacturer: Finnigan MAT, Germany. Intended Use: The instrument will 
be used to provide accurate elemental and isotopic information about 
the trace and minor element compositions of geological and 
environmental samples such as rocks, meteorites, sediments, oils, and 
natural waters. In addition, the analytical capabilities of the 
instrument will be used in laboratory experiments of mineral 
solubility, trace element partitioning, oxidation-reduction reactions 
involving transition metals and organic compounds and the consequences 
of water/rock reactions. The instrument will also be used for 
educational purposes in undergraduate biogeochemistry and environmental 
geochemistry courses. Application Accepted by Commissioner of Customs: 
March 21, 1996.
    Docket Number: 96-041. Applicant: Medical College of Georgia, 1120 
15th Street, Augusta, GA 30912. Instrument: Electron Microscope, Model 
JEM-1010. Manufacturer: JEOL Ltd., Japan. Intended Use: The instrument 
will be used for traditional TEM studies of cell morphology in 
transgenic animals, immunoelectron microscopy of tissue samples and 
subcellular fractions to identify the localization of important new 
antigens and in vitro examination of isolated cytoskeletal structures. 
In addition, the instrument will be used for teaching graduate students 
and post-doctoral fellows techniques of ultrastructural analysis. 
Application Accepted by Commissioner of Customs: March 22, 1996.
    Docket Number: 96-042. Applicant: University of Kansas, Department 
of Geology, 120 Lindley Hall, Lawrence, KS 66045. Instrument: Mass 
Spectrometer, Model PlasmaQuad XS. Manufacturer: Fisons Instruments, 
Inc, United Kingdom. Intended Use: The instrument will be used to 
measure the chemical composition of natural igneous rocks, minerals, 
ground water, brines and carbonates to determine the concentration of a 
wide range of elements. The resulting geochemical data will be used to 
further many areas of basic research in the Geology Department. The 
instrument will also be used in the training of graduate students in 
the techniques of geochemical analysis. Application Accepted by 
Commissioner of Customs: March 27, 1996.
Frank W. Creel,
Director, Statutory Import Programs Staff.
[FR Doc. 96-13969 Filed 6-3-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P