[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 18 (Tuesday, January 28, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4032-4033]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-2054]


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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, D.C. 20230. 
Applications may be examined between 8:30 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. in Room 
4211, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, 
N.W., Washington, D.C.
    Docket Number: 96-129. Applicant: University of Arizona, Soil, 
Water and Environmental Science, Shantz 429, Building #38, Tucson, AZ 
85721. Instrument: Surface Forces Apparatus, Model Mark 4. 
Manufacturer: Australian National University, Australia. Intended Use: 
The instrument will be used to measure the force and distance between 
two surfaces coated with the bacterial outer membranes and phase 
separation of nonmiscible mixtures in mica slit pores. In addition, the 
instrument will be used in the course, SWES 607 Surface Chemistry of 
Soils, to teach students about molecular level phenomena that influence 
the fate and transport of contaminants in the soil. Application 
accepted by Commissioner of Customs: December 4, 1996.

    Docket Number: 96-131. Applicant: Oklahoma State University, 
Purchasing Department, 208G Whitehurst, Stillwater, OK 74078. 
Instrument: Ti:Sapphire Laser, Model MBR-110. Manufacturer: Microlase 
Optical Systems Ltd., United Kingdom. Intended Use: The instrument will 
be used to conduct the following: (1) investigation of nonlinear 
optical properties of semiconductor microresonators, (2) determination 
of the compositions of composite media that enhance various nonlinear 
optical properties and in particular the relative effects of absorptive 
and dispersive contributions, (3) study of optical multistability in a 
system consisting of atoms transmitting through the mode of an optical 
resonator, (4) exploration of the interaction of atoms with very 
precisely modulated monochromatic intracavity radiation and (5) 
investigation of the interrelationship of various measures of cavity 
loss and their effects on experiments that depend on precise knowledge 
of atom-cavity coupling. In addition, the instrument will be used for 
educational purposes in graduate and undergraduate level physics 
courses. Application accepted by Commissioner of Customs: December 5, 
1996.

    Docket Number: 96-132. Applicant: National Institutes of Health, 
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, 
Building 5, Room 108, Bethesda, MD 20892. Instrument: Stopped-Flow 
Spectrometer, Model SX.18MV. Manufacturer: Applied Photophysics Ltd., 
United Kingdom. Intended Use: The instrument will be used for studying 
protein folding and unfolding kinetics. The instrument has been 
redesigned to provide facile and accurate measurements of stopped-flow 
kinetics using both fluorescence and absorbance detection. Application 
accepted by Commissioner of Customs: December 6, 1996.

    Docket Number: 96-133. Applicant: National Institutes of Health, 
Building 8, Room 421, 8 Center Drive, MSC 0850, Bethesda, MD 20892. 
Instrument: Electron Microscope, Model CM120. Manufacturer: Philips, 
The Netherlands. Intended Use: The instrument will be used to study 
animal cells and tissues and macromolecular aggregates and organelles 
isolated from cells and tissue. These studies are designed to 
investigate the structure of cells and to correlate change in structure 
with functional variability leading to clinical disease. The objective 
of this research is to learn about transport of lipids, lipases and 
other molecules between and within normal cells and to identify 
translocation defects in mutant cells. Application accepted by 
Commissioner of Customs: December 9, 1996.

    Docket Number: 96-134. Applicant: U. S. Department of the Interior, 
U. S. Geological Survey, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, MS 431, Reston, VA 
20192. Instrument: Mass Spectrometer, Model Deltaplus. Manufacturer: 
Finnigan MAT, Germany. Intended Use: The instrument will be used to 
analyze the isotopic composition of natural materials in geologic and 
hydrologic systems. The studies will involve use of variations in the 
isotopic abundance of oxygen, carbon, sulfur and nitrogen to 
investigate problems in hydrology, geochemistry, microbiology and 
paleoclimatology. Application accepted by Commissioner of Customs: 
December 10, 1996.

    Docket Number: 96-135. Applicant: Medical University of South 
Carolina, 171 Ashley Avenue, Charleston, SC 29425. Instrument: Electron 
Microscope, Model JEM-1210. Manufacturer: JEOL, Ltd., Japan. Intended 
Use: The instrument will be used for ultrastructural studies involving 
pediatric and adult cancer, retinal degenerative diseases, 
osteoporosis, endometriosis, teratogenic effect of prenatal alcohol 
exposure, cochlear changes associated with aging, cardiomyopathy and 
adrenoleukeodystrophy. The objective of these studies is to better 
understand the mechanisms involved in various disease processes. In 
addition, the instrument will be used for educational purposes in a 
graduate level course entitled ``Techniques in Biological Electron 
Microscopy.'' Application accepted by Commissioner of Customs: December 
10, 1996.

    Docket Number: 96-137. Applicant: Cornell University, Purchasing 
Department, 55 Judd Falls Road, Ithaca, NY 14850. Instrument: Mass 
Spectrometer, Model GEO 20-20. Manufacturer: Europa Scientific Ltd., 
United Kingdom. Intended Use: The instrument will be used for the high 
precision determination of stable isotopes of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, 
nitrogen, and sulfur during studies of (1) water and CO2 flux in 
environmental systems, (2) plant-water-atmosphere relationships and (3) 
artificially enriched carbon, trace gases, and isotopes in carbonates. 
In addition, the instrument will be used in the course BioES6xx: 
Methods in Biogeochemistry to train research students. Application

[[Page 4033]]

accepted by Commissioner of Customs: December 16, 1996.
    Docket Number: 96-138. Applicant: University of California, 
Berkeley, Procurement and Business Contracts, Berkeley, CA 94720-5600. 
Instrument: (4 each) Broadband Seismometers, Model STS-2. Manufacturer: 
G. Streckeisen AG, Switzerland. Intended Use: The instruments will be 
used to study the high frequency components of regional earthquakes and 
the low frequency (long period) components of global teleseismic 
earthquakes. The instruments are typically deployed in site specific, 
specifically constructed observatories (vaults), and may be operated 
continuously for 20-30 years. Alternatively, they are used to augment 
data from permanent seismic observatories. Application accepted by 
Commissioner of Customs: December 18, 1996.
Frank W. Creel,
Director, Statutory Import Programs Staff.
[FR Doc. 97-2054 Filed 1-27-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P