[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 249 (Friday, December 28, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76457-76458]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-31314]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration


Howard Hughes Medical Institute, et al.; Notice of Consolidated 
Decision on Applications for Duty-Free Entry of Scientific Instruments

    This is a decision pursuant to Section 6(c) of the Educational, 
Scientific, and Cultural Materials Importation Act of 1966 (Pub. L. 89-
651, as amended by Pub. .106-36; 80 Stat. 897; 15 CFR part 301). 
Related records can be viewed between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. in Room 
3720, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th and Constitution Ave. NW., 
Washington, DC.
    Comments: None received. Decision: Approved. We know of no 
instruments of equivalent scientific value to the foreign instruments 
described below, for such purposes as each is intended to be used, that 
was being manufactured in the United States at the time of its order.
    Docket Number: 12-048. Applicant: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 
Chevy Chase, MD 20815. Instrument: Micro-litre and nanolite dispensing 
system. Manufacturer: TTP Labtech Ltd., United Kingdom. Intended Use: 
See notice at 77 FR 70141, November 23, 2012. Comments: None received. 
Decision: Approved. We know of no instruments of equivalent scientific 
value to the foreign instruments described below, for such purposes as 
this is intended to be used, that was being manufactured in the United 
States at the time of order. Reasons: The instrument will be used to 
obtain crystals of biological macromolecules and complexes such as 
ribonucleic acid, proteins, and ribosomes to enable the determination 
of their three-dimensional atomic resolution structures. The unique 
features of this instrument which are required for the experiments are 
that it has a disposable tip system, its speed of operation, and its 
ability to deliver the small drops required to perform the experiments.
    Docket Number: 12-049. Applicant: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 
Chevy Chase, MD 20815. Instrument: Micro-litre and nanolitre dispensing 
system. Manufacturer: TTP Labtech Ltd., United Kingdom. Intended Use: 
See notice at 77 FR 70141, November 23, 2012. Comments: None received. 
Decision: Approved. We know of no instruments of equivalent scientific 
value to the foreign instruments described below, for such purposes as 
this is intended to be used, that was being manufactured in the United 
States at the time of order. Reasons: The instrument will be used to 
obtain crystals of biological macromolecules and complexes such as 
ribonucleic acid, proteins, and ribosomes to enable the determination 
of three-dimensional atomic resolution structures. The unique features 
of this instrument which are required for the experiments are that it 
has a disposable tip system, its speed of operation, and its ability to 
deliver the small drops required to perform the experiments.
    Docket Number: 12-050. Applicant: North Carolina State University, 
Raleigh, NC 27695. Instrument: Twin-screw Microcompounder. 
Manufacturer: DSM, the Netherlands. Intended Use: See notice at 77 FR 
70142, November 23, 2012.
    Comments: None received. Decision: Approved. We know of no 
instruments of equivalent scientific value to the foreign instruments 
described below, for such purposes as this is intended to be

[[Page 76458]]

used, that was being manufactured in the United States at the time of 
order. Reasons: The instrument will be used to study biomaterials such 
as starches, lignin, and proteins, and compare them with styrenics and 
petroleum based materials. The behavior of these materials before, 
during, and after physical or chemical modification, in excess or 
limited water, without shear or at high shear, as well as their 
hydration, plasiticization or blending with other oligomers will be 
investigated. Moreover, foams will be generated by the use of blending 
a suitable blowing agent and/or the carbonization of the materials to 
determine their density, foam structure and tensile and compression 
properties. The goal of this project will be to identify suitable 
technologies for producing moldable biomass based materials for 
applications presently occupied by conventional plastics. The core of 
this research will use rheology, spectroscopies and thermal techniques 
to follow macromolecular structures and functions on the biopolymers 
after applying the extruder. The unique features of this instrument are 
its recirculation loop and its ability to connect to a fiber spinner.
    Docket Number: 12-051. Applicant: University of Central Florida, 
Orlando, FL 32816. Instrument: Near Ambient Pressure Scanning Probe 
Microscope. Manufacturer: SPECS Surface Nano Analysis, GmbH, Germany. 
Intended Use: See notice at 77 FR 70141-42. Comments: None received.
    Decision: Approved. We know of no instruments of equivalent 
scientific value to the foreign instruments described below, for such 
purposes as this is intended to be used, that was being manufactured in 
the United States at the time of order. Reasons: The instrument will be 
used to determine the relationships between nanoparticle size, shape 
and chemical state and their catalytic activity in various chemical 
reactions, by investigating solid cataltically-active materials such as 
transition metals and examining their chemical states and chemical 
reactivity before and after applying a specified pressure and 
temperature inside a vacuum chamber inside the instrument. The unique 
features of this instrument include its small volume (0.045 L) reaction 
cell in which the sample and STM scanner are placed, which can maintain 
a pressure of up to 100 mbar while the surrounding large volume (>100 
L) Ultra-High Vacuum (UHV) chamber maintains a pressure lower than 
10-6 mbar, allowing the sample to be held at a controlled 
pressure ranging from UHV up to 100 mbar while measurements are 
recorded, and can be easily integrated into a system of other UHV 
measurement instruments to transfer the sample to other measurement 
chambers. In addition to pressure control, another unique feature of 
the instrument is its ability to control the temperature from room 
temperature to 300 degrees Celsius in a gaseous environment (up to 10 
mbar).

     Dated: December 20, 2012.
Gregory W. Campbell,
Director, Subsidies Enforcement Office, Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 2012-31314 Filed 12-27-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P