30006 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 105 /Tuesday, June 2, 1998 / Notices

Estimated annual reporting and recordkeeping burden

Annual

number of

respondents

Annual frequencyAverage burden perAnnual burden hours

§ 52b.10(f) .............................................................................................................. 15 1 1 15

§ 52b.10(g) ............................................................................................................. 30 12 1 360

§ 52b.11(b) ............................................................................................................. 100 1 1 100

Recordkeeping:

§ 52b.10(g) ............................................................................................................. 30 260 1 7,800

Total ................................................................................................................... 176 .................... ...................... 8,275.50

The annualized cost to the public,

based on an average of 30 active grants

in the construction phase, is estimated

at: $273,000.

REQUEST FOR COMMENTS: Written

comments and/or suggestions from the

public and affected agencies should

address one or more of the following

points: (1) Evaluate whether the

proposed collection of information and

recordkeeping are necessary for the

proper performance of the function of

the agency, including whether the

information will have practical utility;

(2) Evaluate the accuracy of the agency’s

estimate of the burden of the proposed

collection of information and

recordkeeping, including the validity of

the methodology and assumptions used;

(3) Enhance the quality, utility, and

clarity of the information to be collected

and the recordkeeping information to be

maintained; and (4) Minimize the

burden of the collection of information

on those who are to respond, including

the use of appropriate automated,

electronic, mechanical, or other

technological collection and

recordkeeping techniques or other forms

of information technology.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

To request more information contact

Jerry Moore, NIH Regulations Officer,

Office of Management Assessment,

National Institutes of Health, 6011

Executive Boulevard, Room 601, MSC

7669, Rockville, MD 20852, or call 301–

496–4607 (this is not a toll-free

number), or E-mail your request to

<moorej@OD.NIH.gov.>

Comments Due Date: Comments

regarding this information collection

and recordkeeping are best assured to

having their full effect if received on or

before August 3, 1998.

Dated: May 27, 1998.

Jerry Moore,

Regulations Officer, National Institutes of

Health.

[FR Doc. 98–14498 Filed 6–1–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4140–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health

Government-Owned Inventions;

Availability for Licensing: DNA

Vaccines for Chlamydia Trachomatis

AGENCY: National Institutes of Health,

Public Health Service, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The inventions listed below

are owned by agencies of the U.S.

Government and are available for

licensing in the U.S. in accordance with

35 U.S.C. 207 to achieve expeditious

commercialization of results of

federally-funded research and

development. Foreign patent

applications are filed on selected

inventions to extend market coverage

for companies and may also be available

for licensing.

ADDRESSES: Licensing information and

copies of the U.S. patent applications

and issued patent listed below may be

obtained by contacting Robert Benson,

Ph.D., Technology Licensing Specialist,

Office of Technology Transfer, National

Institutes of Health, 6011 Executive

Boulevard, Suite 325, Rockville,

Maryland 20852–3804; telephone: (301)

496–7056 ext. 267; fax: (301) 402–0220;

e-mail: rb20m@nih.gov. A signed

Confidential Disclosure Agreement will

be required to receive copies of the

patent applications.

Nucleotide, Deduced Amino Acid

Sequence, Isolation and Purification of

Heat-Shock Chlamydial Proteins

RB Morrison, HD Caldwell (NIAID)

Serial No. 07/531,317 Filed 31 May 90

(U.S. Patent 5,071,962 Issued 10 Dec.

91); Serial No. 07/841,323 Filed 25 Feb.

92 (Divisional of 07/531,317); Serial No.

09/071,506 Filed 01 May 98 (Divisional

of 07/841,323)

This invention concerns the discovery

of a novel gene that encodes the HSP60

protein from Chlamydia trachomatis,

referred to as HypB in the application.

This immunodominant protein is a

major target for Chlamydia trachomatis

vaccine development and diagnostics.

This gene and protein, or fragments

thereof, are useful in the development of

both recombinant protein and DNA

based vaccines. The recombinant

protein or DNA sequence also have

potential for the development of

diagnostic tests for C. trachomatis. The

three patent properties claim different

aspects of the invention. The issued

patent claims monoclonal antibodies

reactive against C. trachomatis HSP60

protein. Serial No. 07/841,323 claims

the HSP60 protein and its use as a

vaccine. Serial No. 09/071,506 claims

DNA sequences, and protein fragments

thereof, encoding HSP60. This DNA

sequence would be useful in a DNA

vaccine, alone or with the MOMP DNA

sequences claimed in Serial No. 07/

853,359. No foreign patent rights exist.

Nucleotide and Amino Acid Sequences

of the Four Variable Domains of the

Major Outer Membrane Proteins of

Chlamydia Trachomatis

H Caldwell et al. (NIAID)

Serial No. 07/853,359 Filed 16 Mar. 92

(With Priority to 17 Mar. 89)

Chlamydia trachomatis is the leading

sexually transmitted infectious agent in

the United States, causing about 10

million new cases per year. It is a major

cause of involuntary infertility in

women. This invention claims the DNA

sequences, and their encoded amino

acid sequences, of the four variable

domains from the major outer

membrane protein (MOMP) of

Chlamydia trachomatis, from the

serovars Ba, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, and

L3. Serovars D, E, F, G, H, I, J, and K

are the most common serovars

associated with Chlamydia trachomatis

caused sexually transmitted diseases.

The claimed variable domains of MOMP

contain the major antigen targets of

protective immunity including

neutralizing antibodies capable of

preventing chlamydial infection. Thus,

these sequences are useful for the

development of recombinant protein,

peptide, and DNA based vaccines
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 105 /Tuesday, June 2, 1998 / Notices 30007

against C. trachomatis caused sexually

transmitted diseases. The variable

domains also represent the primary

serotyping antigenic determinants of C.

trachomatis organisms making these

variable domain sequences potential

useful targets for the development of

DNA or antibody based diagnostic

assays for C. trachomatis. The invention

is described further in Ying et al.,

Infection & Immunity 57, 1040–1049,

1989. Zhang et al., J. Infect. Dis. 176,

1035–1040, 1997 describes DNA

vaccines utilizing MOMP DNA.

Dated: May 21, 1998.

Jack Spiegel,

Director, Division of Technology,

Development and Transfer, Office of

Technology Transfer.

[FR Doc. 98–14496 Filed 6–1–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4140–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health

Government-Owned Inventions;

Availability for Licensing

AGENCY: National Institutes of Health,

Pubic Health Service, DHHS.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The inventions listed below

are owned by agencies of the U.S.

Government and are available for

licensing in the U.S. in accordance with

35 U.S.C. 207 to achieve expeditious

commercialization of results of

federally-funded research and

development. Foreign patent

applications are filed on selected

inventions to extend market coverage

for companies and may also be available

for licensing.

ADDRESSES: Licensing information and

copies of the U.S. patent applications

listed below may be obtained by writing

to the indicated licensing contact at the

Office of Technology Transfer, National

Institutes of Health, 6011 Executive

Boulevard, Suite 325, Rockville,

Maryland 20852–3804; telephone: 301/

496–7057; fax: 301/402–0220. A signed

Confidential Disclosure Agreement will

be required to receive copies of the

patent applications.

Applicator System And Method Of Use

MJ Lenardo, G Fisher (NIAID)

Serial No. 09/005,475 Filed 12 Jan 98

Licensing Contact: John FahnerVihtelic, 301/496–7735 ext. 270.

The present application describes a

novel microcentrifuge tube and tube cap

and research method, which allows for

dispensing the contents of a

microcentrifuge tube without pipetting.

The design eliminates pipetting volume

error and prevents the crosscontamination which can be

experienced in conventional pipetting.

This invention is particularly useful for

such applications as loading tube

contents into an electrophoresis gel after

a reaction such as PCR. Using the

disclosed apparatus and methods

increases the speed of a variety of

routine procedures and prevents

contamination of samples due to soiled

lab apparatus.

Linking Compounds Useful For

Coupling Carbohydrates To AmineContaining Carriers

P Kova, J Zhang (NIDDK)

Serial No. 60/069,686 Field 12 Dec 97

Licensing Contact: Robert Benson,

301/496–7056 ext. 267.

This invention describes an

inexpensive and easy method of linking

carbohydrates and carriers containing

an amino group to form

neoglycoconjugates. The resulting

neoglycoconjugates are useful as

vaccines (i.e., bacterial LPS or LOScarrier protein conjugate vaccines) or as

biologically active chromatographic

substrates (i.e., carbohydrates bound to

aminopropyl glass). The method

involves specific linkers that are easily

made from inexpensive commercially

available starting materials. The

carbohydrates to be used in the method

are limited only by the ability to convert

such carbohydrates into glycosyl

donors. Claimed are the linkers,

conjugates made with the linkers and

intermediates, and methods of

synthesizing the linkers and conjugates.

The invention is described in

Tetrahedron letters 39, 1091–1094,

1998.

System And Method For Intelligent

Quality Control Of A Process

JM DeLeo (CIT), AT Remaley (CC)

Serial No. 60/066,624 Filed 26 Nov 97

Licensing Contact: John FahnerVihtelic, 301/496–7735 ext. 270.

The present application is a

methodology for monitoring the quality

control of a process on-line for the

purpose of predicting and preventing

unusual/untoward events or failures in

that process. Such processes include

(but are not limited to) acquisition of

medical data from laboratory

instruments, assembly line

manufacturing, and general plant or

factory operations. The methodology is

based on a two-tiered automated

intelligent agent architecture. Intelligent

agents in the first tier are neural

networks trained to detect specific

errors for specific process environment

parameters. The single-agent second tier

is an expert system that integrates

inputs from first tier agents to derive

corrective action decisions that are

manually or automatically executed in

the process environment. Error

prevalence and wrong-decision cost

information are factored into the action

decision-making process. For clinical

laboratory instruments, the method

monitors patient laboratory data and

provides significant improvement in

quality control at reduced cost

compared to existing methods.

Identification Of The Human Pendred

Syndrome Gene

E Green, et al. (NHGRI)

DHHS Reference No. E–004–98/0 Filed

28 Oct 97

Licensing Contact: Dennis Penn, 301/

496–7065, ext. 211.

Pendred syndrome is a recessively

inherited disorder which was poorly

understood until the discovery of the

Pendred syndrome gene. This

syndrome, which is associated with

congenital deafness and thyroid goiter,

may account for upwards of 10% of

hereditary deafness. The gene encodes

for the protein pendrin which transports

sulfate across cell membranes. However,

the gene, when mutated, is responsible

for producing defective pendrin and

causing Pendred syndrome. Pendrin

therefore plays a key role in thyroid

function and the development and

functioning of the auditory system.

Learning how pendrin functions could

lead to a better understanding of thyroid

function and the development of the

auditory system. Finally, the resulting

knowledge into the genetic basis of

Pendred syndrome will allow for

improved diagnosis of syndromespecific mutations in at-risk individuals.

This research has been published in

Nature Genetics 1997 December;

17(4):411–22.

Local Magnetization Spoiling Using A

Gradient Insert For Reducing The Field

Of View In Magnetic Resonance

Imaging

DG Wiesler, H Wen, RS Balaban, SD

Wolff (NHLBI)

Serial No. 60/043,292 Filed 11 Apr 97

Licensing Contact: John FahnerVihtelic, 301/496–7735, ext. 270.

The present invention provides a

method and device for eliminating alias

artifacts encountered in MRI when the

field of view is made smaller than the

subject being imaged. Significant