Award Data

OmniSite proposes to continue Phase I effort to develop aptamer-based assays to anthrax spores and SEB for detection instruments based on ECL, FP, and FRET formats. OmniSite will compare the different assay formats to determine which of thesedemonstrates the most sensitivity and specificity, as well as being robust, cost effective, and facile. Performance characteristics of the most sensitive ...

The production of ethanol from lignocellulosic biomass can utilize large volumes of agricultural residues that are untapped today. Ethanol fuels burn cleanly, thus the use of ethanol for partial replacement of petroleum fuels will have a positive impact on the environment. The production of ethanol fuels from lignocellulosic biomass is ready to be developed into a viable industry. Our results will ...

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: The seafood industry is well aware of the need for maintaining product quality. It has traditionally relied on subjective sensory analysis through human sniff tests for the assessment of seafood freshness. However, experts are costly and too few in number. Alternative objective tests are expensive, complicated, time consuming, require toxic chemicals and destructive sampling ...

A New cotton ginning technology, the Powered Roll Gin Stand, must be constructed according to the optimum configuration for the internal dimensions. B Preliminary research ginning trials in commercial cotton gin plants exhibited mechanical and manufacturing problems that showed that this technology needs designs improvements to be durable enough to withstand the real world conditions of ginning. A ...

Besides performing a thorough statistical analysis of the government furnished data sets to determine the features and metrics for spectral unmixing, Intelligent Automation, Inc. and Prof. C. Chang of University of Maryland at Baltimore County also proposean innovative approach to detect and classify chemical and biological agents. There are two major steps. First, we propose to apply a recently d ...

During the anthrax attacks in 2001, investigators had difficulty in differentiating the strains apart because B. anthracis has a low level of genetic variability. This event demonstrated the need for rapid and precise molecular subtyping technologies. Lynntech proposes to develop an ultra-sensitive quantum dots-based molecular beacon fluorogenic reporter system to identify the presence of specif ...

Hibiscus are garden plants within the USA. However, their potential as a new source of edible flowers, seed, food colorants, and renewable fiber elevates them to the status of a new crop. There are 17 native Hibiscus species grown within USDA Zones 4-10, though they are wetland plants in the wild. These species include Hibiscus aculeatus, H. coccineus, H. grandiflorus, H. laevis, H. moscheutos and ...

The broadband digital divide between urban and rural areas continues to be a social issue of significant concern, as it limits new opportunities for remote rural communities to access education, health and economic resources. This projects studies the feasibility of a technology that will allow rural mom&pop Broadband ISP's to be economically viable.

Infectious Hematopoietic Necrosis Virus (IHNV) causes a significant proportion of disease in trout as well as in salmon. However, there is currently no commercial vaccine available to easily immunize fish against IHNV. A preventive treatment to reduce these considerable losses would be a significant contribution to the farmed salmonid industry. Bacteria belonging to the genera Pseudomonas, Achromo ...

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: Industrial proteins produced in plants, particularly corn, offer a unique opportunity for industrial scale production of enzymes at competitive prices and yields that will address markets that cannot be addressed today. These corn-produced enzymes open the possibility to address such large markets as pulp bleaching, textile bleaching, bio-glues and enzymatic remediation of w ...