Award Data

"Honey bee pollination is estimated to contribute over $14 billion annually to agricultural production. Honey bee pollination services in the larger ecosystem are also of vital importance. However, apiculture in the United States is threatened, especially by infestations of exotic parasitic mites. Varroa destructor, in particular, is lethal to many colonies, decimating both feral and managed honey ...

"Edenspace Systems Corporation seeks to achieve a substantial decrease in the production costs of cellulosic ethanol biofuel by engineering a promising biofuel crop, switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), with up to three different genes that produce cellulases. When activated by heat, these enzymes break down biomass cellulose into simple sugars that can serve as biofuel feedstocks. Microbially-produ ...

"The National Research Council has concluded that ammonia is a major concern for air quality at global, national and regional scales. In the US, livestock operations are believed to contribute over 80% of the total emissions of ammonia. Specific interest in ammonia emissions from livestock operations stems from concerns with the negative impacts of high ammonia levels on air quality and environmen ...

"This project will test the feasibility of a breath alkane as an indicator of respiratory health in bovine. Significant losses due to bovine respiratory disease (BRD) occur in the U.S. beef industry with estimated annual losses at $1 billion due to higher medical costs, decreased weight gain, lower quality meat and death. BRD is highly transmittable and accounts for approximately 75% of morbidity ...

"Renewable biofuels are gaining ever-increasing attention as alternatives to petroleum-based fuels for several reasons. Biofuels are advantageous from an economic and national security standpoint since they reduce the dependency on foreign oil imports and advantageous from an environmental standpoint since they are carbon neutral and reduce the net CO2 emissions. Lynntech proposes to develop an in ...

In the United States an estimated 2.4 million cases of human campylobacteriosis and 1.4 million cases of nontyphoidal human salmonellosis occur each year. Contaminated poultry meat is considered the most important vehicle of human infection with Campylobacter and Salmonella in the United States. Bacteriological surveys are conducted on a regular basis to ensure that the occurrence of important hum ...

"Water quality issues have increasingly become the focus of attention of United States citizens, private and public organizations, and units of government striving to meet competing demands while protecting the environment and public health. It is known that contaminated surface water and groundwater presents a health risk to both humans and animals. Over the last few decades, there has been incre ...

"The goal of this project is to implement the industrial use of layer-by-layer polyelectrolyte nanocoated pulp fibers, thereby to bring new technology to paper making. The proposed work is based on our pioneering in the layer-by-layer nanoassembly techniques and on our results on modification of lignocellulose fibers, which made stronger paper and improved paper recycling. Layer-by-layer (LbL) ass ...

The use of sub-therapeutic concentrations of anti-microbial agents in animal feed has contributed to theproductivity of the U.S. meat and dairy industries by preventing infectious diseases, by decreasing theamount of feed required and by increasing the rate of animal weight gain. However, failure to observerecommended practices of drug withdrawal can result in concentrations of antibiotic residue ...

The incidence of food borne outbreaks associated with Salmonella has risen steadily since the mid1970's. The monetary cost of salmonellosis has been estimated at $4 billion annually. The primarycause of salmonellosis has been linked to the consumption of eggs or egg products containingSalmonella enteritidis and 80% of all eggs consumed in the United States are transported to thepurchaser in the ...