Award Data

The proposed project seeks to identify superior strains of striped bass by evaluating the progeny of five wild strains collected from a broad geographic range. The collections are designed to evaluate genetically distinct strains. In order to control for the effect of family differences, five families will be collected from each of the strains and their performance will be evaluated and compared ...

The proposed project seeks to identify superior strains and families of white bass for aquacultureby evaluating the progeny of three wild strains collected from a broad geographic range. Thecollections will be designed to evaluate the performance of genetically distinct strains. In orderto control for the effect of family differences, five families will be collected from each of thestrains and t ...

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This proposal seeks to develop a simple, and sensitive molecular diagnostic assay for the detection of Streptococcus equi; the causative agent of strangles. Outbreaks of this disease at racetracks and training establishments caused major disruptions, and economic losses to owners, and trainers in the United States in recent years. The control of the spread of strangles relies on a combination of d ...

Open surgical castration is a routine procedure on neonatal boars to prevent the offensive odor known as "boar taint" which is released when meat from affected animals is cooked. Castration produces a predictable incidence of side-effects including stress, hemorrhage, hernia, infection and mortality, which become more prevalent if castration is performed after weaning. Castration also produces a ...

A water-borne net coating is described that will prevent biofouling of netting materials used inaquacultural applications. The novel composition functions through the use of trace quantities ofnaturally occurring antifouling compounds. In addition, it contains no volatile organiccompounds (VOC). The proposed technology is especially attractive since it involves onlyenvironmentally benign compon ...

Cytokines play a key role in the immunobiology of swine, and have the potential to improve themanagement of these animals. The pattern and tissue distribution of inflammatory cytokine expressionmay be indicative of the health or infectious status of the animal. Thus, the development of rapidcytokine tests is necessary to exploit this useful diagnostic information.Cytokines may also play another ...

Almost all citrus is harvested by hand. The resulting high cost in the U.S. is burden to growers and positions them at a disadvantage to overseas competitors with low labor costs. Automated methods are needed to ensure the long-term viability and prosperity of the U.S. citrus industry. Past attempts at automated harvesting have largely focused on either bulk removal without extensive sensing and c ...

SITUATION: Pesticides are among the most widely used toxic chemicals in the world, and also among the most dangerous to human health. There is convincing evidence that pesticides play a role in human cancers. Contamination of natural waters with pesticides from agriculture is a problem of primary concern. Accurate detection and measurement of pesticides in aqueous solution has historically require ...

The United States produces over 58 million tons of animal manure every year. These wastes pose a significant risk of environmental damage and human disease if not treated. However, most treatment methods are themselves either energy intensive or environmentally harmful. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes to optimize and 
commercialize a Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) cap ...