Award Data

XMCO HAS IDENTIFIED AN OPPORTUNITY TO CONDUCT RESEARCH TO DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY OF DEVELOPING A COUNTY AGENT ADVISOR SYSTEM (CAAS). THIS INNOVATIVE CONCEPT WOULD INVESTIGATE THE APPLICATION OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TECHNOLOGY, SPECIFICALLY HYPERMEDIA TECHNOLOGY WITH EMBEDDEDEXPERT SYSTEMS, TO THE ENVIRONMENT AND REQUIREMENTS OF COUNTY AGENTS. THIS MEETS A USDA NEED FOR INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY ...

THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS RESEARCH WILL BE TO DETERMINE THE ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY OF CONCENTRATING THE DILUTE NUTRIENTS IN FRESH DUCKWEED INTO A DRIED, STORABLE ANIMAL FEEDSTUFF PRODUCT BY REDUCING THE MOISTURE CONTENT OF FRESH PLANTS FROM 95% TO 10%. DUCKWEEDS ARE FLOATING AQUATIC PLANTS BELONGING TO THE FAMILY LEMNACEAE, WHICH IF GROWN ON NUTRIENT RICH WATER, ARE RICH IN HIGH QUALITY PROTEIN, CAROTEN ...

PREDICTING THE RATE OF SOIL WATER MOVEMENT AND THE IMPACT OFAGRI-CHEMICALS ON WATER RESOURCES IS VITALLY IMPORTANT TO MANAGING AGRICULTURE, FOR OPTIMIZING PRODUCTIVITY AND MINIMIZING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT. SOPHISTICATED MODELS FOR MAKING SUCH PREDICTIONS ARE AVAILABLE, BUT DATA ON SOIL HYDRAULIC PROPERTIES ARE DIFFICULT AND OFTEN EXPENSIVE TO OBTAIN. IN FACT, AT DEPTHS BELOW THE ROOT ZONE THERE IS ...

WEEVILS, MOTHS, AND OTHER GRAIN-DEVOURING INSECTS DESTROY ABOUT 10% OF THE U.S. WHEAT SUPPLY EVERY YEAR, MAKING THE MONITORING OF INSECT POPULATIONS ONE OF THE MOST CRITICAL--AND EXPENSIVE--ELEMENTS IN THE MANAGEMENT OF STORED GRAIN. THIS LOSS CAN BE SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED USING A COMPUTER-AUTOMATED, ACOUSTIC SYSTEM TO DETECT LOW-LEVEL INFESTATION EARLY ENOUGH TO PERMIT EFFECTIVE PEST CONTROL PROCE ...

MRC PROPOSES TO DEVELOP A SAFETY PERFORMANCE INDICATOR (PI) OF THE ELECTROMAGNETIC (EM) PROTECTION STATUS OF A NUCLEAR POWER PLANT (NPP). WE BELIEVE THAT SUCH A PI IS NEEDED BECAUSE: (1) EM ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION IS ON THE INCREASE,(2) ADDITIONAL EM THREATS MUST BE EVALUATED, AND (3) DISRUPTION OF NPP OPERATIONS BY EM EFFECTS CAN AND MUST BE AVOIDED. PREVIOUS STUDIES HAVE ADDRESSED THE ISSUE OF E ...

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THIS PHASE I SBIR PROJECT WILL INVESTIGATE THE FEASIBILITY OF DEVELOPING INOCULATION TECHNIQUES FOR THE SUCCESSFUL CULTIVATION OF USTILAGO MAYDIS (COMMON CORN SMUT) EAR GALLS AS AN EMPLOYMENT AND INCOME-GENERATING CROP OPPORTUNITY IN RURAL AREAS WHERE THE CULTIVATION OF CORN IS A TRADITIONAL CROP. THE PROPOSED FEASIBILITY STUDY COVERS THREE MAJOR AREAS OF RESEARCH: (1) THE COMPILATION OF EXISTING ...

LOCATING NATIVE QUARTZ GRAVEL DEPOSITS WITH THERMAL IMAGERY HAS BEEN FOUND FEASIBLE BY THE USDA FOREST SERVICE SOUTHERN REGION, BUT THE COST OF OBTAINING IMAGERY WITH RESEARCH SCANNERS IS EXCESSIVE AND IMPRACTICAL. THE PYROELECTRIC VIDEO SYSTEM MANUFACTURED BY THE ISI GROUP OFFERS A POTENTIAL LOW COST ALTERNATIVE, BUT NEEDS RESEARCH TO DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY OF THIS APPLICATION. A DUAL CAMERA S ...

This project addresses two problems of environmental and economic importance to New Mexico.The first problem is the value-added utilization of pecan shells, and agricultural waste from oneof New Mexico's most important crops. The second problem is the need to remove metal andorganic contaminants of environmental concern from wastewater produced by some of NewMexico's economically important indust ...

Simulation models that replicate the dynamics of rural growth and decline would provide aninvaluable analytical tool for rural leaders, program administrators, educators and communityprofessionals. A Rural Community Modeler (RCM) was developed in a previous Phase I effortusing the system dynamics methodology to interrelate social, educational, economic,demographic, environmental and agricultural ...