Award Data

Critical to determining the success of an EGS well is the measurement of the flow distribution along the open-hole length of that well. Knowledge of not only the depth but the spacing of intersected fractures is required in order to determine the sweep efficiency of fluids flowing through the reservoir. Currently, the only device available for measuring fluid flow within a geothermal wellbore is t ...

Montana Emergent Technologies, Inc., (MET) in conjunction with the Center for Biofilm Engineering at Montana State University, proposes to investigate the feasibility of using biomineralization-based technology to seal unwanted leakage pathways relative to carbon dioxide stored in deep geologic formations. The title of this Small Business Technology Transfer Research Phase I project is Using Bio ...

The US Department of Energy has a stated goal to increase the energy efficiency of turbines, and one well recognized method of achieving this is through the use of ceramic thermal barrier coatings (TBCs). However, state of the art zirconia-based TBCs have a temperature limit of about 1200oC, and new TBC materials that can operate at elevated temperatures of 1300oC and above are needed to continue ...

Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) are one of the most compelling options for meeting the growing clean energy demands of the U.S. While safer and costing less to build and operate than their conventional counterparts, the unique requirements of SMRs pose significant challenges to the maintenance of their I & amp;C systems, especially due to the likelihood of fewer process sensors. Lacking the sensor ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive and ultimately fatal neurodegenerative disease that affects more than five million people in the USA. Currently there is no cure for AD. Available medicines are aimed only at temporarily reducing symptoms and slowing down the progression of the disease. While many new compounds have been developed to treat AD, they ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Standard microfracture is a first-line, widely used and cost-effective surgical technique for repairing damaged articular cartilage, but, it is limited by decreased long-term efficacy and limited applicability in largerlesions. This leads to a burgeoning economic burden associated with primary and follow-up treatment costs, estimated at more than 40 billion dol ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Controlling mechanical signal transduction to treat osteoarthritis Abstract The TRPV4 calcium (Ca++) permeable ion channel has been shown to be expressed and functional in chondrocytes, the cells responsible for the maintenance of cartilage in weight-bearing joints. Trauma of joints with subsequent damage of cartilage, as well as chronically increased joint loa ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Patients with infective endocarditis (IE) have a poor prognosis with one third of the patients succumbing to the infection within the first year. Treatments for endocarditis involve antibiotic therapy and/or surgery that cost upwards of 100,000 per patient; however, many cases do not respond to the antibiotic treatment and surgery poses high risks. Cases of en ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Each year in the United States over 270,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and over 40,000 will die from the disease. While multiple forms of breast cancer exist, a common theme in most of the forms involvesaberrations in signal transduction pathways that lead to inhibition of the programmed cell death process known as apoptosis. Apoptosis is a care ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Characterization of human tumor samples and cell lines in combination with inhibitor studies in animal models has established a central role for the Hh pathway in a vast array of cancer types, including small-cell lung, pancreatic, oesophageal, prostate, breast, colon, liver and ovarian cancers. Hh signaling is now implicated in approximately 20-25% of all can ...