Award Data

Water quality and soil erosion are high priority issues for U.S. agriculture. In more humid areas of theU.S., vegetation filter strips have proven to be an effective method of reducing erosion and improvingwater quality. Filter strips are less effective in the West due to sparser vegetation and more variablerainfall. In addition, establishment of vegetation is more difficult in many western wat ...

WE PROPOSE TO DEVELOP A SIMPLE TO USE, QUANTITATIVE DEVICE TO ACCURATELY MEASURE SOIL WATER CONTENT WITH SUFFICIENT RESOLUTION TO DEFINE WETTING FRONTS DUE TO RAIN EVENTS IN DEPTH PROFILES. THIS GEOPHYSICAL TOOL SENSES CHANGE IN THE ELECTROMAGNETIC ENVIRONMENT, SPECIFICALLY THE DIELECTRIC CONSTANT OF THE SOIL, WHICH IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO SOIL WATER CONTENT. THE SOIL WATER CONTENT PROFILING DEVICE ...

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THE UNCERTAINTY IN MEASURING NEUTRON DOSE EQUIVALENT RATES RESULTS IN UNCERTAINTY IN ASSIGNMENT OF THE PROPER DOSE TO OCCUPATIONAL RECORDS AND CAN RESULT IN IMPROPER IMPLEMENTATION OF CONTROLS TO LIMIT THE EXPOSURE. A NOVEL PORTABLE NEUTRON SPECTROMETER IS PROPOSED WHICH WILL REDUCE THE UNCERTAINTY OF SUCH MEASUREMENTS TO LESS THAN 20%. MANYCOMPONENTS OF THIS DEVICE ARE COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE. SYS ...

MOTOR OPERATED GATE VALVE OPERABILITY PROBLEMS AND FAILURES AT NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS ARE A MAJOR SAFETY CONCERN AS STATEDIN NRC IE BULLETIN 85-03 AND GENERIC LETTER 89-10. THIS PROPOSAL IS AIMED AT IMPROVING GATE VALVE PERFORMANCE BY (1) DEVELOPING COMPREHENSIVE PERFORMANCE PREDICTION MODELS FOR USE OVER A RANGE OF OPERATING CONDITIONS, (2) DEFINING LIMITS, BASED ON SPECIFIC DESIGNS, BEYOND WHICH E ...

THE LIGASE CHAIN REACTION (LCR) ENABLES AS FEW AS 10 DNA TARGETS TO BE AMPLIFIED TO LEVELS DETECTABLE USING MANY CONVENTIONAL DETECTION METHODS. THE AMPLIFICATION TECHNOLOGY CAN BE APPLIED TO THE DETECTION OF SALMONELLA IN FOOD SAMPLES WITH BENEFITS REALIZED IN THE REDUCTION OF PRE-ENRICHMENT AND SELECTIVE ENRICHMENT GROWTH TIMES AND IMPROVEMENT IN ASSAY SENSITIVITY, SURPASSING ALL CURRENT DETECTI ...

THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PHASE I RESEARCH IS TO DETERMINE THE TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF A LONG RANGE RADIOACTIVE PLUME TRANSPORT MODEL/CODE FOR THE NRC. THIS CODE WOULD BE USED TO SIMULATE THE MOVEMENT, DISPERSION, DECAY, AND DEPOSITION OF RADIONUCLIDES RELEASED FROM SEVERE NUCLEAR REACTOR ACCIDENTS, SUCH AS THE CHERNOBYL ACCIDENT. IT IS DESIRED THAT ALL RELEVANT PHYSICAL AND CHEMICA ...

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There is a continuing need for reliable cloud observations to drive climatic UV-B prediction models. Traditionally, observations such as cloud cover are made by human observers, and thus often suffer from uncertainties due to the subjectivity of the observer. Cloud cover data is especially important in UV-B hazard prediction, as well as storm prediction. It is generally accepted that UV-B doses ...

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