# data[].attributes.title
SBIR Phase II:  Remote Monitoring of Patients in Respiratory Distress

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Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP)

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The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to advance a real-time assessment system for patients at risk of respiratory distress.  The goal is to monitor these patients and avoid hospital admissions or re-admissions for previously discharged patients.  The first envisioned application is monitoring of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), for which there is no cure - but the disease can be managed with diligent surveillance.  The envisioned remote patient monitoring system will enhance patient care and outcomes by providing early warning of COPD flare-ups, thus reducing the need for emergency hospital visits and admissions.  This system will provide healthcare workers and caregivers added time to implement protocols, such as inhaler-based drug delivery, thus reducing critical events for COPD, as well as COVID-19, asthma, pneumonia, and other respiratory illnesses. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to develop a reusable device monitoring biomarkers of nociceptive pain, dyspnea, and coughing dynamics, along with traditional vital sign measurements. The project will develop a reusable device with a rechargeable battery and replaceable adhesives for prolonged use during the duration of the monitoring period.  Additionally, the user interface will be optimized for the display of pertinent symptoms to the patient, caregivers, and medical personnel providing remote care from a centralized monitoring center.  The efficient sharing of continuous changes in patient status will allow for the most effective personalized treatment. The project will develop a system with appropriate cybersecurity protocols.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

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Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS)

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This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2).With support from the Chemical Structure, Dynamics, and Mechanisms-A (CSDM-A) Program in the Division of Chemistry, Paul Raston and his research team at James Madison University will investigate the quantum solvation of small molecules with helium or hydrogen using sophisticated microwave and laser spectroscopy techniques. When liquid helium is cooled to ultra-low temperatures it becomes superfluid, which is a state of matter that is characterized by a variety of peculiar properties. One of these properties is the ability to flow without friction, which implies that if an isolated superfluid is set into rotation, it will continue to rotate indefinitely. This type of frictionless flow was discovered in bulk superfluid helium about 80 years ago, and in tiny droplets (consisting of about 10 helium atoms) about 20 years ago. Surprisingly, the evolution of superfluidity in the realm between tiny droplets and the bulk remains largely unexplored. This CAREER award supports curiosity-driven exploration in this uncharted territory using state-of-the-art spectroscopic techniques. By exploring new manifestations of finite-sized superfluidity, the work aims to provide fresh challenges for theory and seeks to provide for a deeper understanding of quantum chemistry at a fundamental level. The research program also will provide an enriching educational experience for undergraduate student researchers and seeks to attract a diverse body of students into science. Inspired by difficulties associated with online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, the project also includes an educational component that focuses on developing virtual instrumentation and experiments for teaching modern techniques and approaches in spectroscopy to undergraduate students when in-person classes are not possible, or when the instrumentation is not available.A key intellectual contribution of this work lies in determining the minimum number of helium atoms that are required for superfluidity according to the Landau criterion, which is the traditional criterion for bulk superfluidity. This number is especially important since it corresponds to the transition from the cluster having discrete energy levels to one that has a (quasi) continuum of energy levels, implying that the gap between the energetic properties of small clusters and the bulk has (finally) been bridged. Along the way, it is expected that broad oscillations in the rotational inertia will occur, which are thought to be related to the opening and closing of solvation shells, thus providing detailed structural information regarding microscopic solvation. Another significant contribution involves exploring how nanoscopic surfaces are wetted by investigating the quantum solvation of small aromatics with helium. The spectra of these systems provide information about how the helium fluid coats the surfaces, and about how the superfluid behavior evolves with cluster size. Finally, Dr. Raston and his research team are investigating quantum solvation by fermions (deuterium hydride) in order to experimentally test whether the previously reported decoupling of boson (helium or hydrogen) density from molecular rotation is indeed an indicator of microscopic superfluidity. The educational dimension of this project is inspired by the difficulties associated with delivering upper-division laboratory courses online. To help alleviate these challenges and to make experiments possible for those who do not have access to the required scientific instrumentation, a suite of modern virtual instruments is being developed. The user-friendly interface is designed to engage and guide students through a variety of experiments that will be made freely available on the web so that users can easily access them. The virtual instruments will provide a platform for learning about data acquisition in an autonomous environment, while also fostering an improved understanding of instrument control and developing student intuition about instrument operation.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

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SBIR Phase II:  Large-Scale Synthesis of Hollow Metal Nanospheres: Conversion of Batch Synthesis to Continuous Flow

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Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP)

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The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is based upon establishing a consistent, reliable source of high-quality hollow metal nanoparticles, thus enabling their commercial adoption in applications where they markedly outperform their conventional counterparts. One such application is point-of-use testing: by switching to hollow metal nanoparticles, lateral flow assays will reach higher levels of sensitivity and lower limits of detection, improving field testing for environmental contamination; detection of toxins and pathogens in agriculture; and early disease identification in clinical and veterinary care. Integration into rapid antibody and antigen tests for highly contagious diseases such as COVID-19 should prove particularly impactful, as the resulting higher sensitivity would reduce the occurrence of false negative results, thereby improving the performance (and public perception) of rapid testing. Critically, it would also improve baseline testing availability for rural and under-served populations who do not have access to PCR-equipped clinical laboratories. They can be applied to many other industries as well. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will advance the state of the art of continuous flow synthesis of plasmonic nanomaterials. Nanoparticle synthesis is a highly sensitive process, and obtaining high quality samples of advanced architectures has previously required labor-intensive, small-batch processes incompatible with large-scale production. Simply scaling traditional batch techniques has led to product with poor quality and prohibitive costs. This project advances a prototype reactor that has demonstrated high-throughput production of hollow plasmonic nanoparticles with control over size and color, while maintaining structural uniformity (<15% CV). Importantly, it reduced the cost of labor per liter of product by 950% from that of small batch synthesis. The proposed project will increase fidelity, further scale production volume, post-process and stabilize the final product, and benchmark its optical performance. The resulting production-scale reactor will have the capacity necessary to supply LFA manufacturers with ready-to-use, advanced color labels. It will enable new research and new nano-enabled devices by creating a consistent commercial supply of high performance plasmonic nanostructures with well-controlled physical properties.  The manufacture of hollow metal nanoparticles for point-of-use testing applications will also pave the way for their expansion into other industries that would also benefit from their advantageous optical and photothermal plasmonic properties, such as photocatalysis, water purification, and phototherapeutics.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

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CAREER: Bridging the Gap between Deterministic and Stochastic Structures for Mixed Stochasticity System Design

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This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2).Systems or products composed of parts that have random (or stochastic) characteristics pose a significant challenge to the design of complex engineering systems. There is a lack of systematic methods for designing artifacts utilizing this type of mixed stochasticity structure. This Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) project will establish a novel computational framework that bridges the gap between random and regular structural patterns to enable: 1) generative design of structures with tailorable stochasticity and desired properties and 2) design of mixed stochasticity structural systems that consist of mixed stochastic structural units to achieve optimal performance. Two sets of engineering applications will be used to evaluate the methodology and demonstrate its benefit to society: design of microstructural materials in energy storage systems and design of a mixed stochasticity structural system for vehicle impact safety. The broader application of the research developments will benefit a wide range of industries, such as high-capacity energy storage materials, structural safety and reliability, and automotive lightweighting, which rely on materials and structures with mixed stochasticity. Furthermore, the results of this research will contribute theories and methodologies that benefit the reliability design of mixed stochasticity systems, such as power grid systems, water distribution systems, and transportation systems. The education and outreach objective of this project is to create a prototype of education-research-industry integration and apply it to K-12 education outreach, outreach to local businesses, and university education. The K-12 education outreach will motivate students to pursue education and careers in science and engineering fields. The outreach to local businesses will assist small businesses and small manufacturers to compete in the post–COVID-19 world. The integration among research, industry practice, and education will strengthen the undergraduate and graduate students’ learning experiences.The overarching research goal of this project is to create a novel computational framework that bridges the gap between deterministic and stochastic structures by establishing a unified design space that covers structural patterns whose stochasticity ranges from random to regular. This framework enables generative design of microstructures/structures with tailorable properties and stochasticity, as well as design of a mixed stochasticity structural system that consists of deterministic and stochastic structural units to achieve optimal performance. This research will transform the discovery and design of structural/microstructural systems in three ways. First, a first-of-its-kind design representation method will be developed for mixed stochasticity structures that will enable the design of structures with tailorable stochasticity. Second, the research will provide a theoretical foundation for transferring knowledge between deterministic and stochastic systems to inspire new designs that achieve target properties. Third, a new design framework will be established for the robustness and reliability-based design of mixed stochasticity structural system. The education and outreach plan includes a Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM) project for K-12 teachers and students in underrepresented minority schools, research dissemination to local small businesses and small manufacturers, and integration among university education, research, and industrial collaboration.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

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CNS Core: Small: A Unified Approach to Internet Performance Measurement

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Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE)

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Telecommuting, distance learning, and virtual gatherings have significantly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Poor Quality of Experience (QoE) of underlying networked software, such as video conferencing tools, degrades the usability of remote presence applications and thus impairs the effectiveness of distance communication and learning.  However, current network performance measurement capabilities cannot systematically capture subjective aspects of QoE, hindering scientific study of this issue.The goal of this project is to develop and evaluate a fundamentally new approach to Internet performance measurement by conducting subjective assessments to measure the QoE of video streaming and conferencing applications in the wild and correlate these QoE measurements with Internet performance. Specifically, this research will 1) develop a unified assessment platform to crowdsource novel experiments for measuring the QoE of video streaming and video conferencing; 2) leverage gamification techniques to incentivize subject participation and improve overall efficiency of the experimental effort; and 3) combine analyses of QoE assessment data with external network topology and performance measurements to diagnose QoE degradations induced by congestion events on interconnections and last-mile access links.This research will advance the field's capabilities to diagnose performance degradation of essential tools for remote learning and telecommuting in the United States.  In the process, this project will mentor a diverse set of undergraduate/high school students, who will learn about real-world Internet measurement through participating in platform development.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

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URoL:EN Converging on the Rules of Emergence for Preventing Land Use-Induced Spillover

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Conceptually, land use change is recognized as a primary driver of zoonotic pathogen spillover from wildlife to human populations. However, the mechanisms by which land use change triggers the cascade of events that lead to spillover are little studied and have never been investigated from the perspective of a convergent, emerging network. In this project an interdisciplinary team will use convergent biological, computational, and social science approaches to identify the rules of life for land use-induced spillover. They will explore how land use change drives spillover of bat-borne Hendra and Nipah virus, which are World Health Organization priority-pathogens with epidemic and pandemic potential. This research will address the multiple scales of complexity that drive zoonotic spillover, and interactions among global climate change, local land use changes, and the human motivations and behaviors that lead to spillover. It will provide substantive insight into the mechanisms of spillover to inform the prevention of future pandemics from bat-derived viruses. The researchers will test existing assumptions and develop new theories and concepts to understand how human health and well-being is connected to the health of landscapes. Resulting insights could include how to break the land use-induced spillover network via ecological action (e.g., habitat restoration), economic incentives, and proactive actions rather than reactive social responses to pandemics. Understanding the emerging network of land use-induced spillover that leads to global emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic has tremendous societal relevance. The project will engage a diverse team of researchers and train four graduate students and three postdoctoral scholars, that encompass multiple scientific disciplines. Land use change is a global phenomenon that is accelerating as human activity expands worldwide. This project will address the fundamental components of how land use change drives pathogen spillover into the human population, for emerging bat henipaviruses. The research will address three convergent questions: 1. Emergence: How does loss of habitat through deforestation interact with climatic cycles to trigger the chain of events that lead to viral spillover? 2. Network operations: How do environmental, biotic, human-engineered, and social systems interact to catalyze viral spillover? 3. Prevention or mitigation: How can viral spillover be prevented and mitigated by a convergent approach to ecological, socio-economic, and human-centric interventions to manage and communicate the risk of spillover? Researchers will study the interactions among environmental, ecological, sociological, and economic drivers of land use decisions, and the effects of such decisions on pathogen shedding from bats and zoonotic contacts between bats and spillover hosts. They will develop the knowledge and risk communication strategies needed to change human responses from reactive to proactive, to disrupt the negative cascades of land use-induced spillover networks and prevent future spillover events.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

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STTR Phase I:  Protective T Cell Vaccine for SARS CoV-2  (COVID-19)

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Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP)

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The broader impact /commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is to develop a fundamentally different next-generation SARS CoV-2 vaccine that addresses current gaps in efficacy, safety, and national and global distribution of  vaccines. The rapid global emergence of the highly infectious delta variant underscores the importance of T cell immunity, increasingly recognized as critical to eliciting effective and long-term immunity to SARS CoV-2. An innovative DNA vaccine, delivered as a patient-friendly intranasal spray that does not require refrigeration, will improve public health.  This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project advances a multivalent SARS CoV-2 T cell vaccine by intranasal/pulmonary administration of calcium phosphate nanoparticle-formulated plasmids.  Proteins comprising the SARS CoV-2 ORFeome will be cloned in proprietary plasmids (Aim 1) screened by in vitro challenge with PBMC from recovered donors (Aim 2) and safety/immunogenicity/challenge in vivo in hACE2 mice. The outcome of Phase I will be identification novel ORFs that elicit T cell responses in vivo and that in combination partially protective (50% survival at 14 days post infection) against challenge with SARS CoV-2.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

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Collaborative Research: RESEARCH-PGR: Extracellular RNA Produced By Plants: What, Where, How, Who, and Why?

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This project investigates the role of secreted RNA in the immune system of plants.  The Innes and Meyers laboratories recently discovered that the leaves of plants accumulate RNA in the spaces between cells and on their surfaces.  Although we usually think of RNA as a molecule that can direct cells to synthesize specific proteins (e.g., the mRNA in COVID vaccines directs our cells to make SARS-CoV2 spike protein), some RNAs serve other functions.  Analysis of the base sequences of plant extracellular RNAs revealed that these RNAs are diverse in sequence, but do not appear to encode proteins.  The discovery of extracellular non-coding RNA in plants raises two fundamental questions that this project will address:  1) how do plants secrete RNA? and 2) what is the function of this RNA?  It takes a large amount of energy for cells to secrete RNA, thus this secreted RNA must benefit the plant in some way.  This project will test the hypothesis that secreted RNA functions to protect plants from infection by fungi and bacteria.  If this hypothesis is correct, the proposed research will enable generation of crop plants with improved immune systems that are more resistant to disease.  Such crops are needed to feed a growing global population in a sustainable manner, while reducing the environmental impacts of agriculture.The Innes and Meyers laboratories recently discovered that the apoplast of Arabidopsis leaves contains abundant long non-coding RNAs, including circular RNAs, as well as small RNAs. These RNAs are bound to protein particles, which protects them against degradation. Notably, this extracellular RNA (exRNA) is highly enriched in the post-transcriptional modification N6-methlyadenine (m6A). These discoveries raise fundamental questions about plant biology: Are there specific exRNAs that are broadly conserved across plant species? How are exRNAs secreted, and are post-transcriptional modifications central to this process? And why do plants produce exRNAs? Do they play a fundamental role in plant-microbe interactions? To answer these questions, exRNA will be purified from the apoplast and leaf surfaces of seven diverse species: Arabidopsis, soybean, tomato, lettuce, pineapple, rice, and maize, which were chosen based on their phylogenetic diversity, genomic resources, importance as crops, and diversity in physiology. These exRNAs will be analyzed using both RNA-seq and sRNA-seq, which will allow identification of RNAs that are conserved between species. To assess whether m6A or other modifications are required for secretion, transgenic plants that express exRNAs that lack modification sites will be tested for their secretion efficiency. To investigate additional requirements for exRNA secretion, the exRNA content in Arabidopsis and rice plants with mutations in known RNA binding proteins and secretory pathway genes will be analyzed. Lastly, to assess whether exRNAs contribute to immunity, mutants compromised in exRNA secretion will be tested for resistance to fungal and bacterial pathogens.This award was co-funded by the Plant Genome Research Program and the Plant Biotic Interactions Program in the Division of Integrative Organismal Systems.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

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Travel: NSF Student Travel Grant for 2022 IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy (IEEE S&P)

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Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE)

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The IEEE Security & Privacy Symposium is a top-tier venue for cybersecurity and privacy research, and has been for much of its 40-plus-year history. Student attendance at S&P is an important part of graduate education in cybersecurity. After two years of virtual meetings due to COVID, the 2022 Symposium will be held in San Francisco, CA and consist of approximately 80 technical papers and Systematization of Knowledge papers, which provide valuable background to students who are learning the literature.This grant provides travel support to encourage participation in the IEEE Symposium and its Student Program Committee by students who would normally find it difficult to attend. Criteria for selection include evidence of a serious interest in the field, as demonstrated by coursework and/or project experience. Organizers encourage participation of women and students from other under-represented groups.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

# data[].attributes.title
Collaborative Research: RESEARCH-PGR: Extracellular RNA Produced By Plants: What, Where, How, Who, and Why?

# data[].attributes.abstract
This project investigates the role of secreted RNA in the immune system of plants.  The Innes and Meyers laboratories recently discovered that the leaves of plants accumulate RNA in the spaces between cells and on their surfaces.  Although we usually think of RNA as a molecule that can direct cells to synthesize specific proteins (e.g., the mRNA in COVID vaccines directs our cells to make SARS-CoV2 spike protein), some RNAs serve other functions.  Analysis of the base sequences of plant extracellular RNAs revealed that these RNAs are diverse in sequence, but do not appear to encode proteins.  The discovery of extracellular non-coding RNA in plants raises two fundamental questions that this project will address:  1) how do plants secrete RNA? and 2) what is the function of this RNA?  It takes a large amount of energy for cells to secrete RNA, thus this secreted RNA must benefit the plant in some way.  This project will test the hypothesis that secreted RNA functions to protect plants from infection by fungi and bacteria.  If this hypothesis is correct, the proposed research will enable generation of crop plants with improved immune systems that are more resistant to disease.  Such crops are needed to feed a growing global population in a sustainable manner, while reducing the environmental impacts of agriculture.The Innes and Meyers laboratories recently discovered that the apoplast of Arabidopsis leaves contains abundant long non-coding RNAs, including circular RNAs, as well as small RNAs. These RNAs are bound to protein particles, which protects them against degradation. Notably, this extracellular RNA (exRNA) is highly enriched in the post-transcriptional modification N6-methlyadenine (m6A). These discoveries raise fundamental questions about plant biology: Are there specific exRNAs that are broadly conserved across plant species? How are exRNAs secreted, and are post-transcriptional modifications central to this process? And why do plants produce exRNAs? Do they play a fundamental role in plant-microbe interactions? To answer these questions, exRNA will be purified from the apoplast and leaf surfaces of seven diverse species: Arabidopsis, soybean, tomato, lettuce, pineapple, rice, and maize, which were chosen based on their phylogenetic diversity, genomic resources, importance as crops, and diversity in physiology. These exRNAs will be analyzed using both RNA-seq and sRNA-seq, which will allow identification of RNAs that are conserved between species. To assess whether m6A or other modifications are required for secretion, transgenic plants that express exRNAs that lack modification sites will be tested for their secretion efficiency. To investigate additional requirements for exRNA secretion, the exRNA content in Arabidopsis and rice plants with mutations in known RNA binding proteins and secretory pathway genes will be analyzed. Lastly, to assess whether exRNAs contribute to immunity, mutants compromised in exRNA secretion will be tested for resistance to fungal and bacterial pathogens.This award was co-funded by the Plant Genome Research Program and the Plant Biotic Interactions Program in the Division of Integrative Organismal Systems.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.