Marian McCord

A project was initiated between Imerys, NCSU and the Innovative Vector Control Consortium (Gates) to examine the use of diatomaceous earth (a mechanical insecticide, MeI) for mosquito control in bed nets and as a residual spray. There appears to be some promise in this approach but the mode of action work in Phase I has brought into question the current mechanism of action of MeIs. Our work is to continue the Phase I effort and better understand the mode of action of MeIs.

Malaria prevention is mainly based on vector control using insecticides either as indoor residual spraying, the use of long-lasting insecticidal mosquito nets. The active ingredients of public health insecticides as recommended by the World Health Organization, come from four classes of insecticides (including pyrethroids, organochlorines, organophosphates and carbamates) and only pyrethroids are recommended for bednets. The efficacy of these vector control measures depends primary on the susceptibility of malaria vectors to insecticides. However, the strong dependence of vector control on the four families of insecticides and the high use of insecticides in agriculture has led to the emergence and spread of insecticide resistance phenomena in mosquito populations. This constitutes an obstacle to vector control as practiced today. Therefore, if nothing is done, and if insecticide resistance leads to a widespread failure of pyrethroids, then the consequences for public health would be catastrophic and much of the progress achieved so far in reducing the global malaria burden could be reduced to nil. It is therefore imperative to bring in novel control tools which, while being effective, must mitigate the effects of resistance to insecticides. This could help to restore the effectiveness of the insecticide-based vector control methods. It is also important to diversify the control methods to achieve a much more significant outcome, especially for malaria eradication and elimination. The product we want to develop meets all these different needs.

The overall goal of our work is to develop for the first time spatial fabrics to control agricultural insects that will maximize plant growth, provide insect control, and minimize or eliminate the need for insecticides. Our proof of concept will involve the design of novel spacer fabric structure as a plant cover in one iteration and that will encapsulate non-toxic (physical) insect killing agents, repellents and insecticides; maximize insect exposure to these agents and prevent their direct contact with the plant, grower and beneficial insects like honey bees; and reduce contamination of the environment and food by the elimination or better targeting of pesticides. These spatial fabrics in some iterations could be used for organic farming, row crops especially for high value plants, horticulture plant production, green house production, home gardening, product storage and transport, and other applications. Unlike current textiles for crop protection that exclude insects by small pore size and reduce light and water penetration, limit air exchange, and trap moisture and heat on the plant because of the small pore size, our technology will be a porous structure and function less on physical exclusion and more on repellency and kill.

Ticks, mosquitoes and other blood feeding arthropods are major public health pests on a global basis. The biting activity of these arthropods transmits microbes that cause illness, such as Lyme disease, dengue, chikungunya and Zika fevers. However, more commonly their biting activity discourages outdoor activities by the public and the military. Personal protection from biting arthropods is provided by clothing impregnated with chemical insecticides. For example, military uniforms are treated with the insecticide permethrin to protect soldiers, marines and other military personnel from mosquitoes. Similarly, a number of companies sell permethrin-treated recreational clothing. Exposure to chemical pesticides is considered to be undesirable by large segments of the general population, including military personnel, but especially pregnant women and children; therefore, these individuals may choose to risk infection by arthropod-borne pathogens in order to limit their exposure to insecticides. Additionally, the growing mosquito resistance to insecticides applied to clothing reduces their effectiveness, placing the wearers unknowingly at risk. Non-chemical bite-resistant clothing offers an economical, sustainable and accessible solution to the problem. Conventional non-chemical vector protective textiles may incorporate nearly continuous or monolithic barrier layers that trap heat and moisture within the garment, or may be bulky and inflexible. There is an urgent unmet need for novel chemical-free garments that provide safe protection while providing outstanding comfort. Rynoskin is a company that manufactures and distributes outdoor apparel that is resistant to ticks and chiggers. The clothing is marketed as an undergarment and advertised to be �������������������������������body-forming, cool and comfortable.��������������� Rynoskin claims that their fabric provides complete protection against a wide variety of biting arthropods, including ticks and chiggers and some biting flies. Notably, Rynoskin does not claim that their clothing provides complete protection from mosquitoes.

Fabrics that feature ����������������smart��������������� thermoregulation properties, i.e., higher heat transfer rate under high temperature and lower heat transfer rate under lower temperature, have numerous potential applications in industries such as outdoor clothes, sportswear, interior materials and medical devices. The purpose of this research is to prepare thermo-responsive cotton fabrics by grafting poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) on their surface and evaluate their thermoregulation properties under different environment temperatures.

Elevated blood phosphate levels occur in 90% of hemodialysis patients and unacceptably high levels are present in 50% of patients despite treatment with diet and phosphate binding medications. For many years this situation was accepted as a ?necessary evil? of dialysis without any clear-cut negative outcomes. However, over the last 3-5 years compelling studies report clear associations between mortality and high blood phosphate concentrations . It is now evident that elevated blood phosphate levels significantly contribute to patient morbidity and mortality and novel stand-alone or adjuvant interventions to reduce blood phosphate concentrations are urgently needed. The ultimate goal of this research is the development of a marketable novel hemoadsorption device that will lead to reductions in phosphate burden of hemodialysis patients by addition of a phosphate adsorption mechanism.

We are developing technology for novel bed nets for prevention of the transmission of vector-borne diseases. Our approach utilizes non-toxic, environmentally friendly materials and does not rely solely on conventional insecticidal chemistries.

The overall goal of this work is to create textiles for military items that will be able to prevent or reduce the Deployed War Fighter exposure to insect contact, thus lowering the risk of contracting a vector-borne disease. The textile may be effective via a physical barrier that can prevent the insect bite or a non-toxic treatment that will render the insect harmless without contaminating the environment or posing a potential health risk. The ultimate goal is a new generation of non-toxic, environmentally safe and effective protective textile materials that do not rely on insecticidal chemistries. These alternative materials will mitigate the incidence of insecticide resistance in the vector population, and provide an effective alternative to current chemically treated materials. In addition to soldier clothing, there are a number of other cloth items that can benefit from advanced non-chemical insect-resistant treatments, such as mosquito netting, camouflage helmet covers, ground covers, and tentage.

Program overview: North Carolina State University (NCSU) in partnership with Auburn University (AU) seeks funding to develop high quality bachelor degree programs in STEM priority areas for Georgian public universities. The overall goal of this project is to 1) develop new degree programs in Georgian universities to meet quality instructions, academic rigor, and educational effectiveness needed to achieve international accreditation; 2) provide scholarships for Georgian students admitted to the programs to take in-class and online courses at NCSU and AU; 3) provide financial support for NCSU and AU faculty to develop new online courses in STEM related disciplines; 4) provide financial support for NCSU and AU faculty and staff for retraining and development of the early career Georgian faculty; 5) fund equipment and facilities upgrade at Georgian universities. The proposed development plan is for the years 2014-2034 and envisions up to 70 students per cohort steadily increasing to a target level of 500. If our proposal is chosen in April, during the following 4 months of the program development phase a group of project leaders from NCSU and AU will receive $300K to complete development tasks. Georgian government is contemplating approximately $50M in financial aid over the 20-yearperiod; with $30M projected contribution form Millennium Challenge Corporation over the next five years. Benefit to NCSU/AU: 1) additional revenue brought through student tuition and faculty retraining; 2) enhanced international partnership between NCSU and Georgian students and faculty, as well as close partnership with Auburn University; 3) increased future funding opportunities through US AID; and 4) professional development and additional financial support for NCSU/AU faculty; 5) indirect cost recovery for NCSU/AU. Commitment and expectations from NCSU/AU: Consortia members will be committed to assist with capacity building and support of the development of high quality programs in STEM areas. NCSU has NO obligation to issue degree awards until the new programs in Georgia receive full international accreditation. Once the accreditation is granted to these programs (at the end of the Phase 2), NCSU agrees to issue dual degree awards to students who take one year of online (a minimum of 24 credit hours) AND two semesters of on campus fulltime coursework. We anticipate 10 to 15 students per cohort to attend NCSU. Program implementation: Partnership will be created between the U.S. consortia (NCSU and AU), six different Georgian public universities (1 in capital city, Tbilisi, and 5 in different regions of Georgia), and US Civilian Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) as a facilitator of the project. A new entity, U.S.-Georgia Science House (UGSH), will be created and serve as an educational hub to facilitate the delivery of bachelor-level STEM programs. UGSH will be operated by the consortia and will oversee the program accreditation process, facilitate student recruitment and preparation for study abroad, allocate scholarship resources for preparatory/bridging programs between high school and universities, support inter-institutional collaboration, assist with the faculty hire, and help mobilizing private sector resources. The UGSH will operate satellite offices in each of the five different regions. Once program is fully established and self-sufficient, the UGSH will be gradually phased out. Phase 1 (1 ? 3 years). Members of the Consortia will start with capacity building: help training Georgian professors in scientific English and STEM related subjects, help them bring new educational technology in teaching, align curricula with ABET and SACS learning outcomes, host a handful of Georgian professors selected from each program at NCSU campus. The program will also provide funding for NCSU/AU faculty to develop new online courses in Computer Science and Engineering. Programs that are relatively better developed at Georgian universities (Information and Communication Technologies, Electrical and Agricultural Engineering) will

The overall goal of this work is to create textiles for military items that will be able to prevent or reduce the exposure of military personnel to insect contact, thus lowering the risk of contracting a vector-borne disease. The textile may be effective via a physical barrier that can prevent the insect bite or a non-toxic treatment that will render the insect harmless without contaminating the environment or posing a potential health risk. The ultimate goal is a new generation of non-toxic, environmentally safe and effective protective textile materials that do not rely on insecticidal chemistries. These alternative materials will mitigate the incidence of insecticide resistance in the vector population, and provide an effective alternative to current chemically treated materials. In addition to soldier clothing, there are a number of other cloth items that can benefit from advanced non-chemical insect-resistant treatments, such as mosquito netting, camouflage helmet covers, ground covers, and tentage.