“A Supernova that Sparks in Every Direction”: A Long-Term Assessment of the Research Sprints Faculty Engagement Program

Article will be published in College & Research Libraries in March 2024. This is the accepted version of the manuscript prior to copyediting.PREPRINT: Article to be published in College & Research Libraries in March 2024. This is the accepted version of the manuscript prior to copyediting. The Research Sprints program offers faculty partners the opportunity to collaborate intensively and exclusively for one week with a team of librarians to achieve significant progress on research or teaching projects. This longitudinal study extends previous immediate and short-term assessments by interviewing Research Sprints participants at two research-intensive institutions 2-4 years after their concentrated week. The authors evaluate the enduring impact of the program on the participants’ projects, research/teaching practices, and relationships with the library. Participants report achieving project goals, improved skills and student success, and greater awareness and appreciation of librarians’ work

The Public Digital Humanities Institute - A National Endowment for the Humanities Institute to Support Academic & Community Collaborations in the Digital Humanities

The Public Digital Humanities Institute (PDHI) brought together teams of academics and community partners from 12 community-based digital humanities projects for an intensive week of digital humanities training and discussion at the University of Kansas (KU) in Lawrence, Kansas. The PDHI was funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities through the Institute for Advanced Topics in the Digital Humanities program. It was organized and carried out by KU’s Institute for Digital Research in the Humanities (IDRH), under the direction of co-PI’s digital scholarly initiatives librarian Brian Rosenblum and professor of communication studies Dave Tell. This white paper discusses the PDHI's origins & goals, participating projects, curriculum & activities and outcomes. The PDHI Handbook provides access to slides, handouts and other resources presented at the Institute.National Endowment for the Humanitie

Simultaneous N-Deglycosylation and Digestion of Complex Samples on S-Traps Enables Efficient Glycosite Hypothesis Generation

N-linked glycosylation is an important post-translational modification that is difficult to identify and quantify in traditional bottom-up proteomics experiments. Enzymatic deglycosylation of proteins by peptide:N-glycosidase F (PNGase F) prior to digestion and subsequent mass spectrometry analysis has been shown to improve coverage of various N-linked glycopeptides, but the inclusion of this step may add up to a day to an already lengthy sample preparation process. An efficient way to integrate deglycosylation with bottom-up proteomics would be a valuable contribution to the glycoproteomics field. Here, we demonstrate a proteomics workflow in which deglycosylation and proteolytic digestion of samples occur simultaneously using suspension trapping (S-Trap). This approach adds no time to standard digestion protocols. Applying this sample preparation strategy to a human serum sample, we demonstrate improved identification of potential N-glycosylated peptides in deglycosylated samples compared with non-deglycosylated samples, identifying 156 unique peptides that contain the N-glycosylation motif (asparagine-X-serine/threonine), the deamidation modification characteristic of PNGase F, and an increase in peptide intensity over a control sample. We expect that this rapid sample preparation strategy will assist in the identification and quantification of both known and potential glycoproteins. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with the identifier PXD037921

Facile Ozonation of Light Alkanes to Oxygenates with High Atom Economy in Tunable Condensed Phase at Ambient Temperature

We have demonstrated the oxidation of mixed alkanes (propane, n-butane, and isobutane) by ozone in a condensed phase at ambient temperature and mild pressures (up to 1.3 MPa). Oxygenated products such as alcohols and ketones are formed with a combined molar selectivity of >90%. The ozone and dioxygen partial pressures are controlled such that the gas phase is always outside the flammability envelope. Because the alkane–ozone reaction predominantly occurs in the condensed phase, we are able to harness the unique tunability of ozone concentrations in hydrocarbon-rich liquid phases for facile activation of the light alkanes while also avoiding over-oxidation of the products. Further, adding isobutane and water to the mixed alkane feed significantly enhances ozone utilization and the oxygenate yields. The ability to tune the composition of the condensed media by incorporating liquid additives to direct selectivity is a key to achieving high carbon atom economy, which cannot be achieved in gas-phase ozonations. Even in the liquid phase, without added isobutane and water, combustion products dominate during neat propane ozonation, with CO2 selectivity being >60%. In contrast, ozonation of a propane+isobutane+water mixture suppresses CO2 formation to 15% and nearly doubles the yield of isopropanol. A kinetic model based on the formation of a hydrotrioxide intermediate can adequately explain the yields of the observed isobutane ozonation products. Estimated rate constants for the formation of oxygenates suggest that the demonstrated concept has promise for facile and atom-economic conversion of natural gas liquids to valuable oxygenates and broader applications associated with C–H functionalization

Sulfamate-Tethered Aza-Wacker Cyclization Strategy for the Syntheses of 2-Amino-2-deoxyhexoses: Preparation of Orthogonally Protected d-Galactosamines

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in The Journal of Organic Chemistry, Copyright © 2023 American Chemical Society after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.joc.2c02346.We present a new strategy for the assembly of protected d-galactosamine synthons. Our route uses a sulfamate-tethered aza-Wacker cyclization as a key step and commences from d-erythrono-1,4-lactone. This stands in contrast to most literature syntheses of 2-amino-2-deoxyhexose derivatives, as these generally employ glycals or hexoses as starting materials. This strategy may serve as a template for the assembly of many other 2-amino-2-deoxyhexoses with protection patterns difficult to access by conventional methods

The Radar Echo Telescope for Cosmic Rays

The Radar Echo Telescope for Cosmic Rays (RET-CR) was deployed in May 2023. RET-CR aims to show the in-nature viability of the radar echo method to probe in-ice particle cascades induced by ultra high energy cosmic rays and neutrinos. The RET-CR surface system detects ultra-high-energy cosmic ray air showers impinging on the ice using conventional methods. The surface detector then triggers the in-ice component of RET-CR, that is subsequently used to search for a radar echo off of the in-ice continuation of an ultra high energy cosmic ray air shower. The two systems independently reconstruct the energy, arrival direction, and impact point of the particle cascade. Here we present RET-CR, its installation in Greenland, and the first operations and results of RET-CR

Care of plastic objects

I routinely deal with plastics in my job as a library and archives conservator. Plastics conservation is a fairly new area for all of us, and conservators are still learning about how to care for these objects as they begin to actively deteriorate. Modern materials are challenging in new ways, with proprietary formulae, complex materials, and new deterioration challenges. Today I will focus on the current research and what we can take away from it to meet daily needs in a museum. Sadly, there is not a “one-size-fits-all” solution for storage of all plastics, as different plastics have different needs. This presentation comes out of my own research and tips I recently garnered from a webinar by Yvonne Shashoua, Research Professor at the University of Denmark—a chemist and leading researcher on plastics degradation. Unless otherwise noted, all images come from KU Libraries, University of Kansas

Formulation development and comparability studies with an aluminum-salt adjuvanted SARS-CoV-2 Spike ferritin nanoparticle vaccine antigen produced from two different cell lines (Dataset)

The development of safe and effective second-generation COVID-19 vaccines to improve affordability and storage stability requirements remains a high priority to expand global coverage. In this report, we describe formulation development and comparability studies with a self-assembled SARS-CoV-2 spike ferritin nanoparticle vaccine antigen (called DCFHP), when produced in two different cell lines and formulated with an aluminum-salt adjuvant (Alhydrogel, AH). Varying levels of phosphate buffer altered the extent and strength of antigen-adjuvant interactions, and these formulations were evaluated for their (1) in vivo performance in mice and (2) in vitro stability profiles. Unadjuvanted DCFHP produced minimal immune responses while AH-adjuvanted formulations elicited greatly enhanced pseudovirus neutralization titers independent of ~100%, ~40% or ~10% of the DCFHP antigen adsorbed to AH. These formulations differed, however, in their in vitro stability properties as determined by biophysical studies and a competitive ELISA for measuring ACE2 receptor binding of AH-bound antigen. Interestingly, after one month of 4ºC storage, small increases in antigenicity with concomitant decreases in the ability to desorb the antigen from the AH were observed. Finally, we performed a comparability assessment of DCFHP antigen produced in Expi293 and CHO cells, which displayed expected differences in their N-linked oligosaccharide profiles. Despite consisting of different DCFHP glycoforms, these two preparations were highly similar in their key quality attributes including molecular size, structural integrity, conformational stability, binding to ACE2 receptor and mouse immunogenicity profiles. Taken together, these studies support future preclinical and clinical development of an AH-adjuvanted DCFHP vaccine candidate produced in CHO cells

Biogeochemical properties of blue carbon sediments influence the distribution and monomer composition of bacterial polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA)

Coastal wetlands are highly efficient ‘blue carbon’ sinks which contribute to mitigating climate change through the long-term removal of atmospheric CO2 and capture of carbon (C). Microorganisms are integral to C sequestration in blue carbon sediments and face a myriad of natural and anthropogenic pressures yet their adaptive responses are poorly understood. One such response in bacteria is the alteration of biomass lipids, specifically through the accumulation of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) and alteration of membrane phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA). PHAs are highly reduced bacterial storage polymers that increase bacterial fitness in changing environments. In this study, we investigated the distribution of microbial PHA, PLFA profiles, community structure and response to changes in sediment geochemistry along an elevation gradient from intertidal to vegetated supratidal sediments. We found highest PHA accumulation, monomer diversity and expression of lipid stress indices in elevated and vegetated sediments where C, nitrogen (N), PAH and heavy metals increased, and pH was significantly lower. This was accompanied by a reduction in bacterial diversity and a shift to higher abundances of microbial community members favouring complex C degradation. Results presented here describe a connection between bacterial PHA accumulation, membrane lipid adaptation, microbial community composition and polluted C rich sediments

Recruitment and reach in a school-based pediatric obesity intervention trial in rural areas

Introduction: The purpose of this study is to evaluate two recruitment strategies on schools and participant participation rates and representativeness (reach) within a pediatric obesity treatment trial tailored for families who live in rural areas. Methods: Recruitment of schools was evaluated based on their progress toward enrolling participants. Recruitment and reach of participants were evaluated using (1) participation rates and (2) representativeness of demographics and weight status of participants compared to eligible participants (who did not consent and enroll) and all students (regardless of eligibility). School recruitment, as well as participant recruitment and reach, were evaluated across recruitment methods comparing opt-in (i.e., caregivers agreed to allow their child to be screened for eligibility) vs. screen-first (i.e., all children screened for eligibility). Results: Of the 395 schools contacted, 34 schools (8.6%) expressed initial interest; of these, 27 (79%) proceeded to recruit participants, and 18 (53%) ultimately participated in the program. Of schools who initiated recruitment, 75% of schools using the opt-in method and 60% of schools using the screen-first method continued participation and were able to recruit a sufficient number of participants. The average participation rate (number of enrolled individuals divided by those who were eligible) from all 18 schools was 21.6%. This percentage was higher in schools using the screen-first method (average of 29.7%) compared to schools using the opt-in method (13.5%). Study participants were representative of the student population based on sex (female), race (White), and eligibility for free and reduced-price lunch. Study participants had higher body mass index (BMI) metrics (BMI, BMIz, and BMI%) than eligible non-participants. Conclusions: Schools using the opt-in recruitment were more likely to enroll at least 5 families and administer the intervention. However, the participation rate was higher in screen-first schools. The overall study sample was representative of the school demographics