National Research Council Dialogue to Assess Progress on NASA's Title of CRM Capability Roadmap Development: General Background and Introduction

Contents include the following: General Background and Introduction of Capability Roadmaps "Title." Agency Objective. Strategic Planning Transformation. Advanced Planning Organizational Roles. Public Involvement in Strategic Planning. Strategic Roadmaps and Schedule. Capability Roadmaps and Schedule. Purpose of NRC Review. Capability Roadmap Development (Progress to Date)

An Academic Library-Biotech Industry Partnership: Defining a Collaboration

New York Medical College opened BioInc@NYMC, a multimillion-dollar government-funded biotechnology incubator, in October 2014. To spur medical innovation and economic development, the public and private sectors collaborated to provide biotech start-ups with state-of-the-art facilities. By April 2015 four start-up companies had joined the incubator. The Health Sciences Library was given a unique opportunity to interface with the private biotechnology industry and define an academic library-biotechnology industry partnership

Atomic Beams

Contains reports on two research projects.Lincoln Laboratory (Purchase Order DDL-B187)Department of the ArmyDepartment of the NavyDepartment of the Air Force under Contract AF19(122)-45

Atomic Beams

Contains reports on three research projects.Purchase Order DDL-B15

Efficient and specific knockdown of small non-coding RNAs in mammalian cells and in mice

Hundreds of small nuclear non-coding RNAs, including small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs), have been identified in different organisms, with important implications in regulating gene expression and in human diseases. However, functionalizing these nuclear RNAs in mammalian cells remains challenging, due to methodological difficulties in depleting these RNAs, especially snoRNAs. Here we report a convenient and efficient approach to deplete snoRNA, small Cajal body RNA (scaRNA) and small nuclear RNA in human and mouse cells by conventional transfection of chemically modified antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) that promote RNaseH-mediated cleavage of target RNAs. The levels of all seven tested snoRNA/scaRNAs and four snRNAs were reduced by 80–95%, accompanied by impaired endogenous functions of the target RNAs. ASO-targeting is highly specific, without affecting expression of the host genes where snoRNAs are embedded in the introns, nor affecting the levels of snoRNA isoforms with high sequence similarities. At least five snoRNAs could be depleted simultaneously. Importantly, snoRNAs could be dramatically depleted in mice by systematic administration of the ASOs. Together, our findings provide a convenient and efficient approach to characterize nuclear non-coding RNAs in mammalian cells, and to develop antisense drugs against disease-causing non-coding RNAs

A Computational Model of Quantitative Chromatin Immunoprecipitation (ChIP) Analysis

Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) analysis is widely used to identify the locations in genomes occupied by transcription factors (TFs). The approach involves chemical cross-linking of DNA with associated proteins, fragmentation of chromatin by sonication or enzymatic digestion, immunoprecipitation of the fragments containing the protein of interest, and then PCR or hybridization analysis to characterize and quantify the genomic sequences enriched. We developed a computational model of quantitative ChIP analysis to elucidate the factors contributing to the method’s resolution. The most important variables identified by the model were, in order of importance, the spacing of the PCR primers, the mean length of the chromatin fragments, and, unexpectedly, the type of fragment width distribution, with very small DNA fragments and smaller amplicons providing the best resolution of TF binding. One of the major predictions of the model was also validated experimentally

Inside and out: An epicardial lead gone astray

WEB-SITE FEATUR

Optical Design and Status of the Large Ultra-Violet Optical Infrared Surveyor (LUVOIR)

"In preparation for the Astrophysics 2020 Decadal Survey NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center is studying a segmented aperture telescope with broad astrophysics, solar system, and exoplanet science capability called the Large Ultra-Violet Optical Infrared Surveyor (LUVOIR). This telescope design incorporates many heritage design concepts from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), and the Wide-field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST). This includes similar ultraviolet instrumentation from HST, deployable segmented optics from JWST, and high-contrast coronagraph technology from WFIRST. Several optical design trades were completed to maximize the science product while maintaining reasonable packaging and fabrication constraints. Other technology developments such as freeform optics, UV enhanced coatings, coronagraph design, and ultra-stable mirrors are being studied to further improve the observatory performance

Investigating situated cultural practices through cross-sectoral digital collaborations: policies, processes, insights

The (Belfast) Good Friday Agreement represents a major milestone in Northern Ireland's recent political history, with complex conditions allowing for formation of a ‘cross-community’ system of government enabling power sharing between parties representing Protestant/loyalist and Catholic/nationalist constituencies. This article examines the apparent flourishing of community-focused digital practices over the subsequent ‘post-conflict’ decade, galvanised by Northern Irish and EU policy initiatives armed with consolidating the peace process. Numerous digital heritage and storytelling projects have been catalysed within programmes aiming to foster social processes, community cohesion and cross-community exchange. The article outlines two projects—‘digital memory boxes’ and ‘interactive galleon’—developed during 2007–2008 within practice-led PhD enquiry conducted in collaboration with the Nerve Centre, a third-sector media education organisation. The article goes on to critically examine the processes involved in practically realising, and creatively and theoretically reconciling, community-engaged digital production in a particular socio-political context of academic-community collaboration