Research Data Services in Academic Libraries: Data Intensive Roles for the Future?

Objectives: The primary objectives of this study are to gauge the various levels of Research Data Service academic libraries provide based on demographic factors, gauging RDS growth since 2011, and what obstacles may prevent expansion or growth of services. Methods: Survey of academic institutions through stratified random sample of ACRL library directors across the U.S. and Canada. Frequencies and chi-square analysis were applied, with some responses grouped into broader categories for analysis. Results: Minimal to no change for what services were offered between survey years, and interviews with library directors were conducted to help explain this lack of change. Conclusion: Further analysis is forthcoming for a librarians study to help explain possible discrepancies in organizational objectives and librarian sentiments of RDS

Spatiotemporal Control of Opioid Signaling and Behavior

SummaryOptogenetics is now a widely accepted tool for spatiotemporal manipulation of neuronal activity. However, a majority of optogenetic approaches use binary on/off control schemes. Here, we extend the optogenetic toolset by developing a neuromodulatory approach using a rationale-based design to generate a Gi-coupled, optically sensitive, mu-opioid-like receptor, which we term opto-MOR. We demonstrate that opto-MOR engages canonical mu-opioid signaling through inhibition of adenylyl cyclase, activation of MAPK and G protein-gated inward rectifying potassium (GIRK) channels and internalizes with kinetics similar to that of the mu-opioid receptor. To assess in vivo utility, we expressed a Cre-dependent viral opto-MOR in RMTg/VTA GABAergic neurons, which led to a real-time place preference. In contrast, expression of opto-MOR in GABAergic neurons of the ventral pallidum hedonic cold spot led to real-time place aversion. This tool has generalizable application for spatiotemporal control of opioid signaling and, furthermore, can be used broadly for mimicking endogenous neuronal inhibition pathways

Cluster M Mycobacteriophages Bongo, PegLeg, and Rey with Unusually Large Repertoires of tRNA Isotopes

Genomic analysis of a large set of phages infecting the common hostMycobacterium smegmatis mc2155 shows that they span considerable genetic diversity. There are more than 20 distinct types that lack nucleotide similarity with each other, and there is considerable diversity within most of the groups. Three newly isolated temperate mycobacteriophages, Bongo, PegLeg, and Rey, constitute a new group (cluster M), with the closely related phages Bongo and PegLeg forming subcluster M1 and the more distantly related Rey forming subcluster M2. The cluster M mycobacteriophages have siphoviral morphologies with unusually long tails, are homoimmune, and have larger than average genomes (80.2 to 83.7 kbp). They exhibit a variety of features not previously described in other mycobacteriophages, including noncanonical genome architectures and several unusual sets of conserved repeated sequences suggesting novel regulatory systems for both transcription and translation. In addition to containing transfer-messenger RNA and RtcB-like RNA ligase genes, their genomes encode 21 to 24 tRNA genes encompassing complete or nearly complete sets of isotypes. We predict that these tRNAs are used in late lytic growth, likely compensating for the degradation or inadequacy of host tRNAs. They may represent a complete set of tRNAs necessary for late lytic growth, especially when taken together with the apparent lack of codons in the same late genes that correspond to tRNAs that the genomes of the phages do not obviously encode

Multiple-look effects on temporal discrimination within sound sequences

The multiple-look notion holds that the difference limen (DL) decreases with multiple observations. We investigated this notion for temporal discrimination in isochronous sound sequences. In Experiment 1, we established a multiple-look effect when sequences comprised nine standard time intervals (S) followed by an increasing number of comparison time intervals (C), but no multiple-look effect when one trailing C interval was preceded by an increasing number of S intervals. In Experiment 2, we extended the design. There were four sequential conditions: (a) 9 leading S intervals followed by 1, 2, …, or 9 C-intervals; (b) 9 leading C intervals followed by 1, 2, …, or 9 S intervals; (c) 9 trailing C-intervals preceded by 1, 2, …, or 9 S-intervals; and (d) 9 trailing S-intervals preceded by 1, 2, …, or 9 C-intervals. Both the interval accretions before and after the tempo change caused multiple-look effects, irrespective of the time order of S and C. Complete deconfounding of the number of intervals before and after the tempo change was accomplished in Experiment 3. The multiple-look effect of interval accretion before the tempo change was twice as big as that after the tempo change. The diminishing returns relation between the DL and interval accretion could be described well by a reciprocal function

Novel Opto-genetic Tools for the Study of Opioid Receptor Signaling

From the Washington University Senior Honors Thesis Abstracts (WUSHTA), Volume 6, Spring 2014. Published by the Office of Undergraduate Research. Joy Zalis Kiefer, Director of Undergraduate Research and Associate Dean in the College of Arts & Sciences; Jane Green and Stacy Ross, Editors; Kristin G. Sobotka, Undergraduate Research Coordinator. Mentor: Michael Brucha

Novel Opto-genetic Tools for the Study of Opioid Receptor Signaling

Mentor: Michael Bruchas From the Washington University Undergraduate Research Digest: WUURD, Volume 9, Issue 1, Fall 2013. Published by the Office of Undergraduate Research. Joy Zalis Kiefer Director of Undergraduate Research and Assistant Dean in the College of Arts & Sciences

Novel Opto-Genetic Tools for the Study of Opioid Receptor Signaling

Mentor: Michael Bruchas From the Washington University Undergraduate Research Digest: WUURD, Volume 8, Issue 1, Fall 2012. Published by the Office of Undergraduate Research, Joy Zalis Kiefer Director of Undergraduate Research and Assistant Dean in the College of Arts & Sciences

The role of the central amygdala kappa opioid receptor and dopamine in discriminatory fear learning and anxiety

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2020Collectively, anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., with about 30% of Americans experiencing this disorder in their lifetime. There are a variety of anxiety disorders, including phobias, obsessive compulsive disorders, generalized anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which display heterogeneous symptoms. Many of these disorders are based in aberrant information processing of fear-inducing stimuli. To develop new treatment options, it is necessary to identify new therapeutic targets that mediate normal and dysfunctional fear learning. While discriminative fear can be adaptive, high intensity non-discriminative generalized fear is often maladaptive and can result in fear disorders, such as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Within the amygdala, the central amygdala (CeA) is highly heterogeneous, dynamic population which is critical for the acquisition, consolidation, and expression of cued fear. The CeA acts as a hub of threat discrimination information. This complex discrimination calculation is dependent on a variety of signaling molecules and neural circuits. We have previously demonstrated that CeA corticotrophin releasing hormone (CRH) expression and its local action on CRH receptor 1 (CRHR1) are necessary for the acquisition of low-threat-intensity, discriminative fear. We have also identified the critical role of VTA dopamine projections to the CeA for maintaining cue-specific, non-generalized fear. Now, we have characterized the coexpression and localization of a variety of stress-associated neuropeptides in the CeA and identified an additional CeA signaling system that regulates anxiety and fear discrimination. I investigated the role of kappa opioid receptor (KOR) in the CeA for regulation of conditioned threat discrimination and anxiety-like behavior in mice. We demonstrated that reduced KOR expression in the CeA, through genetic inactivation of the KOR-encoding gene (Oprk1) results in increased anxiety and impaired conditioned threat discrimination. KOR’s endogenous ligand, dynorphin (Pdyn) is expressed locally in the CeA. Local Pdyn+ cells densely innervate the CeA, but reduction of CeA Pdyn through genetic inactivation of the Pdyn-encoding gene (Pdyn) in the CeA had no effect on anxiety or conditioned threat discrimination. However, the CeA also receives distal Pdyn+ inputs from throughout the brain. When we inactivated all sources of dynorphin to the CeA we were able to recapitulate the anxiety and fear discrimination phenotypes of CeA KOR inactivation. These findings suggest that Pdyn inputs to the CeA signal through KOR to promote threat discrimination and reduce anxiety. We believe that a better understanding of this pathway and how it interacts with other stress-associated signaling molecules could aid in the discovery of new drug targets for the treatment of fear and anxiety disorders