In N Out — Reaching OUT to the community from withIN our student body

As a way to enhance their educational experience and promote global citizenship, students in higher education are often expected to participate in activities beyond the walls of their universities. These activities may include study abroad, internships, service learning projects, and much more. While these activities can take place far from the university setting, they also often occur in the university’s local community, where our students work or volunteer at local businesses, nonprofit organizations, and service agencies. These students bring their real world projects to their course work, where libraries and librarians engage with them to find real world solutions using library resources. What role do academic libraries play in supporting students as they engage in these activities? Can academic libraries play a role in supporting local communities beyond the help they provide for students engaged in community projects? If so, how can academic libraries plan for and respond to local business and community needs? Issues associated with the increasingly blurred lines between school and work and how libraries can navigate these boundaries will be addressed. This preconference will focus on what academic librarians are already doing for local communities, both directly and indirectly, and how to replicate at their own institutions. Participants will engage with case studies to plan a research strategy, suggest recommended sources and address access issues specific to community projects. Interactive polling will capture participant suggestions to augment a community engagement packet. Participants will leave with innovative community outreach programs that can be replicated on their campuses. Workshop participants will be able to: Identify opportunities for librarians to provide direct and indirect support to local communities; Compare and contrast the different economic resources that support local communities; and Demonstrate the usefulness of resources such as census data, geographic information systems (GIS), and subscription-based databases to local communities

Outstanding Business Reference Sources: The 2011 Selection of Recent Titles

Each year, the Business Reference Sources Committee of BRASS selects the outstanding business reference sources published since May of the previous year. The committee reviewed 31 entries; 3 were designated as “outstanding,” and 7 were placed into the other noteworthy titles category. Of the 7 noteworthy titles, 2 were labeled as significant new editions. These works cover a variety of topics: industrial/organizational psychology, leadership, law and finance, economic history, marketing and demographics, as well as operations research and management science

RNAs Containing Modified Nucleotides Fail To Trigger RIG-I Conformational Changes for Innate Immune Signaling

ABSTRACT Invading pathogen nucleic acids are recognized and bound by cytoplasmic (retinoic acid-inducible gene I [RIG-I]-like) and membrane-bound (Toll-like) pattern recognition receptors to activate innate immune signaling. Modified nucleotides, when present in RNA molecules, diminish the magnitude of these signaling responses. However, mechanisms explaining the blunted signaling have not been elucidated. In this study, we used several independent biological assays, including inhibition of virus replication, RIG-I:RNA binding assays, and limited trypsin digestion of RIG-I:RNA complexes, to begin to understand how RNAs containing modified nucleotides avoid or suppress innate immune signaling. The experiments were based on a model innate immune activating RNA molecule, the polyU/UC RNA domain of hepatitis C virus, which was transcribed in vitro with canonical nucleotides or with one of eight modified nucleotides. The approach revealed signature assay responses associated with individual modified nucleotides or classes of modified nucleotides. For example, while both N-6-methyladenosine (m6A) and pseudouridine nucleotides correlate with diminished signaling, RNA containing m6A modifications bound RIG-I poorly, while RNA containing pseudouridine bound RIG-I with high affinity but failed to trigger the canonical RIG-I conformational changes associated with robust signaling. These data advance understanding of RNA-mediated innate immune signaling, with additional relevance for applying nucleotide modifications to RNA therapeutics

Outstanding Business Reference Sources: The 2010 Selection of Recent Titles

Each year at the ALA Annual Conference, the Business Reference Sources Committee of RUSA’s Business Reference and Services Section (BRASS) meets to select the outstanding business reference sources published since May of the previous year. With all due respect to the familiar and longstanding column title, committee members have come to think of our charge more broadly as finding the most outstanding business information sources, the better to reflect the evolving nature of the formats and means of accessing business information to meet reference needs. For 2010, the committee weeded titles proposed during 2009–10 down to fifteen that made the final review. Among those, the committee selected three as outstanding business information titles and an additional six as noteworthy titles. The works reviewed below cover such areas as economics, the music industry, corporate sustainability, retailing, brand valuation, the current and historical U.S. role in international trade, and an innovative new vehicle for affordable (or free) online access to premier instructional resources in business and economics

Diverse intracellular pathogens activate Type III Interferon expression from peroxisomes

Type I Interferon (IFN) responses are considered the primary means by which viral infections are controlled in mammals. Despite this view, several pathogens activate antiviral responses in the absence of Type I IFNs. The mechanisms controlling Type I IFN-independent responses are undefined. We have found that RIG-I like Receptors (RLRs) induce Type III IFN expression in a variety of human cell types, and identified factors that differentially regulate Type I and III IFN expression. We identified peroxisomes as a primary site that initiates Type III IFN expression, and revealed that the process of intestinal epithelial cell differentiation upregulates peroxisome biogenesis and promotes robust Type III IFN responses in human cells. These findings highlight the interconnections between innate immunity and cell biology