Grants

NSF

Recent floods in the rural inland riverine areas of the United States have tested communities in those regions. This project examines how communities vulnerable to flooding respond to compounding disasters of inundation and other ecological stressors. Specifically, the project explores whether the social, technical, and ecological drivers of land-use dynamics in contexts of inland riverine flooding are influenced by localized mutual aid networks. It is well documented that first responders and other officials encounter communication difficulties in the context of flooding events. The researchers ask whether mutual aid and other networks establish obligations and responsibilities that enable recovery and mitigation efforts. The research produces a community-based floodplain mapping tool to improve communication and collaboration across scales in disaster response, recovery, and mitigation. The tool is shared with local communities. The project expands participation in STEM learning for community science youth fellows, undergraduate, and graduate students. Dissemination plans improve engagement with community science and improve the public’s understanding of science and the scientific method. This project is jointly funded by Cultural Anthropology and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). This project studies how rural communities respond to overlapping disasters of flood water inundation, and a range of other ecological stressors. In preliminary research, investigators have seen that community members, local responders, disaster response agents, and others do not have easy ways to communicate before, during, and after flooding. This is in part due to lack of shared language, and lack of adequate tools for collaboration across these different groups. This project studies processes of response, recovery, and mitigation work in these river valleys. The team conducts on-the-ground in these rural areas on land-use regulation and practice during and after floods; and how social forces, economic realities, and technical infrastructure shape the impacts of land use. This project focuses on how communication, responsibility, and collective community assistance works after disaster. The researcher will conduct behavioral observation at community meetings; interviews with river corridor and floodplain managers, other rural extension and food security stakeholders, and regional planning commission officers; a survey (n=500) on perceptions of optimal land and river use and risks with residents in three floodplain communities; and archival analyses to gather longitudinal data on flood risk and resilience. The project advances scientific debates about land use practices in rural floodplain contexts, asking whether municipal-level policies of zoning in upstream and downstream contexts influence community responses to flooding. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

NSF

Manufacturing high-volume, commodity chemicals relies heavily on catalytic processes that require feedstocks derived from natural gas or petroleum, together with energy from the combustion of natural gas – both contributing to atmospheric carbon dioxide and methane. A promising path to net-zero carbon emissions involves the transition to bio-based feedstocks combined with electrochemical technology powered by sustainable electricity generated, for example, from wind or solar energy. Electrochemical processing of bio-feedstocks to high-value chemical products is challenging, however. This project will prove a novel concept for electrocatalytically converting bio-resourced carboxylic acids to alcohols, creating an opportunity for reduced carbon emissions relative to current technology. The project will provide research opportunities for undergraduate students and educational initiatives for students, scientists, and non-expert community members. A research experience for local community college instructors will be offered to help them shape future curricula and guide students in continuing from two-year to four-year degree programs. The project explores the hypothesis that electrochemically-generated surface hydride can cooperate with Lewis acid catalysts to selectively reduce carboxylic acids to alcohols, imitating the mechanism of harsh chemical reagents such as aluminum hydride. The proposed systems bear similarity to so-called “frustrated” Lewis pairs, which can activate hydrogen heterolytically and reduce challenging bonds. These concepts will be investigated in the context of synthesizing 1,2-propanediol (propylene glycol), a major commodity and outlet for propylene, using bio-derived lactic acid. To that end, the project bridges gaps between homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis with the design of molecular-catalyst-like surfaces, and will delineate fundamental requirements for harnessing strong acidity and hydricity to activate difficult bonds. Controlling these properties simultaneously is a grand challenge as they are intrinsically at odds and require sophisticated schemes to avoid reactivity quenching. The project also will explore new mechanisms to mimic the activity of strong reagents with electrochemical driving forces. It will further expand basic understanding of phenomena such as proton transfer and pH in non-aqueous environments and develop approaches to rigorous benchmarking of novel materials that lack established protocols. Fundamental requirements will be examined in non-aqueous electrolytes with hydrogen as the dominant hydride precursor, while further work will aim to translate the chemistry to more desirable aqueous conditions. In a similar vein, initial studies will combine heterogeneous hydride generation with homogeneous Lewis-acid electrolytes and then move to full “heterogenization” with solid acid/metal interfacial catalysts. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

National Park Service

United State Department of the Interior, National Park Service (NPS) Notice of Intent to Award. This is not a request for applications. This funding opportunity is to provide public notice of NPS's intention to fund the following project activities without full and open competition. Cooperative Agreement P15AC00150 with the Yosemite Management Group, LLC, for project titled "Cooperative Agreement for Essential Facilities for Park Administration and Visitor use"

National Institutes of Health

Cooperative Agreement for In Vivo High-Resolution Imaging for Inner Ear Visualization (U01 Clinical Trial Required)

Western Oregon University Library

A consortium of three public and private higher education libraries (Willamette University, Portland State University, and Western Oregon University) will identify, solicit, process, and preserve the non-official and personal papers of three of the Oregon governors since World War II. Information about the collections will be made available online and selected portions of the collections will be digitized for access and viewing on the Web. The scope of the proposal is all materials other than those collected by the Oregon State Archives in Salem. The first part of the project will endeavor to identify the locations and ownership of gubernatorial papers and to create a listing of whose papers are where. A second goal of the project is the cross training among the three institutions on the systematic processing of political papers. This will be followed by a small proof-of-concept project for processing and digitizing of select portions of the Straub collection to determine time and resources needed for a larger initiative that would encompass non-official gubernatorial papers across institutions.

Western Oregon University Library

A consortium of three public and private higher education libraries (Willamette University, Portland State University, and Western Oregon University) will cooperatively identify, solicit for donation, process, and preserve the non-official and personal papers of the 13 Oregon governors since World War II. Selected portions of the collections will be digitized for access and viewing on the Web. The scope of the proposal is all materials other than those collected by the Oregon State Archives in Salem. This project is an identification and proof-of-concept phase that would set the stage for a larger project dependent on the outcome of the discovery portion of this first effort.

Fish and Wildlife Service

By leveraging resources and strategically targeting science to inform conservation decisions and actions, Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs) create a network of partners working in unison to ensure the sustainability of America s land, water, wildlife and cultural resources. Facilitated by the Department of the Interior (DOI) as part of its collaborative, science-based response to climate change, each of the 22 LCCs operates within a specific landscape, covering the entire United States. Defined based on ecological boundaries, the LCCs also include portions of Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Pacific Islands. Partners include federal, state, and local governments, tribes, universities, nongovernmental organizations, landowners, and other stakeholders. These landscape-scale, conservation science partnerships support and enhance on-the-ground conservation efforts by facilitating the production and dissemination of applied science products for resource management decisions.

Western Oregon University Library

Cooperative Library Instruction Project 2 (CLIP2) will produce a set of open access information literacy tutorials and associated assessment materials that address the 29 information literacy proficiencies put forward to the Oregon Council of Instructional Administrators (CIA) by the Information Literacy Advisory Group of Oregon (ILAGO) in conjunction with Oregon Writing and English Advisory Committee (OWEAC) as the basis for information literacy requirements in the Associate of Arts Oregon Transfer degree (AA/OT). The CLIP project will also produce training materials and tutorials in the use of the CLIP tutorials, assessments and related materials for instruction. The project will develop and implement a series of workshops for librarians and instructional faculty at various locations across the state to plan, create, and distribute curricula, activities, and assessments with the purpose of developing an ongoing process of participation.

Geological Survey

The Cooperative Research Units Program is a unique collaborative relationship between States, Universities, the Federal government and a non-profit organization. The program is comprised of 40 Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units on university campuses in 38 states. Since the original nine Units were established in the 1930s, additional Units were established by Congress at specified universities. The 40 units in the program are jointly supported by the US Geological Survey, Host Universities, State Natural Resource Agencies, Wildlife Management Institute, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

DECD

Coordinate, marketing and promote local business

NIGMS - National Institute of General Medical Sciences

Karthikeyani Chellappa PhD, Brown University Coordinated Control of Metabolism by Transporters and Enzymes The transport of molecules across the plasma membrane is a highly regulated process that impacts metabolism at subcellular to organismal scales. The physical association of enzymes in a pathway or the association of transporters and enzymes can increase the efficiency of metabolic pathways. Here, we address the broader implications of coordination between transporters and enzymes by investigating the transport mechanism of a precursor for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD). NAD, a critical redox cofactor in over 400 biochemical reactions, also acts as a substrate for signaling enzymes like sirtuins, ADP-ribosyltransferases, and cyclic ADP-ribose synthases. The decrease in NAD levels is associated with a broad range of diseases, including obesity, diabetes, aging, and cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. While boosting NAD levels by precursor supplementation has shown benefits in rodent disease models, its effectiveness in human clinical trials is limited. Understanding the biology of NAD metabolism has implications for basic science and translational research. Nicotinamide (NAM) is a primary precursor for NAD biosynthesis in most tissues in mammals. NAD-consuming enzymes cleave NAD molecules to release NAM, which is constantly exchanged between tissues and circulation. Our previous research has shown that NAM transport is a critical site of regulation in NAD homeostasis with potential implications in aging. We have further established that the transport of NAM is crucial for NAD synthesis in the gut microbiome and precursor supplementation. Our current work has discovered that NAM is transported into mammalian cells via a biphasic transport system. We also found that nicotinamide phosphoribosyl transferase (NAMPT), a rate-limiting enzyme that uses NAM as a substrate, regulates NAM transport. Hence, we hypothesize that a coordination of NAM transport and metabolism is essential to maintain cellular function. Therefore, it is important to understand how NAM, an essential intermediate in NAD metabolism, is transported across the plasma membrane in mammalian cells. Our aim is to address fundamental questions such as how NAM is transported in mammals, how NAMPT controls NAM transport, and what is the significance of NAM transport control by NAMPT. By unraveling the mechanisms of NAM transport, we can develop novel genetic and pharmacological tools to accelerate the next phase of discoveries in NAD biology, microbiome research, and nutrient supplementation. An over-arching long-term goal of this research program is to fill the gap in understanding the implications of coordination between transporter and enzymes to cellular metabolism and function at the genome level using a systems biology approach.

NCI - National Cancer Institute

The NCI Frederick Building Automation System (BAS) is a complex network of computers which control and monitor nearly all the NCI Frederick building systems, including air handlers, exhaust systems, chillers and heating systems. Failure of a component of the BAS can result in the failure of one of these critical building systems with subsequent impact to scientific research or animal health. Many of the BAS controllers are the original version, Micro-Smart Controllers (MSC) from the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. Advancements in technology have made the MSC system obsolete and antiquated. Replacement parts for the MSC system are no longer available nor is the software supported. Hardware is unavailable, creating risks to the BAS and the building systems it controls. The first three phases of the upgrades to the campus BAS are now complete. Phase 4 will be completed in October 2025: • Phase 1: Complete: Phase 1 replaced the antiquated MSC controllers at the highest risk buildings; animal buildings and freezer repositories. • Phase 2: Complete: Replace obsolete MSC controllers in remaining buildings that have BAS. • Phase 3: Complete: Replace obsolete UNC controllers on campus and at the ATRF. • Phase 4: Provide labor, material, new BAS controllers and programming necessary for each monitoring/control point(s) in each building listed below to report to the campus Building Automation system. Each device/system shall be tested and verified.

Foreign Agricultural Service

Coordinating Agricultural Development & Innovation (CADI) Armenia Exchanges: U.S. Food Safety Regulations and Standards Training Program

Foreign Agricultural Service

Coordinating Agricultural Development & Innovation (CADI) Uzbekistan Exchanges: Promotion of U.S. Distilled Spirits

Foreign Agricultural Service

Coordinating Agricultural Development & Innovation (CADI) Uzbekistan: U.S. Soy Marketing Promotion

Air Force -- Research Lab

Coordinating Austere Nodes through Virtualization and Analysis of Streams (CANVAS)

DEPT OF DEFENSE.DEPT OF THE AIR FORCE.AIR FORCE MATERIEL COMMAND.AIR FORCE RESEARCH LABORATORY.FA8750 AFRL RIK

Coordinating Austere Nodes through Virtualization and Analysis of Streams (CANVAS)

NSF

Cilia are tiny, slender structures that extend out from cells lining fluid-filled passages. In our bodies, cilia are present in the lungs, brain, and reproductive systems. These cilia beat back and forth with a wave-like motion that moves fluid along the passages. Failure of cilia beating can lead to severe health problems such as lung infections, brain swelling, or infertility. Cilia are also found on many single-celled organisms, in which cilia beating propels the organism through surrounding fluid. In both the human body and swimming cells, cilia beating must be coordinated to be effective. This project will support research that studies how coordination of cilia is maintained in the single-celled organism, Tetrahymena. How changing fluid resistance and altering connections between cilia changes the coordination of cilia beating and affects swimming speed will be studied. This research intends to help understand and potentially treat diseases related to cilia defects. Understanding cilia coordination could also lead to new designs of man-made systems to move fluid or propel objects using multiple coordinated wave generators. This project will also support workforce development through research, education, and outreach. The PIs will train graduate students at the interface of mechanics, biophysics and cell biology, involve undergraduates in summer research and independent study projects during the academic year, and engage K-12 students with hands-on activities to introduce design and problem-solving concepts. Motile cilia are powered by the “9+2” axoneme, an array of nine microtubule doublets surrounding a central pair of singlet microtubules, connected by a network of passive spokes and links and driven by dynein motor proteins. At the base of the cilium, the basal body (BB) is an array of microtubule triplets anchored to the cell cortex by microtubule bundles (post-ciliary and transverse) and connected to each other via striated fibers. Force transmission between BBs and the cell cortex to reveal how these interactions modulate ciliary beating and coordination will be studied. The first aim is to measure dynamic deformations of BBs in Tetrahymena, using expansion microscopy and super-resolution imaging, and uncover how BB deformations are affected by ciliary beating and intracellular connections. The second aim is to quantify metachronal coordination of Tetrahymena cilia and test the role of connecting fibers in controlling the waveform and timing of cilia beating. Laser ablation will be used to disrupt connections between adjacent cilia and quantify the effects on cilia waveform and coordination. The third aim is to model and simulate the mechanics of cilia beating in Tetrahymena. Two types of computer models will be built: (1) the Axoneme-BB model will be a detailed structural model of the ciliary cytoskeleton and its connections to the cell; (2) the Cilia Array model will be a coarse-grained model of multiple cilia that each exhibit autonomous oscillations, that includes intracellular coupling to mediate metachronal coordination. Comparison of model predictions to experimental measurements will clarify the role of intracellular force transmission in cilia coordination. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

NIGMS - National Institute of General Medical Sciences

SUMMARY The extensive epigenetic information associated with genomic DNA establishes a defined chromatin organization that instructs tissue-specific gene expression programs. Many devastating disorders, diseases, and cancers are attributed to disruption of chromatin-based regulation, yet the mechanistic underpinnings remain poorly understood, especially in vivo. Our research program leverages powerful genetic, molecular and genomic tools to investigate the causal regulatory mechanisms that govern chromatin organization and gene expression in the C. elegans germ line, an ideal system in which to address these questions. By combining technical and conceptual innovation, we have discovered many epigenetic mechanisms by which germ cells establish and balance robust activation and precise repression, at the level of individual genes and across large chromosomal domains, to ensure successful gametogenesis, fertilization, and embryogenesis. In our recent work, we used our ability to isolate germ nuclei for genomic analysis to define novel chromatin states in germ cells, identify a novel protein that links histone modifications to co-transcriptional splicing, discover a unique chromatin state that promotes the biogenesis of small noncoding piRNAs, and investigate how nucleosome remodeling in the germline promotes embryogenesis. Our current and future research is organized around investigating how germline epigenetic mechanisms anticipate and direct embryonic differentiation and development. Specifically, we will use cutting-edge, highly specific, genomic and perturbation approaches to determine how remodeling of nucleosome positioning and histone modification patterns shape the dynamic expression of germline-expressed genes, thereby coordinating maternally-provided factors to carry out successful fertilization, eggshell formation, asymmetric cell division, early blastomere identity, and onset of zygotic transcription in the embryo. Our innovative and comprehensive approaches position us to investigate these mechanisms in vivo at a scale and level of resolution not previously possible. These research directions will therefore uncover novel, fundamental mechanisms of genetic regulation and reveal causal relationships between chromatin state, gene expression and cellular function. The specific factors we focus on are highly conserved core regulators of chromatin state and gene regulation and therefore have substantial influence on gene expression in humans as well, ensuring broad applicability of our discoveries to understanding development and combating disease.

NIGMS - National Institute of General Medical Sciences

Project Summary Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a dynamic molecule marked by diverse enzyme-mediated chemical modifications that intricately influence its function and destiny within cells. The recognition of enzymes — one kind for installing specific chemical modification of RNAs and another kind for RNA modification removal—hints at a purposeful regulatory role in biological processes. While conventional research tends to scrutinize individual modifications within a single RNA molecule, our investigation has uncovered a broader landscape. This extends beyond modifying one RNA species, weaving connections across distinct categories, such as mRNA, tRNA, and rRNA. Our experimental tests have validated this expansive insight and created a groundbreaking coregulation hypothesis. If substantiated and refined, it will be a further conceptual contribution that promises to reshape our understanding of RNA modifications, exerting influence over the depositions and ramifications of multiple RNA alterations. With a foundation built on our past achievements, our overarching objective is to delve deeper into the collective impacts and regulatory mechanisms orchestrated by multiple enzyme- mediated modifications in distinct RNA species, particularly in gene regulation. In our proposed research, we strategically chose two directions: investigating mRNA and tRNA modifications in one path and exploring mRNA and rRNA modifications in another. This deliberate choice aims to uncover the extent of crosstalk in translation, probing whether the collective impacts of modifications in distinct RNA species exhibit nonlinearity and surpass the simple sum. We employ various methodologies to conduct these fundamental experimental investigations, drawing from biochemistry (including enzymology), molecular biophysics, RNA biology, and structural biology. Whether or not the crosstalk between modification of distinct RNA species is a collective impact or a nonlinear effect of coregulation, our research outcomes will transcend the current focus on isolated RNA species; we seek to offer a holistic view of the intricate impact of enzyme-mediated RNA modifications in gene regulation—a landscape meticulously guided by genetically coded proteins.

Rock Face LLC

Coos Bay Village Cleanup Project

NIAID - National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

SUMMARY Copper (Cu) is an essential trace element and a catalytic cofactor for a variety of enzymes involved in cell growth, development, and stress resistance. Fungal systems have been instrumental in identifying mechanisms of Cu utilization and homeostasis in diverse eukaryotic cells. The experiments in this proposal will use a relevant fungal model system to explore Cu homeostasis in microbial physiology and pathogenesis. Cryptococcus neoformans is an opportunistic fungal pathogen that is responsible for >100,000 deaths annually, especially among patients with poorly treated HIV infection. This pathogenic microorganism is an outstanding model to study rapid cellular adaptations between high and low Cu states. This fungus has sophisticated transcriptional and post-transcriptional Cu regulatory mechanisms to adapt to Cu overload and Cu limitation in biologically relevant niches. C. neoformans first infects the host lung where it is engulfed by alveolar macrophages and experiences toxic Cu bombardment within the phagolysosome. In immunocompromised hosts, this fungus disseminates through the bloodstream to the central nervous system where it causes lethal disease, and where it encounters extreme Cu starvation. Failure to acquire Cu, or to adapt to low bioavailable brain Cu levels, results in defective fungal survival in the host. Therefore, during the infection cycle this microorganism must be able to rapidly transition from a Cu-resistant state during toxic Cu exposure to a Cu-foraging state during Cu limitation. The C. neoformans Cuf1 transcription factor is the primary regulator of the cellular response to both high and low Cu levels. We and our prior collaborators therefore characterized the Cuf1- dependent transcriptome and used this data to define conserved and novel mechanisms of eukaryotic copper biology. These studies identified important cellular responses to Cu limitation (increasing Cu import) as well as to Cu excess (inducing Cu detoxification processes). In the experiments outlined in this proposal, we will build upon this rigorous experimental foundation to explore new intersections between Cu homeostasis and microbial pathogenesis. These include (SA1) exploring our new observations regarding the roles of Cu homeostasis and Cu-containing enzymes in cell wall/cell membrane function; and (SA2) defining the impact of failed copper regulation on microbial pathogenesis. Together, these studies will advance new concepts for how microbial cells acquire the essential metal ion Cu, invoke adaptive responses to Cu toxicity, and regulate these processes to mediate interactions with the infected host.

Chicago Police Department

COPS HIRING PROGRAM FY 2022 - MATCH

Community Oriented Policing Services

This solicitation is being announced as an open competition targeted at state law enforcement agencies authorized by law or by a state agency to engage in or to supervise anti-heroin and other opioid investigative activities. Funding is limited and this solicitation is expected to be very competitive. Strong applications should demonstrate a multijurisdictional reach and participation in interdisciplinary team structures (i.e., task forces). Strong applications should also include multi-year state level primary treatment admissions data for heroin and other opioids to support their proposal. The goals for this program are to increase efforts to investigate illicit activities related to the distribution of heroin or unlawful distribution of prescriptive opioids, or unlawful heroin and prescription opioid traffickers through statewide collaboration. The COPS Office reserves the right to limit awards to one per state at the time of award announcement.