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This report presents a concept for a User Operations Facility (UOF) for payloads sponsored by the NASA Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology (OAST). The UOF can be located at any OAST sponsored center; however, for planning purposes, it is assumed that the center will be located at Langley Research Center (LaRC).
This paper will present the Space Station Biological Research Project (SSBRP) User Operations Facility (UOF) architecture and development strategy. A major element of the UOF at NASA Ames Research Center, the Communication and Data System (CDS) will be the primary focus of the discussions. CDS operational, telescience, security, and development objectives will be discussed along with CDS implementation strategy. The implementation strategy discussions will include: Object Oriented Analysis & Design, System & Software Prototyping, and Technology Utilization. A CDS design overview that includes: CDS Context Diagram, CDS Architecture, Object Models, Use Cases, and User Interfaces will also be presented. CDS development brings together "cutting edge" technologies and techniques such as: object oriented development, network security, multimedia networking, web-based data distribution, JAVA, and graphical user interfaces. Use of these "cutting edge" technologies and techniques translates directly to lower development and operations costs.
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The Fermilab Accelerator Complex is the largest national user facility in the Office of High Energy Physics (DOE/HEP) program and the only national user facility operating at Fermilab. Fermilab serves as the host to the Long Baseline Neutrino Facility/Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (LBNF/DUNE), the laboratory’s flagship project for neutrino science that is under construction. LBNF/DUNE will be powered by megawatt beams from an upgraded accelerator, the Proton Improvement Plan II (PIP-II) that will replace the laboratory’s aging linear accelerator with a new one based on superconducting radio-frequency cavities. The Accelerator Controls Operations Research Network (ACORN) Project will support LBNF/DUNE and PIP-II by modernizing the accelerator control system. The project is at the conceptual design phase and looking to achieve Critical Decision 1 (CD-1) later this year. The scope and structure of the project will be presented, along with an overview of how that has changed in the past year. Current design and technology choices will be shared. Specific challenges facing the project will be addressed, along with current thinking on solutions.
Abstract not provided
The Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) is the world’s first x-ray free electron laser. It is a scientific user facility operated by the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, at Stanford, for the U.S. Department of Energy. As beam time at LCLS is extremely valuable and limited, experimental efficiency—getting the most high quality data in the least time—is critical. Our overall project employs cognitive engineering methodologies with the goal of improving experimental efficiency and increasing scientific productivity at LCLS by refining experimental interfaces and workflows, simplifying tasks, reducing errors, and improving operator safety and stress. Here, in this study, we describe a multi-agent, multi-scale computational cognitive interaction model of instrument operations at LCLS. Our model simulates the aspects of human cognition at multiple cognitive and temporal scales, ranging from seconds to hours, and among agents playing multiple roles, including instrument operator, real time data analyst, and experiment manager. The model can roughly predict impacts stemming from proposed changes to operational interfaces and workflows. Example results demonstrate the model’s potential in guiding modifications to improve operational efficiency. We discuss the implications of our effort for cognitive engineering in complex experimental settings and outline future directions for research. The model is open source, and the videos of the supplementary material provide extensive detail.
Abstract The demand for Xe/Kr separation continues to grow due to the industrial significance of high‐purity Xe gas. Current separation processes rely on energy intensive cryogenic distillation. Therefore, less energy intensive alternatives, such as physisorptive separation, using porous materials, are required. Herein we show that an underexplored class of porous materials called hybrid ultra‐microporous materials (HUMs) affords new benchmark selectivity for Xe separation from Xe/Kr mixtures. The isostructural materials, CROFOUR‐1‐Ni and CROFOUR‐2‐Ni, are coordination networks that have coordinatively saturated metal centers and two distinct types of micropores, one of which is lined by CrO 4 2− (CROFOUR) anions and the other is decorated by the functionalized organic linker. These nets offer unprecedented selectivity towards Xe. Modelling indicates that the selectivity of these nets is tailored by synergy between the pore size and the strong electrostatics afforded by the CrO 4 2− anions.
The hydration and ion pair structure of Cl- ion in aqueous cesium chloride solutions at 0.5, 6 and 11 mol/kg (H2O) has been studied using Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS) at the Cl K-edge. The co-refinement of multiple EXAFS datasets shows the hydration structure of the free Cl- ion is consistent with previously reported studies. In concentrated solution the Cl- ion is strongly associated with the cation forming contact ion pairs with 1.6 and 2.8 Cs ions in 6 and 11 mol/kg aqueous CsCl, respectively. The fact that the degree of ion pairing of Cs-Cl is higher than that of both aqueous RbCl and RbBr at the same concentration is an interesting result as it deviates from the Collins’s law of matching water affinities. The reported Cs-Cl ion-pair structure provides a basis for the development and testing of improved interaction potentials leading to more realistic structures from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT VTP was supported by the Vietnam National Foundation for Science and Technology Development (NAFOSTED) under grant number 103.99-2013.19. Work by JLF was supported by the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Chemical Sciences, Geosciences & Biosciences. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is a multiprogram national laboratory operated for DOE by Battelle. The PNC/XSD facilities at the Advanced Photon Source, and research at these facilities, are supported by DOE/BES, the Canadian Light Source and its funding partners, the University of Washington, and the Advanced Photon Source. Use of the Advanced Photon Source, an Office of Science User Facility operated for the DOE Office of Science by Argonne National Laboratory, was supported by the DOE under Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357.
Abstract not provided
The C‐terminal guanine exchange factor module of Trio (TrioC) activates the small G protein RhoA, linking Gα q/11 ‐coupled 7TM receptors to cellular events including cytoskeletal rearrangements and gene transcription. This signal transduction pathway underlies the development of uveal melanoma, a fatal malignancy. Previous studies have shown that TrioC is regulated via autoinhibition relieved by the binding of Gα q/11 . However, the structural determinants of the autoinhibited state have remained elusive. We determined the crystal structure of TrioC in its basal state, revealing the molecular basis of autoinhibition mediated by the pleckstrin homology (PH) domain via direct interactions with the Rho binding site on the Dbl homology domain (DH). We show that truncation of the PH domain or introduction of point mutations activates the TrioC module in nucleotide exchange assays by liberating the Rho binding site. This model is consistent with results obtained by hydrogen‐deuterium exchange mass spectrometry. Finally, we show that mutations in the PH domain found in cancer patients also hyper‐activate full length TrioC in cell based models. These mutations may thus represent the first known cancer drivers in Trio that operate in an analogous, yet Gα q/11 ‐independent manner. Support or Funding Information This work was supported by NIH Grants CA221289, HL122416, and HL071818 (to J.J.G.T.), 5T32GM007767‐38, 5T32GM007767‐39, and F31CA224804 (to S.J.B.), and 5T32GM007752‐39 (to N.A.). This research used resources of the Advanced Photon Source, a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science User Facility operated for the DOE Office of Science by Argonne National Laboratory under Contract No. DE‐AC02‐06CH11357. Use of the LS‐CAT Sector 21 was supported by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and the Michigan Technology Tri‐Corridor (Grant 085P1000817). This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal .
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) User Facility operates an X-band Scanning ARM Precipitation Radar (XSAPR) at the North Slope of Alaska (NSA) atmospheric observatory in Utqiaġvik. This radar provides year-round dual-polarization measurements of snow and ice in an arctic environment. Over the past few years, there has been greater focus on the NSA XSAPR, and recent efforts by ARM staff have resulted in quality-controlled, b-level data (Rocque et al. 2026b). This report outlines the processing of the second set of b-level data released for this radar from May 2025 through April 2026 following similar methods from Rocque et al. (2026b).
The Space Station Biological Research Project (SSBRP) Is developing hardware referred to as the "facility" for providing life sciences research capability on the International Space Station. This hardware includes several biological specimen habitats, habitat holding racks, a centrifuge and a glovebox. An SSBRP end to end data system architecture has been developed to allow command and control of the facility from the ground, either with crew assistance or autonomously. The data system will be capable of handling commands, sensor data, and video from multiple cameras. The data will traverse through several onboard and ground networks and processing entities including the SSBRP and Space Station onboard and ground data systems. A large number of onboard and ground (,entities of the data system are being developed by the Space Station Program, other NASA centers and the International Partners. The SSBRP part of the system which includes the habitats, holding racks, and the ground operations center, User Operations Facility (UOF) will be developed by a multitude of geographically distributed development organizations. The SSBRP has the responsibility to define the end to end data and communications systems to make the interfaces manageable and verifiable with multiple contractors with widely varying development constraints and schedules. This paper provides an overview of the SSBRP end-to-end data system. Specifically, it describes the hardware, software and functional interactions of individual systems, and interface requirements among various entities of the end-to-end system.
Surface precipitation measurements are essential for Earth system model (ESM) evaluation and understanding cloud processes. An ever-growing need for robust, temporally evolving, and easy-to-use statistical datasets provides motivation for a baseline ground-based precipitation properties data product. The U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility operates an extensive suite of precipitation instruments with various sensitivities and operating mechanisms, which render the decision of which instrument to use based on one or more fixed thresholds challenging and prone to errors and bias. Using a long-term instrument inter-comparison from a unique per-precipitation event perspective, rather than instantaneous sample comparison, we demonstrate that ARM rainfall-measuring instruments are generally consistent with each other at the statistical level. Inter-instrument deviations at the single event level can be large, especially for specific rainfall event properties such as maximum precipitation rates. A machine-learning (ML) analysis using a random forest regressor indicates that in some cases, depending on instrument, local site climatology, and/or specific deployment configuration, certain atmospheric state variables influence the measured quantities in an unpredictable manner. Thus, a-priori weighting of different instruments does not necessarily lead to more accurate and less biased synthesis of instrument data. These results motivate the design of the ARM precipitation best-estimate (PrecipBE) value-added product, which incorporates all valid precipitation data while considering data quality and other instrument limitations. PrecipBE consists of time series and tabular statistics datasets in an easy-to-use and insightful per-precipitation event format. It provides a large set of precipitation event properties supplemented with ancillary data from ARM datasets that correspond to the detected precipitation events. We describe the PrecipBE algorithm and demonstrate its use via the examination of a single-day output as well as a long-term trend analysis of precipitation events at the ARM Southern Great Plains (SGP) site, covering more than 30 years of data. The trend analysis tentatively suggests a long-term temporal tendency for mainly shorter and less intense precipitation events at the SGP site, but a long-term increase in annual rainfall by more than 36 mm (5 %) per decade. This rainfall trend is catalyzed primarily by more extreme event properties of relatively rare, intense precipitation events, with event total and 1 min maximum precipitation rate at a 1 year timeframe increasing up to 5 mm and 9 mm h −1 (several percent) per decade, respectively. While the currently available PrecipBE datasets (at https://adc.arm.gov/discovery/, last access: 8 December 2025) cover rainfall from multiple ARM deployments up to March 2025, PrecipBE is planned to be expanded to include solid-phase precipitation and will soon become an operational product with a several-day lag from real-time. We invite the ARM user community to leverage this new product and welcome user feedback to further enhance the dataset.
Efficient regeneration of organolithium compounds is a challenging aspect in the process of novel organometathetical catalytic cycles. A new method for Mg production from seawater has been proposed that capitalizes on the rich chemistry of Grignard reagents. Based on a 3-step catalytic cycle with Cp2MClL catalyst (M=Ti, Zr and L select organic ligands), it requires the regeneration of nBuLi. The potential of the proposed approach is evaluated with density functional theory based molecular simulations. The results reveal that the high affinity of Li towards Cl and N results in the formation of alkanes, and the strong coupling of catalyst and BuLi leads to catalyst deactivation. To improve its catalytic performance, we proposed the use of a diamine co-catalyst and a modified catalyst with a ligand that does not contain N, which would help release BuLi from the vicinity of the catalyst. Ab inito molecular dynamics simulations at 298 K in explicit solvent (THF) were used to estimate the Gibb’s free energetics and equilibrium constants obtained from the vibrational density of states. The results show a marked improvement in the free-energetics with lower barriers towards the completion of the catalytic cycle and suppression of de-activation channels. M.-S. L. and B. P. M. were supported by the US Department of Energy (DOE), Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy performed at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). V.-A. G. and R. R. were supported by DOE, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences-CGBS Catalysis Program. Computational resources were provided by PNNL Research Computing Cluster and the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC), a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science User Facility operated under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231.
This errata is to correct the acknowledgment in the original published article. G.B. (partial support), V.-A.G., M.-T.N., and R.R. were supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Biosciences Division. Computer resources were provided by Research Computing at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC), a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science User Facility operated under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231. PNNL is operated by Battelle for the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract DE-AC05-76RL01830. G.B. acknowledges the EPSRC for partial support in PhD funding. The authors acknowledge the use of the IRIDIS High Performance Computing Facility (IRIDIS 5) and associated support services at the University of Southampton in the completion of this work. We are grateful to the UK Materials and Molecular Modeling Hub (Thomas HPC) for computational resources, which is partially funded by EPSRC (EP/P020194/1).
Cells from aerobic organisms require copper ions to generate biochemical energy and for certain enzyme‐catalyzed redox reactions. However, recent studies suggest that when bacteria are engulfed by phagosomes within macrophages, Cu 2+ is used in high concentrations, among other molecules, to kill the bacterium. To infect a host, bacteria such as Salmonella enterica must survive this toxic environment containing high Cu 2+ levels. A recently discovered protein of unknown function, DcrB, plays a role in copper homeostasis within Salmonella enterica , a major cause of food‐borne illness. DcrB is a small lipoprotein anchored to the periplasmic face of the cytoplasmic membrane. Currently, Salmonella phenotypic assays have shown DcrB is necessary for growth in high levels of Cu 2+ . The hypothesis of this project is that DcrB binds copper and possibly other divalent cations. To test this hypothesis, we used thermal stability assays paired with structure‐based functional studies. We examined the effect of divalent cations on the stability of purified DcrB protein using a fluorescence‐based thermal shift assay and circular dichroism. Furthermore, we are using our recent crystallographic structure of DcrB to identify possible metal ion binding sites and to test whether each hypothesized metal ion binding site is required for the ability of DcrB to confer resistance to Cu 2+ . For each site, we used site‐directed mutagenesis to generate an allele of dcrB that encodes a DcrB variant lacking the functional side‐chains at the site. Then, we determined whether a multicopy plasmid that contains the mutant allele of dcrB can complement the copper sensitivity of a dcrB knockout mutant of Salmonella enterica . Our results have established the specificity of DcrB for binding divalent cations and have led to the identification of potential metal binding sites, which we anticipate will shed light on the role of DcrB in metal homeostasis in pathogenic bacteria. Support or Funding Information This research was supported by a UW‐La Crosse Faculty Research Grant (JFM), a UW‐La Crosse Undergraduate Research Grant (RWS), and the Dean's Distinguished Fellowship (RWS). This research used resources of the Advanced Photon Source, a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science User Facility operated for the DOE Office of Science by Argonne National Laboratory under Contract No. DEAC0206CH11357. Use of the LS‐CAT Sector 21 was supported by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and the Michigan Technology Tri‐Corridor (Grant 085P1000817). This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal .
Phospholipase C (PLC) enzymes hydrolyze phosphatidylinositol lipids to produce second messengers, including inositol‐1,4,5‐triphosphate (IP 3 ) and diacylgycerol (DAG), which increase intracellular calcium and activate protein kinase C (PKC), respectively. PLCɛ contributes to cardiac hypertrophy and contractility, as well as to oncogenic and inflammatory signaling pathways following activation of G protein‐coupled receptors and receptor tyrosine kinases. PLCɛ shares a conserved core with the PLC superfamily, but the roles of individual domains in regulation of activity and membrane binding have not been established. We used functional assays to show that the PLCɛ PH domain significantly increases basal lipase activity, but is dispensable for stability. We provide the first structural insights into domain organization of PLCɛ using small‐angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS) and electron microscopy (EM) to reveal that the PH domain is conformationally heterogeneous in solution. Comparisons of the PLCɛ solution structure to that of the closely‐related PLCβ enzyme demonstrate that the PLCβ PH domain is also mobile in solution, in contrast to previously reported crystal structures. We propose that the dynamic nature of the PLC PH domain and resulting conformational heterogeneity contributes to subfamily‐specific differences in activity and regulation by G proteins. We are now using cryo‐EM to expand on these findings and obtain higher resolution structures. Support or Funding Information This work is supported by the Purdue Center for Cancer Research, AHA grant 16SDG29930017, NIH NLHBI 1R01HL141076‐01 to A.M.L., and Purdue College of Science Staff and Administrative & Professional Staff Advisory Council Professional Development awards to E.E.G. SAXS experiments used resources of the Advanced Photon Source, a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science User Facility operated for the DOE Office of Science by Argonne National Laboratory under Contract No. DE‐AC02‐06CH11357. This project was supported by grant 9 P41 GM103622 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health. Use of the Pilatus 3 1M detector was provided by grant 1S10OD018090‐01 from NIGMS. This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal .
The Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program is a climate research user facility operating stationary ground sites that provide long-term measurements of climate relevant properties, mobile ground- and ship-based facilities to conduct shorter field campaigns (6-12 months), and the ARM Aerial Facility (AAF). The airborne observations acquired by the AAF enhance the surface-based ARM measurements by providing high-resolution in-situ measurements for process understanding, retrieval-algorithm development, and model evaluation that are not possible using ground- or satellite-based techniques. Several ARM aerial efforts were consolidated into the AAF in 2006. With the exception of a small aircraft used for routine measurements of aerosols and carbon cycle gases, AAF at the time had no dedicated aircraft and only a small number of instruments at its disposal. In this "virtual hangar" mode, AAF successfully carried out several missions contracting with organizations and investigators who provided their research aircraft and instrumentation. In 2009, AAF started managing operations of the Battelle-owned Gulfstream I (G-1) large twin-turboprop research aircraft. Furthermore, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provided funding for the procurement of over twenty new instruments to be used aboard the G-1 and other AAF virtual-hangar aircraft. AAF now executes missions in the virtual- and real-hangar mode producing freely available datasets for studying aerosol, cloud, and radiative processes in the atmosphere. AAF is also engaged in the maturation and testing of newly developed airborne sensors to help foster the next generation of airborne instruments.