ASU Scholarship Showcase

Cities in the Global South face rapid urbanization challenges and often suffer an acute lack of infrastructure and governance capacities. Smart Cities Mission, in India, launched in 2015, aims to offer a novel approach for urban renewal of 100 cities following an area‐based development approach, where the use of ICT and digital technologies is particularly emphasized. This article presents a critical review of the design and implementation framework of this new urban renewal program across selected case‐study cities. The article examines the claims of the so‐called “smart cities” against actual urban transformation on‐ground and evaluates how “inclusive” and “sustainable” these developments are. We quantify the scale and coverage of the smart city urban renewal projects in the cities to highlight who the program includes and excludes. The article also presents a statistical analysis of the sectoral focus and budgetary allocations of the projects under the Smart Cities Mission to find an inherent bias in these smart city initiatives in terms of which types of development they promote and the ones it ignores. The findings indicate that a predominant emphasis on digital urban renewal of selected precincts and enclaves, branded as “smart cities,” leads to deepening social polarization and gentrification. The article offers crucial urban planning lessons for designing ICT‐driven urban renewal projects, while addressing critical questions around inclusion and sustainability in smart city ventures.`

Attitudes and habits are extremely resistant to change, but a disruption of the magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to bring long-term, massive societal changes. During the pandemic, people are being compelled to experience new ways of interacting, working, learning, shopping, traveling, and eating meals. Going forward, a critical question is whether these experiences will result in changed behaviors and preferences in the long term. This paper presents initial findings on the likelihood of long-term changes in telework, daily travel, restaurant patronage, and air travel based on survey data collected from adults in the United States in Spring 2020. These data suggest that a sizable fraction of the increase in telework and decreases in both business air travel and restaurant patronage are likely here to stay. As for daily travel modes, public transit may not fully recover its pre-pandemic ridership levels, but many of our respondents are planning to bike and walk more than they used to. These data reflect the responses of a sample that is higher income and more highly educated than the US population. The response of these particular groups to the COVID-19 pandemic is perhaps especially important to understand, however, because their consumption patterns give them a large influence on many sectors of the economy.

S-cysteinylated albumin and methionine-oxidized apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) have been posed as candidate markers of diseases associated with oxidative stress. Here, a dilute-and-shoot form of LC–electrospray ionization–MS requiring half a microliter of blood plasma was employed to simultaneously quantify the relative abundance of these oxidized proteoforms in samples stored at −80 °C, −20 °C, and room temperature and exposed to multiple freeze-thaw cycles and other adverse conditions in order to assess the possibility that protein oxidation may occur as a result of poor sample storage or handling. Samples from a healthy donor and a participant with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes started at the same low level of protein oxidation and behaved similarly; significant increases in albumin oxidation via S-cysteinylation were found to occur within hours at room temperature and days at −20 °C. Methionine oxidation of apoA-I took place on a longer time scale, setting in after albumin oxidation reached a plateau. Freeze–thaw cycles had a minimal effect on protein oxidation. In matched collections, protein oxidation in serum was the same as that in plasma. Albumin and apoA-I oxidation were not affected by sample headspace or the degree to which vials were sealed. ApoA-I, however, was unexpectedly found to oxidize faster in samples with lower surface-area-to-volume ratios. An initial survey of samples from patients with inflammatory conditions normally associated with elevated oxidative stress-including acute myocardial infarction and prostate cancer—demonstrated a lack of detectable apoA-I oxidation. Albumin S-cysteinylation in these samples was consistent with known but relatively brief exposures to temperatures above −30 °C (the freezing point of blood plasma). Given their properties and ease of analysis, these oxidized proteoforms, once fully validated, may represent the first markers of blood plasma specimen integrity based on direct measurement of oxidative molecular damage that can occur under suboptimal storage conditions.

Sensory systems encode both the static quality of a stimulus (e.g., color or shape) and its kinetics (e.g., speed and direction). The limits with which stimulus kinetics can be resolved are well understood in vision, audition, and somatosensation. However, the maximum temporal resolution of olfactory systems has not been accurately determined. Here, we probe the limits of temporal resolution in insect olfaction by delivering high frequency odor pulses and measuring sensory responses in the antennae. We show that transduction times and pulse tracking capabilities of olfactory receptor neurons are faster than previously reported. Once an odorant arrives at the boundary layer of the antenna, odor transduction can occur within less than 2 ms and fluctuating odor stimuli can be resolved at frequencies more than 100 Hz. Thus, insect olfactory receptor neurons can track stimuli of very short duration, as occur when their antennae encounter narrow filaments in an odor plume. These results provide a new upper bound to the kinetics of odor tracking in insect olfactory receptor neurons and to the latency of initial transduction events in olfaction.

Quantifying the interactions of bacteria with external ligands is fundamental to the understanding of pathogenesis, antibiotic resistance, immune evasion, and mechanism of antimicrobial action. Due to inherent cell-to-cell heterogeneity in a microbial population, each bacterium interacts differently with its environment. This large variability is washed out in bulk assays, and there is a need of techniques that can quantify interactions of bacteria with ligands at the single bacterium level. In this work, we present a label-free and real-time plasmonic imaging technique to measure the binding kinetics of ligand interactions with single bacteria, and perform statistical analysis of the heterogeneity. Using the technique, we have studied interactions of antibodies with single Escherichia coli O157:H7 cells and demonstrated a capability of determining the binding kinetic constants of single live bacteria with ligands, and quantify heterogeneity in a microbial population.

We know very little about how soil-borne pollutants such as selenium (Se) can impact pollinators, even though Se has contaminated soils and plants in areas where insect pollination can be critical to the functioning of both agricultural and natural ecosystems. Se can be biotransferred throughout the food web, but few studies have examined its effects on the insects that feed on Se-accumulating plants, particularly pollinators. In laboratory bioassays, we used proboscis extension reflex (PER) and taste perception to determine if the presence of Se affected the gustatory response of honey bee (Apis mellifera L., Hymenoptera: Apidae) foragers. Antennae and proboscises were stimulated with both organic (selenomethionine) and inorganic (selenate) forms of Se that commonly occur in Se-accumulating plants. Methionine was also tested. Each compound was dissolved in 1 M sucrose at 5 concentrations, with sucrose alone as a control. Antennal stimulation with selenomethionine and methionine reduced PER at higher concentrations. Selenate did not reduce gustatory behaviors. Two hours after being fed the treatments, bees were tested for sucrose response threshold. Bees fed selenate responded less to sucrose stimulation. Mortality was higher in bees chronically dosed with selenate compared with a single dose. Selenomethionine did not increase mortality except at the highest concentration. Methionine did not significantly impact survival. Our study has shown that bees fed selenate were less responsive to sucrose, which may lead to a reduction in incoming floral resources needed to support coworkers and larvae in the field. If honey bees forage on nectar containing Se (particularly selenate), reductions in population numbers may occur due to direct toxicity. Given that honey bees are willing to consume food resources containing Se and may not avoid Se compounds in the plant tissues on which they are foraging, they may suffer similar adverse effects as seen in other insect guilds.

Background: Cysteine sulfenic acid (Cys-SOH) plays important roles in the redox regulation of numerous proteins. As a relatively unstable posttranslational protein modification it is difficult to quantify the degree to which any particular protein is modified by Cys-SOH within a complex biological environment. The goal of these studies was to move a step beyond detection and into the relative quantification of Cys-SOH within specific proteins found in a complex biological setting--namely, human plasma.

Results: This report describes the possibilities and limitations of performing such analyses based on the use of thionitrobenzoic acid and dimedone-based probes which are commonly employed to trap Cys-SOH. Results obtained by electrospray ionization-based mass spectrometric immunoassay reveal the optimal type of probe for such analyses as well as the reproducible relative quantification of Cys-SOH within albumin and transthyretin extracted from human plasma--the latter as a protein previously unknown to be modified by Cys-SOH.

Conclusions: The relative quantification of Cys-SOH within specific proteins in a complex biological setting can be accomplished, but several analytical precautions related to trapping, detecting, and quantifying Cys-SOH must be taken into account prior to pursuing its study in such matrices.

Background:
Ketogenic diets are high fat and low carbohydrate or very low carbohydrate diets, which render high production of ketones upon consumption known as nutritional ketosis (NK). Ketosis is also produced during fasting periods, which is known as fasting ketosis (FK). Recently, the combinations of NK and FK, as well as NK alone, have been used as resources for weight loss management and treatment of epilepsy.

Methods:
A crossover study design was applied to 11 healthy individuals, who maintained moderately sedentary lifestyle, and consumed three types of diet randomly assigned over a three-week period. All participants completed the diets in a randomized and counterbalanced fashion. Each weekly diet protocol included three phases: Phase 1 - A mixed diet with ratio of fat: (carbohydrate + protein) by mass of 0.18 or the equivalence of 29% energy from fat from Day 1 to Day 5. Phase 2- A mixed or a high-fat diet with ratio of fat: (carbohydrate + protein) by mass of approximately 0.18, 1.63, or 3.80 on Day 6 or the equivalence of 29%, 79%, or 90% energy from fat, respectively. Phase 3 - A fasting diet with no calorie intake on Day 7. Caloric intake from diets on Day 1 to Day 6 was equal to each individual’s energy expenditure. On Day 7, ketone buildup from FK was measured.

Results:
A statistically significant effect of Phase 2 (Day 6) diet was found on FK of Day 7, as indicated by repeated analysis of variance (ANOVA), F(2,20) = 6.73, p < 0.0058. Using a Fisher LDS pair-wise comparison, higher significant levels of acetone buildup were found for diets with 79% fat content and 90% fat content vs. 29% fat content (with p = 0.00159**, and 0.04435**, respectively), with no significant difference between diets with 79% fat content and 90% fat content. In addition, independent of the diet, a significantly higher ketone buildup capability of subjects with higher resting energy expenditure (R[superscript 2] = 0.92), and lower body mass index (R[superscript 2] = 0.71) was observed during FK.

Neural representations of odors are subject to computations that involve sequentially convergent and divergent anatomical connections across different areas of the brains in both mammals and insects. Furthermore, in both mammals and insects higher order brain areas are connected via feedback connections. In order to understand the transformations and interactions that this connectivity make possible, an ideal experiment would compare neural responses across different, sequential processing levels. Here we present results of recordings from a first order olfactory neuropile – the antennal lobe (AL) – and a higher order multimodal integration and learning center – the mushroom body (MB) – in the honey bee brain. We recorded projection neurons (PN) of the AL and extrinsic neurons (EN) of the MB, which provide the outputs from the two neuropils. Recordings at each level were made in different animals in some experiments and simultaneously in the same animal in others. We presented two odors and their mixture to compare odor response dynamics as well as classification speed and accuracy at each neural processing level. Surprisingly, the EN ensemble significantly starts separating odor stimuli rapidly and before the PN ensemble has reached significant separation. Furthermore the EN ensemble at the MB output reaches a maximum separation of odors between 84–120 ms after odor onset, which is 26 to 133 ms faster than the maximum separation at the AL output ensemble two synapses earlier in processing. It is likely that a subset of very fast PNs, which respond before the ENs, may initiate the rapid EN ensemble response. We suggest therefore that the timing of the EN ensemble activity would allow retroactive integration of its signal into the ongoing computation of the AL via centrifugal feedback.

Octopamine plays an important role in many behaviors in invertebrates. It acts via binding to G protein coupled receptors located on the plasma membrane of responsive cells. Several distinct subtypes of octopamine receptors have been found in invertebrates, yet little is known about the expression pattern of these different receptor subtypes and how each subtype may contribute to different behaviors. One honey bee (Apis mellifera) octopamine receptor, AmOA1, was recently cloned and characterized. Here we continue to characterize the AmOA1 receptor by investigating its distribution in the honey bee brain. We used two independent antibodies produced against two distinct peptides in the carboxyl-terminus to study the distribution of the AmOA1 receptor in the honey bee brain. We found that both anti-AmOA1 antibodies revealed labeling of cell body clusters throughout the brain and within the following brain neuropils: the antennal lobes; the calyces, pedunculus, vertical (alpha, gamma) and medial (beta) lobes of the mushroom body; the optic lobes; the subesophageal ganglion; and the central complex. Double immunofluorescence staining using anti-GABA and anti-AmOA1 receptor antibodies revealed that a population of inhibitory GABAergic local interneurons in the antennal lobes express the AmOA1 receptor in the cell bodies, axons and their endings in the glomeruli. In the mushroom bodies, AmOA1 receptors are expressed in a subpopulation of inhibitory GABAergic feedback neurons that ends in the visual (outer half of basal ring and collar regions) and olfactory (lip and inner basal ring region) calyx neuropils, as well as in the collar and lip zones of the vertical and medial lobes. The data suggest that one effect of octopamine via AmOA1 in the antennal lobe and mushroom body is to modulate inhibitory neurons.