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.`

In spite of well-documented health benefits of vegetarian diets, less is known regarding the effects of these diets on athletic performance. In this cross-sectional study, we compared elite vegetarian and omnivore adult endurance athletes for maximal oxygen uptake (VO2 max) and strength. Twenty-seven vegetarian (VEG) and 43 omnivore (OMN) athletes were evaluated using VO2 max testing on the treadmill, and strength assessment using a dynamometer to determine peak torque for leg extensions. Dietary data were assessed using detailed seven-day food logs. Although total protein intake was lower among vegetarians in comparison to omnivores, protein intake as a function of body mass did not differ by group (1.2 ± 0.3 and 1.4 ± 0.5 g/kg body mass for VEG and OMN respectively, p = 0.220). VO2 max differed for females by diet group (53.0 ± 6.9 and 47.1 ± 8.6 mL/kg/min for VEG and OMN respectively, p < 0.05) but not for males (62.6 ± 15.4 and 55.7 ± 8.4 mL/kg/min respectively). Peak torque did not differ significantly between diet groups. Results from this study indicate that vegetarian endurance athletes’ cardiorespiratory fitness was greater than that for their omnivorous counterparts, but that peak torque did not differ between diet groups. These data suggest that vegetarian diets do not compromise performance outcomes and may facilitate aerobic capacity in athletes.

Multilayer structures of TiO₂/Ag/TiO₂ have been deposited onto flexible substrates by room temperature sputtering to develop indium-free transparent composite electrodes. The effect of Ag thicknesses on optical and electrical properties and the mechanism of conduction have been discussed. The critical thickness (t_c) of Ag mid-layer to form a continuous conducting layer is 9.5 nm and the multilayer has been optimized to obtain a sheet resistance of 5.7 Ω/sq and an average optical transmittance of 90% at 590 nm. The Haacke figure of merit (FOM) for t_c has one of the highest FOMs with 61.4 × 10^-3 Ω^-1/sq.

Lithium-beryllium metal hydrides, which are structurally related to their parent compound, BeH₂, offer the highest hydrogen storage capacity by weight among the metal hydrides (15.93 wt. % of hydrogen for LiBeH₃). Challenging synthesis protocols have precluded conclusive determination of their crystallographic structure to date, but here we analyze directly the hydrogen hopping mechanisms in BeH₂ and LiBeH₃ using quasielastic neutron scattering, which is especially sensitive to single-particle dynamics of hydrogen. We find that, unlike its parent compound BeH₂, lithium-beryllium hydride LiBeH₃ exhibits a sharp increase in hydrogen mobility above 265 K, so dramatic that it can be viewed as melting of hydrogen sublattice. We perform comparative analysis of hydrogen jump mechanisms observed in BeH₂ and LiBeH₃ over a broad temperature range. As microscopic diffusivity of hydrogen is directly related to its macroscopic kinetics, a transition in LiBeH₃ so close to ambient temperature may offer a straightforward and effective mechanism to influence hydrogen uptake and release in this very lightweight hydrogen storage compound.

Cyan fluorescent proteins (CFPs), such as Cerulean, are widely used as donor fluorophores in Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) experiments. Nonetheless, the most widely used variants suffer from drawbacks that include low quantum yields and unstable flurorescence. To improve the fluorescence properties of Cerulean, we used the X-ray structure to rationally target specific amino acids for optimization by site-directed mutagenesis. Optimization of residues in strands 7 and 8 of the β-barrel improved the quantum yield of Cerulean from 0.48 to 0.60. Further optimization by incorporating the wild-type T65S mutation in the chromophore improved the quantum yield to 0.87. This variant, mCerulean3, is 20% brighter and shows greatly reduced fluorescence photoswitching behavior compared to the recently described mTurquoise fluorescent protein in vitro and in living cells. The fluorescence lifetime of mCerulean3 also fits to a single exponential time constant, making mCerulean3 a suitable choice for fluorescence lifetime microscopy experiments. Furthermore, inclusion of mCerulean3 in a fusion protein with mVenus produced FRET ratios with less variance than mTurquoise-containing fusions in living cells. Thus, mCerulean3 is a bright, photostable cyan fluorescent protein which possesses several characteristics that are highly desirable for FRET experiments.

In proteins, functional divergence involves mutations that modify structure and dynamics. Here we provide experimental evidence for an evolutionary mechanism driven solely by long-range dynamic motions without significant backbone adjustments, catalytic group rearrangements, or changes in subunit assembly. Crystallographic structures were determined for several reconstructed ancestral proteins belonging to a GFP class frequently employed in superresolution microscopy. Their chain flexibility was analyzed using molecular dynamics and perturbation response scanning. The green-to-red photoconvertible phenotype appears to have arisen from a common green ancestor by migration of a knob-like anchoring region away from the active site diagonally across the β barrel fold. The allosterically coupled mutational sites provide active site conformational mobility via epistasis. We propose that light-induced chromophore twisting is enhanced in a reverse-protonated subpopulation, activating internal acid-base chemistry and backbone cleavage to enlarge the chromophore. Dynamics-driven hinge migration may represent a more general platform for the evolution of novel enzyme activities.

A water drop on a superhydrophobic surface that is pinned by wire loops can be reproducibly cut without formation of satellite droplets. Drops placed on low-density polyethylene surfaces and Teflon-coated glass slides were cut with superhydrophobic knives of low-density polyethylene and treated copper or zinc sheets, respectively. Distortion of drop shape by the superhydrophobic knife enables a clean break. The driving force for droplet formation arises from the lower surface free energy for two separate drops, and it is modeled as a 2-D system. An estimate of the free energy change serves to guide when droplets will form based on the variation of drop volume, loop spacing and knife depth. Combining the cutting process with an electrofocusing driving force could enable a reproducible biomolecular separation without troubling satellite drop formation.

Natural selection among tumor cell clones is thought to produce hallmark properties of malignancy. Efforts to understand evolution of one such hallmark—the angiogenic switch—has suggested that selection for angiogenesis can “run away” and generate a hypertumor, a form of evolutionary suicide by extreme vascular hypo- or hyperplasia. This phenomenon is predicted by models of tumor angiogenesis studied with the techniques of adaptive dynamics. These techniques also predict that selection drives tumor proliferative potential towards an evolutionarily stable strategy (ESS) that is also convergence-stable. However, adaptive dynamics are predicated on two key assumptions: (i) no more than two distinct clones or evolutionary strategies can exist in the tumor at any given time; and (ii) mutations cause small phenotypic changes. Here we show, using a stochastic simulation, that relaxation of these assumptions has no effect on the predictions of adaptive dynamics in this case. In particular, selection drives proliferative potential towards, and angiogenic potential away from, their respective ESSs. However, these simulations also show that tumor behavior is highly contingent on mutational history, particularly for angiogenesis. Individual tumors frequently grow to lethal size before the evolutionary endpoint is approached. In fact, most tumor dynamics are predicted to be in the evolutionarily transient regime throughout their natural history, so that clinically, the ESS is often largely irrelevant. In addition, we show that clonal diversity as measured by the Shannon Information Index correlates with the speed of approach to the evolutionary endpoint. This observation dovetails with results showing that clonal diversity in Barrett's esophagus predicts progression to malignancy.

The early indications of vitamin C deficiency are unremarkable (fatigue, malaise, depression) and may manifest as a reduced desire to be physically active; moreover, hypovitaminosis C may be associated with increased cold duration and severity. This study examined the impact of vitamin C on physical activity and respiratory tract infections during the peak of the cold season. Healthy non-smoking adult men (18–35 years; BMI <34 kg/m²; plasma vitamin C<45 µmol/L) received either 1000 mg of vitamin C daily (n = 15) or placebo (n = 13) in a randomized, double-blind, eight-week trial. All participants completed the Wisconsin Upper Respiratory Symptom Survey-21 daily and the Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire weekly. In the final two weeks of the trial, the physical activity score rose modestly for the vitamin C group vs. placebo after adjusting for baseline values: +39.6% (95% CI [−4.5,83.7]; p = 0.10). The number of participants reporting cold episodes was 7 and 11 for the vitamin C and placebo groups respectively during the eight-week trial (RR = 0.55; 95% CI [0.33,0.94]; p = 0.04) and cold duration was reduced 59% in the vitamin C versus placebo groups (−3.2 days; 95% CI [−7.0,0.6]; p = 0.06). These data suggest measurable health advantages associated with vitamin C supplementation in a population with adequate-to-low vitamin C status.

Background: Omnivorous diets are high in arachidonic acid (AA) compared to vegetarian diets. Research shows that high intakes of AA promote changes in brain that can disturb mood. Omnivores who eat fish regularly increase their intakes of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), fats that oppose the negative effects of AA in vivo. In a recent cross-sectional study, omnivores reported significantly worse mood than vegetarians despite higher intakes of EPA and DHA. This study investigated the impact of restricting meat, fish, and poultry on mood.

Findings: Thirty-nine omnivores were randomly assigned to a control group consuming meat, fish, and poultry daily (OMN); a group consuming fish 3-4 times weekly but avoiding meat and poultry (FISH), or a vegetarian group avoiding meat, fish, and poultry (VEG). At baseline and after two weeks, participants completed a food frequency questionnaire, the Profile of Mood States questionnaire and the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales. After the diet intervention, VEG participants reduced their EPA, DHA, and AA intakes, while FISH participants increased their EPA and DHA intakes. Mood scores were unchanged for OMN or FISH participants, but several mood scores for VEG participants improved significantly after two weeks.

Conclusions: Restricting meat, fish, and poultry improved some domains of short-term mood state in modern omnivores. To our knowledge, this is the first trial to examine the impact of restricting meat, fish, and poultry on mood state in omnivores.