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The Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANI) are some of the most neglected maritime terrain in the world despite their proximity to one of the busiest maritime chokepoints on Earth. Strategic competition in the Bay of Bengal and around the Strait of Malacca necessitates that U.S. strategy carefully considers the implications of having a U.S. presence on the ANI. The United States has the capacity to assist in international law enforcement of illegal, unreported, unregulated (IUU) fishing and piracy as well as ensure the security of international shipping through the Strait of Malacca. The possibility of bilateral exercises that introduce concepts such as expeditionary advanced base operations (EABO) and the use of the U.S. Coast Guard in multiple capacities are real possibilities as well. Perhaps most importantly, the United States can partner with India to leverage China’s Malacca Dilemma and constantly threaten a blockade of Chinese shipping through the Strait of Malacca in a potential conflict. China also aspires to alleviate its Malacca Dilemma.

Context The Gunnison sage-grouse (Centrocercus minimus) has experienced range-wide declines and has been listed as Threatened by the USA Fish and Wildlife Service to receive protections under the USA Endangered Species Act. A draft Recovery Plan was recently completed. No seasonal habitat models have been developed for the small isolated populations. Aims To develop a habitat suitability model that was collaboratively developed between modellers and conservation practitioners to predict the probability of use by Gunnison sage-grouse during the breeding and summer seasons in designated occupied critical habitat, and extrapolate to adjacent designated unoccupied critical habitat. Methods We captured, marked and tracked Gunnison sage-grouse in nine different studies spanning 25 years. We used a suite of biotic, abiotic and vegetation local-level and population-scale covariates in a use-available resource selection function to develop models that predict the probability of use by Gunnison sage-grouse. Key results We used 9140 Gunnison sage-grouse locations from 406 individual birds to develop nine resource selection models for occupied habitat and extrapolated model predictions to adjacent unoccupied critical habitat in five small isolated Gunnison sage-grouse populations. A majority of our models validated well. Conclusions We report the first two-season resource use-based habitat suitability models for five of six small isolated Gunnison sage-grouse populations. Because of the unique habitat use by Gunnison sage-grouse in each population, we recommend that resource managers strategically target management actions in individual populations and avoid ‘one-size-fits-all’ habitat management prescriptions. Implications Our models will assist managers in the identification of seasonal habitats within populations to target management actions for Gunnison sage-grouse recovery.

Multiplexing in immunofluorescence imaging is important for the spatial profiling of cells and molecules in tumor tissue samples. Cyclic immunofluorescence (IF) methods using oxidants (e.g. hydrogen peroxide) and enzymes (e.g. DNase) localize a great number of cellular makers and proteins in a tissue section while repeating a process of IF staining, imaging, and fluorescence deactivation. However, the repeated use of chemicals and enzymes might cause artifacts in tissue and cell morphologies. Furthermore, these methods are restricted to thin tissue sections (~5 μm thick) which are inappropriate to provide comprehensive structural information on tissue samples. Although reconstruction of two-dimensional (2D) images from serial tissue sections can provide a certain volumetric tissue image, it takes a huge amount of time and effort. Here we introduce a three-dimensional (3D) multiplex IF imaging method using LED photobleaching. We built high-power LED illuminators with 100W warm (emission wavelength: 480-700 nm), green (430-520 nm), and red (600- 680 nm) LED chips, which can efficiently bleach a broad or selected wavelength of fluorescence signals in tissue samples. We integrated this LED photobleaching with the Transparent Tissue Tomography (T3) protocol and created a 3D cyclic IF method involving tissue macrosectioning (400 μm), three-color IF staining, D-fructose-based tissue clearing, 3D confocal fluorescence microscopy, LED photobleaching, tissue washing, and three-color IF staining for other biomarkers, and repeating the process. By applying this method to mouse mammary tumor tissues, we could perform 8-plex fluorescence microscopy for visualizing cell nuclei (DAPI), vascular (CD31, SMA) and structural (ER-TR7) cells, immune cells (CD3, CD8, CD45), and cancer cells (CK8) in the tumor macrosections in 3D at tissue and cellular resolution. To validate the method as an evaluation tool for immunotherapy, we treated the mouse mammary tumor with a STING agonist (DMAXX) intratumorally and collected the tumor tissue 1 day after the treatment, and processed it for the 3D cyclic IF protocol. The quantitative multiplex image data showed immune-driven-cancer eradication and high tumor infiltration of a large number of CD3+CD8+CD45+ cytotoxic T cells. We also examined that Red and Green LED illumination can selectively bleach fluorophores in tissues, which would be useful for patterning fluorescence in tissue as well as studying fluorescent drug-cell interaction in a tissue. In summary, this chemical and enzyme-free 3D cyclic IF imaging method will be a powerful tissue assay tool to provide comprehensive spatial information of tissue (tumor) samples including cell types, cellular and molecular location, and their 3D organization in a tissue sample. Citation Format: Jingtian Zheng, Evan Phillips, Yi-Chien Wu, Steve Seung-Young Lee, Vytautas Bindokas. LED photobleaching-based multiplex 3D microscopy of the tumor microenvironment. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 1 (Regular and Invited Abstracts); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(7_Suppl):Abstract nr 4707.

In a democratic society characterized by near-universal suffrage, like the twenty-first century United States, stripping a citizen of the right to vote is an extreme measure, requiring the strongest of justifications. It is generally accepted that denial of the vote to minors and mentally incompetent persons is justified because of their impaired capacity for reasoned decision-making. However, no such agreed-upon justification exists for the widespread denial of the vote to citizens who have been convicted of crimes. Indeed, the scope of what is generally referred to as “felon disenfranchisement” varies widely among states, and does not exist at all in two. Because of questions about the rationale for felon disenfranchisement, many jurisdictions have begun to re-examine laws that restrict the voting rights of persons with criminal convictions. In the last twenty years, in particular, a number of states have made legal and administrative changes aimed both at expanding the voting rights of ex-offenders and at assuring that ex-offenders whose voting rights have been restored are not excluded from the franchise by misinformation or unnecessary administrative hurdles. South Carolina, however, has not revisited the issue since the current law was adopted in the early 1980’s. That law, in turn, was hurriedly adopted to replace a Jim Crow-era statute that had been challenged on equal protection grounds. Nor has implementation of the current disenfranchisement statute been carefully examined to assure that restoration of voting rights following the period of disenfranchisement is actual and not merely theoretical. As a class project, Professor Elizabeth Patterson’s spring 2018 Voting Rights Seminar at the University of South Carolina School of Law undertook a wide-ranging study of law, policy, and practice affecting the voting rights of South Carolinians who have been convicted of crimes, or who are otherwise incarcerated. Based on interviews with state and local officials and other interested persons, examination of state statutes from all 50 states, and review of a wide range of published material, the class identified three issues that should be addressed in order to assure that the voting rights of persons who have been convicted of crimes or are otherwise incarcerated are limited no more than is necessary to serve legitimate policy goals. The three issues, which are discussed more fully in the report that follows, are: 1. The scope of disenfranchisement under current law. Conclusion: The scope of disenfranchisement under current South Carolina law is broader than can be justified by legitimate policy goals, impedes successful re-entry and rehabilitation of ex-offenders, and has an unacceptable disproportionate effect on black voting rights. The state should consider relieving probationers, parolees, and misdemeanants (other than those convicted of election offenses) of the burden of disenfranchisement. 2. Practical and administrative obstacles to ex-offenders’ participation in the electorate following restoration of voting rights. Conclusion: Substantial misunderstanding and misinformation concerning ex-offenders’ voting rights exist among both ex-offenders themselves and among local election officials. Restoration of voting rights as provided for by South Carolina law will not be a reality without more intensive efforts to inform affected persons of their voting rights and how to exercise the, together with full implementation of the system of guidance and oversight for county boards of voter registration and elections mandated in the 2014 Election Reform Act. 3. Whether the voting rights of eligible voters who are incarcerated are adequately protected. Conclusion: The state has a duty to assure that inmates who retain the right to vote are provided with information and assistance necessary to exercise that right.

This paper presents a simple and upgradable autonomous battery aging evaluation and test system. This system can age the battery autonomously while performing measurements of several parameters of interest based on specifications entered by user. These parameters include but are not limited to capacity fading, AC impedance spectrum, temperature, State-Of-Charge (SOC), and State-Of-Health (SOH). The system can be used for evaluation of batteries and for research and can be developed using commonly available laboratory hardware and tools with relatively low cost. It can also be used in the future for preliminary evaluation of newly developed concepts such as those for SOC estimation, SOH estimation, and fault detection. The major parts of the system include a bi-directional DC-DC buck/boost power converter, a programmable microcontroller with ADC and PWM functions, a personal computer or a laptop with LabVIEW software, a DC Electronic Load, a DC power supply and a relay selector. Functions and hardware blocks can be added to the systems as needed. The paper also present sample results for capacity fading and impedance measurement of an aged battery.

This paper presents a dynamic efficiency tracking control strategy for reconfigurable four-coil wireless power transfer (R-WPT) system. The proposed R-WPT system includes an array of drive loops, a transmitter (Tx coil), a receiver (Rx coil), an array of load loops, two relay switch arrays, a rectifier and a control unit. By sensing voltage and/or current from the power source and the load, Tx and Rx side switches are adaptively controlled such that one drive loop out of several drive loops with different diameters is connected to the power source and one load loop out of several load loops with different diameters is connected to the load. Since drive loops and load loops have different sizes, the optimum coupling factor with corresponding drive loop and load loop is adaptively varied and selected, such that the maximum efficiency is achieved at a given distance/misalignment condition. Proof of concept experimental results demonstrate and verify the operation of the system achieving high efficiency.

Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) are localized pathological vessel dilations and are the 13th leading cause of death in the U.S. While AAA expansion in patients is traditionally assessed with 2D ultrasound by measuring transverse diameters, recent advancements in ultrasound techniques now make it feasible to quantify AAA volumes noninvasively. High frequency ultrasound (typically up to 40 MHz) is ideal for rodent imaging when investigating experimental aneurysms. The purpose of this study was to use 3D ultrasound to measure aneurysm progression in the apolipoprotein-E-deficient (apoE-/-)/angiotensin II (AngII) mouse model that create suprarenal dissecting aneurysms. High frequency ultrasound (40 MHz, Vevo2100, VisualSonics) was used to collect images from C57BL/6 apoE-/- mice infused with AngII from subcutaneously implanted osmotic mini pumps (1000 ng/kg/min) for 28 days (n=6). We could clearly visualize, segment, and quantify 3D volumes of AAAs and visualize the dissection between medial and adventitial layers. Total AAA volume increased steadily at an average rate of 0.51±0.32 mm3/day (mean±SE) between days 3 and 14 after aneurysm formation (Figure 1). This is similar to the increase in false lumen expansion (0.42±0.30 mm3/day), but higher than the true lumen expansion that remained relatively constant over 14 days (0.09±0.06 mm3/day). These data suggest that 3D ultrasound is a technically feasible measure of aortic volume and has utility in evaluating the efficacy of therapeutic agents in animal models.