Army Officer Corps Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Foundation Gaps Place Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) Operations at Risk – Part 1

This is the first of three articles from the authors describing the risk to Joint Operations incurred by an Army that is vulnerable to the STEM challenges faced in a great power competition involving CWMD operations. In this article, we describe the problem. In articles two and three of the series, we will elaborate on the problem utilizing the Joint Publication 3-0 as our guide and recommend solutions to address this gap

Chemistry of Complex High-Nitrogen Materials

This dissertation is a compilation of five manuscripts which were peer-reviewed and accepted for publication in several international scientific journals, including Zeitschrift für Anorganische und Allgemeine Chemie ZAAC (Germany), Chemistry-A European Journal (several European nations), Energetic Materials Frontiers (China), New Journal of Chemistry (U.K.), and Inorganic Chemistry(U.S.). The extensive research was achieved during the three year graduate research program as part of the Purdue Energetics Research Center (PERC). Chemistry of Complex High-Nitrogen Materialsbegins with a brief background on a few high explosive materials and their applications, followed by synthesis routes and characterization methods of energetic materials. Several new complex high-nitrogen materials where synthesized and presented in the following chapters. These novel energetics include several nitrilimines, triazoles, tetrazoles, methyl sydnone imines, azasydnones, and an annulated heterocycle. Their energetic properties are discussed and compared with other well-known explosive materials

Army Officer Corps Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Foundation Gaps Place Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) Operations at Risk – Part 2

This is the second of three articles from the authors describing the risk to Joint Operations incurred by an Army that is vulnerable to the STEM challenges faced in a great power competition involving CWMD operations. In Part 1, we described the problem: “The Army’s failure to emphasize STEM competence in the Army officer corps outside of Functional Areas creates risk to mission accomplishment in CWMD multi-domain operations. The Army must prioritize STEM education in accessions and throughout PME to prepare commanders for effective science and technology (S&T) informed decision making within mission command in CWMD multi-domain operations”. For Parts 2 and 3, we utilize the Joint Operational Model, Notional Phasing for Predominant Military Activities, from JP 3-0, Joint Operations, to describe the risk of an Army officer corps lacking STEM dominance for CWMD operations during a regional or great power competition involving CWMD operations. In this article, we address the risk of our current efforts as we operate in Phase 0 (Shape) and Phase 1 (Deter) while our final article (Part 3) will examine the transition to decisive action / unified action with Phase 2 (Seize the Initiative) through Phase 5 (Enable Civil Authority)

Two Functional Epithelial Sodium Channel Isoforms Are Present in Rodents despite Pronounced Evolutionary Pseudogenization and Exon Fusion

The epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) plays a key role in salt and water homeostasis in tetrapod vertebrates. There are four ENaC subunits (α, β, γ, δ), forming heterotrimeric αβγ- or δβγ-ENaCs. While the physiology of αβγ-ENaC is well understood, for decades the field has stalled with respect to δβγ-ENaC due to the lack of mammalian model organisms. The SCNN1D gene coding for δ-ENaC was previously believed to be absent in rodents, hindering studies using standard laboratory animals. We analysed all currently available rodent genomes and discovered that SCNN1D is present in rodents but was independently lost in five rodent lineages, including the Muridae (mice and rats). The independent loss of SCNN1D in rodent lineages may be constrained by phylogeny and taxon-specific adaptation to dry habitats, however habitat aridity does not provide a selection pressure for maintenance of SCNN1D across Rodentia. A fusion of two exons coding for a structurally flexible region in the extracellular domain of δ-ENaC appeared in the Hystricognathi (a group that includes guinea pigs). This conserved pattern evolved at least 41 Ma ago and represents a new autapomorphic feature for this clade. Exon fusion does not impair functionality of guinea pig (Cavia porcellus) δβγ-ENaC expressed in Xenopus oocytes. Electrophysiological characterisation at the whole-cell and single-channel level revealed conserved biophysical features and mechanisms controlling guinea pig αβγ- and δβγ-ENaC function as compared to human orthologues. Guinea pigs therefore represent commercially available mammalian model animals that will help shed light on the physiological function of δ-ENaC

Candidate Clusters of Galaxies at z > 1.3 Identified in the Spitzer South Pole Telescope Deep Field Survey

International audienceWe present 279 galaxy cluster candidates at z > 1.3 selected from the 94 deg2 Spitzer South Pole Telescope Deep Field (SSDF) survey. We use a simple algorithm to select candidate high-redshift clusters of galaxies based on Spitzer/IRAC mid-infrared data combined with shallow all-sky optical data. We identify distant cluster candidates adopting an overdensity threshold that results in a high purity (80%) cluster sample based on tests in the Spitzer Deep, Wide-Field Survey of the Boötes field. Our simple algorithm detects all three 1.4 <