Digital Commons Network^™

The Status Of Plethodon Ainsworthi Lazell: Extinct, Extant, Or Nonexistent?, John G. Himes, David C. Beckett

Faculty Publications

Plethodon ainsworthi Lazell was described as a new species in the slimy salamander (Plethodon glutinosus [Northern Slimy Salamander]) complex from two specimens collected in Jasper County, MS, in 1964. Prior to their designation as the type and paratype of the newly described species in 1998, both specimens were presumably stored in strong formalin for 26 years and thus were in poor condition. Plethodon ainsworthi is distinguished from the sympatric Plethodon mississippi (Mississippi Slimy Salamander) by a more attenuated body, as evidenced by a higher snout-vent length (SVL)/head width (HW) ratio, and shorter limbs. Despite numerous searches between 1991 and …

Cross Amplification Of Microsatellite Loci Developed For Atractosteus Spatula In Atractosteus Tropicus, Sandra Bohn, Enrique Barraza, Caleb Mcmahan, Brian Kreiser

Faculty Publications

Due to recent population declines in tropical gar (Atractosteus tropicus), a greater understanding of its population structure is needed. A key step in gaining this understanding is the development of microsatellite loci for use in this species. For this purpose, 33 microsatellite loci from alligator gar (A. spatula) were screened in 52 individuals from a population in Zanjón del Chino, El Salvador. Twenty-five of these loci successfully amplified in this species, and 9 of those loci were polymorphic in this population. These loci should provide a useful tool for genotyping A. tropicus, both in studying …

Evaluating Flexibility In International Patent Law, Sarah R. Wasserman Rajec

Faculty Publications

Global patent law has raced toward harmonization over the past decades. Countries with vastly different industries, values, and levels of development now offer robust patent rights with similar contours through membership in the World Trade Organization and consequent adoption of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (“TRIPS”). However, patent law is still far from harmonized among countries or static within countries. Jurisdictions tailor their patent laws to accommodate differences between industries, unforeseen inefficiencies, and diverse views of the costs and benefits associated with offering patent rights to stimulate innovation. Prior scholarly work consists of either doctrinal analyses …

Protecting Youth From Health Risk Behaviors, Alina M. Baltazar, Kathryn Conopio, Jacqueline Moreno, Larry Ulery, Gary L. Hopkins

Faculty Publications

Between the ages of 13 and 25, youth go through major psychosocial changes—forming their own identity, becoming independent of their parents, establishing intimate friendships and relationships, struggling with academic goals, and eventually starting a career and even a family. During this time, they can experience difficulties adjusting to these changes and the stresses that ac - company them, and as a result, make behavioral choices that are dangerous and even life destroying. To avoid destructive choices, young people need support from significant others throughout this stage of their lives. What can educators, parents, and church and community leaders do to …

The Eps Matrix As An Adaptive Bastion For Biofilms: Introduction To Special Issue, Alan W. Decho

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Nonlinear Scoring Functions For Similarity-Based Ligand Docking And Binding Affinity Prediction, Michal Brylinski

Faculty Publications

A common strategy for virtual screening considers a systematic docking of a large library of organic compounds into the target sites in protein receptors with promising leads selected based on favorable intermolecular interactions. Despite a continuous progress in the modeling of protein-ligand interactions for pharmaceutical design, important challenges still remain, thus the development of novel techniques is required. In this communication, we describe eSimDock, a new approach to ligand docking and binding affinity prediction. eSimDock employs nonlinear machine learning-based scoring functions to improve the accuracy of ligand ranking and similarity-based binding pose prediction, and to increase the tolerance to structural …

Knockdown Of Selenocysteine-Specific Elongation Factor In Amblyomma Maculatum Alters The Pathogen Burden Of Rickettsia Parkeri With Epigenetic Control By The Sin3 Histone Deacetylase Corepressor Complex, Steven W. Adamson, Rebecca E. Browning, Khemraj Budachetri, José M.C. Ribeiro, Shahid Karim

Faculty Publications

Selenocysteine is the 21st naturally-occurring amino acid. Selenoproteins have diverse functions and many remain uncharacterized, but they are typically associated with antioxidant activity. The incorporation of selenocysteine into the nascent polypeptide chain recodes the TGA stop codon and this process depends upon a number of essential factors including the selenocysteine elongation factor (SEF). The transcriptional expression of SEF did not change significantly in tick midguts throughout the blood meal, but decreased in salivary glands to 20% at the end of the fast feeding phase. Since selenoprotein translation requires this specialized elongation factor, we targeted this gene for knockdown by RNAi …

Analysis Of Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla Gorilla Gorilla) Specific Alu Repeats, Adam T. Mclain, Glenn W. Carman, Mitchell L. Fullerton, Thomas O. Beckstrom, William Gensler, Thomas J. Meyer, Christopher Faulk, Mark A. Batzer

Faculty Publications

Background: Research into great ape genomes has revealed widely divergent activity levels over time for Alu elements. However, the diversity of this mobile element family in the genome of the western lowland gorilla has previously been uncharacterized. Alu elements are primate-specific short interspersed elements that have been used as phylogenetic and population genetic markers for more than two decades. Alu elements are present at high copy number in the genomes of all primates surveyed thus far. The AluY subfamily and its derivatives have been recognized as the evolutionarily youngest Alu subfamily in the Old World primate lineage. Results: Here we …

Soil Respiration In A Northeastern Us Temperate Forest: A 22‐Year Synthesis, M. A. Giasson, A. M. Ellison, R. D. Bowden, Patrick M. Crill, Erik A. Davidson, J. E. Drake, Serita D. Frey, J. L. Hadley, M. Lavine, J. M. Melillo, J. W. Munger, K. J. Nadelhoffer, L. Nicoll, Scott V. Ollinger, K. E. Savage, P. A. Steudler, J. Tang, Ruth K. Varner, S. C. Wofsy, D. R. Foster, A. C. Finzi

Faculty Publications

To better understand how forest management, phenology, vegetation type, and actual and simulated climatic change affect seasonal and inter‐annual variations in soil respiration (Rs), we analyzed more than 100,000 individual measurements of soil respiration from 23 studies conducted over 22 years at the Harvard Forest in Petersham, Massachusetts, USA. We also used 24 site‐years of eddy‐covariance measurements from two Harvard Forest sites to examine the relationship between soil and ecosystem respiration (Re).

Rs was highly variable at all spatial (respiration collar to forest stand) and temporal (minutes to years) scales of measurement. The response of Rs to experimental manipulations mimicking …

Ionic Liquid-Based Fluorescein Colorimetric Ph Nanosensors, Susmita Das, Paul K.S. Magut, Sergio L. De Rooy, Farhana Hasan, Isiah M. Warner

Faculty Publications

A novel pH sensitive, colorimetric ionic liquid nanosensor based on phosphonium salts of fluorescein is reported. Herein, fluorescein salts of various stoichiometries were synthesized by use of a trihexyltetradecylphosphonium cation [TTP]+ in combination with dianionic [FL]2- and monoanionic [FL]- fluorescein. Nanomaterials derived from these two compounds yielded contrasting colorimetric responses in neutral and acidic environments. Variations in fluorescence spectra as a function of pH were also observed. Examination of TEM and DLS data revealed significant expansion in the diameter of [TTP]2[FL] nanodroplets in acidic environments of variable pHs. A similar trend was also observed for [TTP][FL] nanoparticles. The pH dependent …

Acoustic Droplet Vaporization In Biology And Medicine, Chung-Yin Lin, William G. Pitt

Faculty Publications

This paper reviews the literature regarding the use of acoustic droplet vaporization (ADV) in clinical applications of imaging, embolic therapy, and therapeutic delivery. ADV is a physical process in which the pressure waves of ultrasound induce a phase transition that causes superheated liquid nanodroplets to form gas bubbles. The bubbles provide ultrasonic imaging contrast and other functions. ADV of perfluoropentane was used extensively in imaging for preclinical trials in the 1990s, but its use declined rapidly with the advent of other imaging agents. In the last decade, ADV was proposed and explored for embolic occlusion therapy, drug delivery, aberration correction, …

Amp-Activated Protein Kinase Α1 But Not Α2 Catalytic Subunit Potentiates Myogenin Expression And Myogenesis, Xing Fu, Jun Xing Zhao, Mei Jun Zhu, Marc Foretz, Benoit Viollet, Mike V. Dodson, Min Du

Faculty Publications

The link between AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and myogenesis remains poorly defined. AMPK has two catalytic αsubunits, α1 and α2. We postulated that AMPK promotes myogenesis in an isoform-specific manner. Primary myoblasts wereprepared from AMPK knockout (KO) mice and AMPK conditional KO mice, and knockout of the α1 but not the α2 subunit resultedin downregulation of myogenin and reduced myogenesis. Myogenin expression and myogenesis were nearly abolished inthe absence of both AMPKα1 and AMPKα2, while enhanced AMPK activity promoted myogenesis and myotube formation. TheAMPKα1-specific effect on myogenesis was likely due to the dominant expression of α1 in myoblasts. These results …

Immigration And Recruitment In An Urban White-Winged Dove Breeding Colony, Bret A. Collier, Shelly R. Kremer, Corey D. Mason, John Stone, Kirby W. Calhoun, Markus J. Peterson

Faculty Publications

Dove population management necessitates estimates of vital rates for use in mechanistic models used to evaluate and predict population responses to environmental variation and/or alternative harvest scenarios. Estimating recruitment (number of juveniles per adult) is complicated because a compendium of factors drives production in doves. Whitewinged doves Zenaida asiatica exhibit a fairly unique breeding strategy wherein they commonly return to the same breeding area and reproduce in large breeding aggregations (i.e., colonies). We used an open-population capture-recapture model to estimate annual immigration and in situ recruitment of white-winged doves breeding in an urban colony during 2009 and 2010. We captured …

Mutational Analysis Of The Rotavirus Nsp4 Enterotoxic Domain That Binds To Caveolin-1, Judith M. Ball, Megan E. Schroeder, Cecelia V. Williams, Friedhelm Schroeder, Rebecca D. Parr

Faculty Publications

Background: Rotavirus (RV) nonstructural protein 4 (NSP4) is the first described viral enterotoxin, which induces early secretory diarrhea in neonatal rodents. Our previous data show a direct interaction between RV NSP4 and the structural protein of caveolae, caveolin-1 (cav-1), in yeast and mammalian cells. The binding site of cav-1 mapped to the NSP4 amphipathic helix, and led us to examine which helical face was responsible for the interaction.

Methods: A panel of NSP4 mutants were prepared and tested for binding to cav-1 by yeast two hybrid and direct binding assays. The charged residues of the NSP4 amphipathic helix were changed …

Genseq: An Updated Nomenclature And Ranking For Genetic Sequences From Type And Non-Type Sources, Prosanta Chakrabarty, Melanie Warren, Lawrence M. Page, Carole C. Baldwin

Faculty Publications

An improved and expanded nomenclature for genetic sequences is introduced that corresponds with a ranking of the reliability of the taxonomic identification of the source specimens. This nomenclature is an advancement of the "Genetypes" naming system, which some have been reluctant to adopt because of the use of the "type" suffix in the terminology. In the new nomenclature, genetic sequences are labeled "genseq," followed by a reliability ranking (e.g., 1 if the sequence is from a primary type), followed by the name of the genes from which the sequences were derived (e.g., genseq-1 16S, COI). The numbered suffix provides an …

Microbes In Nature Are Limited By Carbon And Energy: The Starving-Survival Lifestyle In Soil And Consequences For Estimating Microbial Rates, John E. Hobbie, Erik A. Hobbie

Faculty Publications

Understanding microbial transformations in soils is important for predicting future carbon sequestration and nutrient cycling. This review questions some methods of assessing one key microbial process, the uptake of labile organic compounds. First, soil microbes have a starving-survival life style of dormancy, arrested activity, and low activity. Yet they are very abundant and remain poised to completely take up all substrates that become available. As a result, dilution assays with the addition of labeled substrates cannot be used. When labeled substrates are transformed into 14CO2, the first part of the biphasic release follows metabolic rules and is not affected by …

Analytical Model For Out-Of-Field Dose In Photon Craniospinal Irradiation, Phillip J. Taddei, Wassim Jalbout, Rebecca M. Howell, Nabil Khater, Fady Geara, Kenneth Homann, Wayne D. Newhauser

Faculty Publications

The prediction of late effects after radiotherapy in organs outside a treatment field requires accurate estimations of out-of-field dose. However, out-of-field dose is not calculated accurately by commercial treatment planning systems (TPSs). The purpose of this study was to develop and test an analytical model for out-of-field dose during craniospinal irradiation (CSI) from photon beams produced by a linear accelerator. In two separate evaluations of the model, we measured absorbed dose for a 6 MV CSI using thermoluminescent dosimeters placed throughout an anthropomorphic phantom and fit the measured data to an analytical model of absorbed dose versus distance outside of …

Getting It Right The First Time: Robot Mission Guarantees In The Presence Of Uncertainty, Damian M. Lyons, Ronald C. Arkin, Paramesh Nirmal, Shu Jiang, Tsung-Ming Liu, J. Deeb

Faculty Publications

Certain robot missions need to perform predictably in a physical environment that may only be poorly characterized in advance. We have previously developed an approach to establishing performance guarantees for behaviorbased controllers in a process-algebra framework. We extend that work here to include random variables, and we show how our prior results can be used to generate a Dynamic Bayesian Network for the coupled system of program and environment model. Verification is reduced to a filtering problem for this network. Finally, we present validation results that demonstrate the effectiveness of the verification of a multiple waypoint robot mission using this …

Getting It Right The First Time: Robot Mission Guarantees In The Presence Of Uncertainty, Damian Lyons, Ron Arkin, Paramesh Nirmal, Shu Jiang, Tsung-Ming Liu, Julia Deeb

Faculty Publications

Abstract—Certain robot missions need to perform predictably in a physical environment that may only be poorly characterized in advance. We have previously developed an approach to establishing performance guarantees for behavior-based controllers in a process-algebra framework. We extend that work here to include random variables, and we show how our prior results can be used to generate a Dynamic Bayesian Network for the coupled system of program and environment model. Verification is reduced to a filtering problem for this network. Finally, we present validation results that demonstrate the effectiveness of the verification of a multiple waypoint robot mission using this …

Physiological Arousal In Autism And Fragile X Syndrome: Group Comparisons And Links With Pragmatic Language, Jessica Klusek, G E. Martin, M Losh

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Chronic Alcohol Induces M2 Polarization Enhancing Pulmonary Disease Caused By Exposure To Particulate Air Pollution, Paul Thevenot, Jordy Saravia, Joseph Giaimo, Kyle I. Happel, Tammy R. Dugas, Stephania A. Cormier

Faculty Publications

Background: Chronic alcohol consumption causes persistent oxidative stress in the lung, leading to impaired alveolar macrophage (AM) function and impaired immune responses. AMs play a critical role in protecting the lung from particulate matter (PM) inhalation by removing particulates from the airway and secreting factors which mediate airway repair. We hypothesized AM dysfunction caused by chronic alcohol consumption increases the severity of injury caused by PM inhalation. Methods: Age- and sex-matched C57BL/6 mice were fed the Lieber-DeCarli liquid diet containing either alcohol or an isocaloric substitution (control diet) for 8 weeks. Mice from both diet groups were exposed to combustion-derived …

Common Variants Associated With Plasma Triglycerides And Risk For Coronary Artery Disease, Ron Do, Cristen J. Willer, Ellen M. Schmidt, Sebanti Sengupta, Chi Gao, Gina M. Peloso, Stefan Gustafsson, Stavroula Kanoni, Andrea Ganna, Jin Chen, Martin L. Buchkovich, Samia Mora, Jacques S. Beckmann, Jennifer L. Bragg-Gresham, Hsing Yi Chang, Ayse Demirkan, Heleen M. Den Hertog, Louise A. Donnelly, Georg B. Ehret, Tõnu Esko, Mary F. Feitosa, Teresa Ferreira, Krista Fischer, Pierre Fontanillas, Ross M. Fraser, Daniel F. Freitag, Deepti Gurdasani, Kauko Heikkilä, Elina Hyppönen, Aaron Isaacs, Anne U. Jackson, Åsa Johansson, Toby Johnson

Faculty Publications

Triglycerides are transported in plasma by specific triglyceride-rich lipoproteins; in epidemiological studies, increased triglyceride levels correlate with higher risk for coronary artery disease (CAD). However, it is unclear whether this association reflects causal processes. We used 185 common variants recently mapped for plasma lipids (P < 5 × 10 -8 for each) to examine the role of triglycerides in risk for CAD. First, we highlight loci associated with both low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and triglyceride levels, and we show that the direction and magnitude of the associations with both traits are factors in determining CAD risk. Second, we consider loci with only a strong association with triglycerides and show that these loci are also associated with CAD. Finally, in a model accounting for effects on LDL-C and/or high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels, the strength of a polymorphism's effect on triglyceride levels is correlated with the magnitude of its effect on CAD risk. These results suggest that triglyceride-rich lipoproteins causally influence risk for CAD. © 2013 Nature America, Inc. All rights reserved.

Discovery And Refinement Of Loci Associated With Lipid Levels, Cristen J. Willer, Ellen M. Schmidt, Sebanti Sengupta, Gina M. Peloso, Stefan Gustafsson, Stavroula Kanoni, Andrea Ganna, Jin Chen, Martin L. Buchkovich, Samia Mora, Jacques S. Beckmann, Jennifer L. Bragg-Gresham, Hsing Yi Chang, Ayse Demirkan, Heleen M. Den Hertog, Ron Do, Louise A. Donnelly, Georg B. Ehret, Tõnu Esko, Mary F. Feitosa, Teresa Ferreira, Krista Fischer, Pierre Fontanillas, Ross M. Fraser, Daniel F. Freitag, Deepti Gurdasani, Kauko Heikkilä, Elina Hyppönen, Aaron Isaacs, Anne U. Jackson, Åsa Johansson, Toby Johnson, Marika Kaakinen

Faculty Publications

Levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, triglycerides and total cholesterol are heritable, modifiable risk factors for coronary artery disease. To identify new loci and refine known loci influencing these lipids, we examined 188,577 individuals using genome-wide and custom genotyping arrays. We identify and annotate 157 loci associated with lipid levels at P < 5 × 10 -8, including 62 loci not previously associated with lipid levels in humans. Using dense genotyping in individuals of European, East Asian, South Asian and African ancestry, we narrow association signals in 12 loci. We find that loci associated with blood lipid levels are often associated with cardiovascular and metabolic traits, including coronary artery disease, type 2 diabetes, blood pressure, waist-hip ratio and body mass index. Our results demonstrate the value of using genetic data from individuals of diverse ancestry and provide insights into the biological mechanisms regulating blood lipids to guide future genetic, biological and therapeutic research. © 2013 Nature America, Inc. All rights reserved.

Detection And Phylogenetic Analysis Of The Membrane-Bound Nitrate Reductase (Nar) In Pure Cultures And Microbial Communities From Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vents, Ileana Pérez-Rodríguez, Kenneth A. Bohnert, Mariola Cuebas, Ramaydalis Keddis, Costantino Vetriani

Faculty Publications

Over the past few years the relevance of nitrate respiration in microorganisms from deep-sea hydrothermal vents has become evident. In this study, we surveyed the membrane-bound nitrate reductase (Nar) encoding gene in three different deep-sea vent microbial communities from the East Pacific Rise and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Additionally, we tested pure cultures of vent strains for their ability to reduce nitrate and for the presence of the NarG-encoding gene in their genomes. By using the narG gene as a diagnostic marker for nitrate-reducing bacteria, we showed that nitrate reductases related to Gammaproteobacteria of the genus Marinobacter were numerically prevalent in …

High Fat Diet Partially Attenuates Fermentation Responses In Rats Fed Resistant Starch From High-Amylose Maize, Jason A. Charrier, Roy J. Martin, Kathleen L. Mccutcheon, Anne M. Raggio, Felicia Goldsmith, M'Famara Goita, Reshani N. Senevirathne, Ian L. Brown, Christine Pelkman, June Zhou, John Finley, Holiday A. Durham, Michael J. Keenan

Faculty Publications

Objective The effects of type 2 resistant starch from high-amylose maize (HAM-RS2) in rodents fed with low-fat diets were demonstrated in previous studies. Fish oil is also reported to reduce body fat. In the current study, the effects of high fat and fish oil on HAM-RS2 feeding in rats were investigated. Design and Methods Rats were fed 0 or 27% (weight) HAM-RS2 with low (15% energy) or high fat (42% energy) diets that included 0 or 10% (energy) tuna oil to test the effect of HAM-RS2 in diet-induced obesity and effects of tuna oil. Data were analyzed as 2 × …

Dietary Resistant Starch Improves Selected Brain And Behavioral Functions In Adult And Aged Rodents, June Zhou, Michael J. Keenan, Sun Ok Fernandez-Kim, Paul J. Pistell, Donald K. Ingram, Bing Li, Anne M. Raggio, Li Shen, Hanjie Zhang, Kathleen L. Mccutcheon, Richard T. Tulley, Marc R. Blackman, Jeffrey N. Keller, Roy J. Martin

Faculty Publications

Resistant starch (RS) is a dietary fiber that exerts multiple beneficial effects. The current study explored the effects of dietary RS on selected brain and behavioral functions in adult and aged rodents. Because glucokinase (GK) expression in hypothalamic arcuate nucleus and area postrema of the brainstem is important for brain glucose sensing, GK mRNA was measured by brain nuclei microdissection and PCR. Adult RS-fed rats had a higher GK mRNA than controls in both brain nuclei, an indicator of improved brain glucose sensing. Next, we tested whether dietary RS improve selected behaviors in aged mice. RS-fed aged mice exhibited (i) …

The Drosophila T-Box Transcription Factor Midline Functions Within The Notch-Delta Signaling Pathway To Specify Sensory Organ Precursor Cell Fates And Regulates Cell Survival Within The Eye Imaginal Disc, Sudeshna Das, Q. Brent Chen, Joseph D. Saucier, Brandon Drescher, Yan Zong, Sarah E. Morgan, John Forstall, Andrew Meriwether, Randy Toranzo, Sandra M. Leal

Faculty Publications

We report that the T-box transcription factor Midline (Mid), an evolutionary conserved homolog of the vertebrate Tbx20 protein, functions within the Notch-Delta signaling pathway essential for specifying the fates of sensory organ precursor (SOP) cells. These findings complement an established history of research showing that Mid regulates the cell-fate specification of diverse cell types within the developing heart, epidermis and central nervous system. Tbx20 has been detected in unique neuronal and epithelial cells of embryonic eye tissues in both mice and humans. However, the mechanisms by which either Mid or Tbx20 function to regulate cell-fate specification or other critical aspects …

The Glucose Signaling Network In Yeast, Jeong-Ho Kim, Adhiraj Roy, David Jouandot Ii, Kyu Hong Cho

Faculty Publications

Background

Most cells possess a sophisticated mechanism for sensing glucose and responding to it appropriately. Glucose sensing and signaling in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae represent an important paradigm for understanding how extracellular signals lead to changes in the gene expression program in eukaryotes.

Scope of review

This review focuses on the yeast glucose sensing and signaling pathways that operate in a highly regulated and cooperative manner to bring about glucose-induction of HXT gene expression.

Major conclusions

The yeast cells possess a family of glucose transporters (HXTs), with different kinetic properties. They employ three major glucose signaling pathways—Rgt2/Snf3, …

Morphological Divergence And Flow-Induced Phenotypic Plasticity In A Native Fish From Anthropogenically Altered Stream Habitats, Nathan R. Franssen, Laura K. Stewart, Jacob F. Schaefer

Faculty Publications

Understanding population-level responses to human-induced changes to habitats can elucidate the evolutionary consequences of rapid habitat alteration. Reservoirs constructed on streams expose stream fishes to novel selective pressures in these habitats. Assessing the drivers of trait divergence facilitated by these habitats will help identify evolutionary and ecological consequences of reservoir habitats. We tested for morphological divergence in a stream fish that occupies both stream and reservoir habitats. To assess contributions of genetic-level differences and phenotypic plasticity induced by flow variation, we spawned and reared individuals from both habitats types in flow and no flow conditions. Body shape significantly and consistently …

Deployed Communications In An Austere Environment: A Delphi Study, Andrew Soine, James Harker, Alan R. Heminger

Faculty Publications

The information and communications technology (ICT) field is undergoing a period of tremendous change. The exponential growth rate of ICT capability in recent decades, which has had an undeniable effect on every aspect of our society, will likely have ramifications for military operations in austere environments. 1 The Air Force’s 689th Combat Communications Wing commissioned a study to forecast the future of mobile ICT in such environments. Researchers at the Air Force Institute of Technology chose to employ the Delphi technique as the methodology for executing this task. The following scenario, based on the results of that study, demonstrates how …