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The duality between electric and magnetic dipoles in electromagnetism only partly applies to condensed matter. In particular, the elementary excitations of the magnetic and ferroelectric orders, namely magnons and ferrons, respectively, have received asymmetric attention from the condensed matter community in the past. In this Perspective, we introduce and summarize the current state of the budding field of “ferronics.” We argue that the introduction of dipole-carrying elementary excitations allows the modeling of many observables and potentially leads to applications in thermal, information, and communication technologies. 

Radio map describes network coverage and is a practically important tool for network planning in modern wireless systems. Generally, radio strength measurements are collected to construct fine-resolution radio maps for analysis. However, certain protected areas are not accessible for measurement due to physical constraints and security considerations, leading to blanked spaces on a radio map. Non-uniformly spaced measurement and uneven observation resolution make it more difficult for radio map estimation and spectrum planning in protected areas. This work explores the distribution of radio spectrum strengths and proposes an exemplar-based approach to reconstruct missing areas on a radio map. Instead of taking generic image processing approaches, we leverage radio propagation models to determine directions of region filling and develop two different schemes to estimate the missing radio signal power. Our test results based on high-fidelity simulation demonstrate efficacy of the proposed methods for radio map reconstruction. 

Co-creation in higher education is the process where students collaborate with instructors in designing the curriculum and associated educational material. This can take place in different scenarios, such as integrating co-creation into an ongoing course, modifying a previously taken course, or while creating a new course. In this Work-In-Progress, we investigate training and formative assessment models for preparing graduate students in engineering to participate as co-creators of educational material on an interdisciplinary topic. The topic of cyber-physical systems engineering and product lifecycle management with application to structural health monitoring is considered in this co-creation project. This entails not only topics from different disciplines of civil, computer, electrical and environmental engineering, business, and information sciences, but also humanistic issues of sustainability, environment, ethical and legal concerns in data-driven decision-making that support the control of cyber-physical systems. Aside from the objective of creating modules accessible to students with different levels of disciplinary knowledge, the goal of this research is to investigate if the co-creation process and the resulting modules also promote interest and engagement in interdisciplinary research. A literature survey of effective training approaches for co-creation and associated educational theories is summarized. For students, essential training components include providing (i) opportunities to align their interests, knowledge, skills, and values with the topic presented; (ii) experiential learning on the topic to help develop and enhance critical thinking and question posing skills, and (iii) safe spaces to reflect, voice their opinions, concerns, and suggestions. In this research we investigate the adaption of project-based learning (PjBL) strategies and practices to support (i) and (ii) and focus groups for participatory action research (PAR) as safe spaces for reflection, feedback, and action in item (iii). The co-creation process is assessed through qualitative analysis of data collected through the PjBL activities and PAR focus groups and other qualitative data (i.e., focus group transcripts, interview transcripts, project materials, fieldnotes, etc.). The eventual outcome of the co-creation process will be an on-line course module that is designed to be integrated in existing engineering graduate and undergraduate courses at four different institutions, which includes two state universities and two that are historically black colleges and universities. 

RNA-binding proteins play crucial roles in various cellular functions, and contain abundant disordered protein regions. The disordered regions in RNA-binding proteins are rich in repetitive sequences, such as poly-K/R, poly-N/Q, poly-A, and poly-G residues. Our bioinformatic analysis identified a largely neglected repetitive sequence family we define as electronegative clusters (ENCs) that contain acidic residues and/or phosphorylation sites. The abundance and length of ENCs exceed other known repetitive sequences. Despite their abundance, the functions of ENCs in RNA-binding proteins are still elusive. To investigate the impacts of ENCs on protein stability, RNA-binding affinity, and specificity, we selected one RNA-binding protein, the ribosomal biogenesis factor 15 (Nop15) as a model. We found that the Nop15 ENC increases protein stability and inhibits nonspecific RNA binding, but minimally interferes with specific RNA binding. To investigate the effect of ENCs on sequence specificity of RNA binding, we grafted an ENC to another RNA-binding protein, Ser/Arg-rich splicing factor 3 (SRSF3). Using RNA Bind-n-Seq, we found that the engineered ENC inhibits disparate RNA motifs differently, instead of weakening all RNA motifs to the same extent. The motif site directly involved in electrostatic interaction is more susceptible to the ENC inhibition. These results suggest that one of functions of ENCs is to regulate RNA binding via electrostatic interaction. This is consistent with our finding that ENCs are also overrepresented in DNA-binding proteins, while underrepresented in halophiles, in which nonspecific nucleic acid binding is inhibited by high concentrations of salts. 

Site U1561 (30˚43.2902′S, 26˚41.7162′W; proposed Site SATL-55A) is in the central South Atlantic Ocean at a water depth of 4910 meters below sea level (mbsl) ~1250 km west of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (see Figure F1 and Tables T1, T2, all in the Expedition 390/393 summary chapter [Coggon et al., 2024d]) on crust that formed at a slow half spreading rate of ~13.5 mm/y, which is the slowest spreading rate in the study region (Kardell et al., 2019; Christeson et al., 2020; see Figure F7 in the Expedition 390/393 summary chapter [Coggon et al., 2024d]). With an estimated age of 61.2 Ma, Site U1561 is the oldest location of the South Atlantic Transect (SAT) campaign (International Ocean Discovery Program [IODP] Expeditions 390C, 395E, 390, and 393). Site U1561 sits on a basement ridge and is therefore less heavily sedimented than Sites U1556 and U1557, which are located ~25 km south of Site U1561 on 61.2 and 60.7 Ma ocean crust, respectively. Together, all sites in this region allow for investigation of the effect of sediment thickness on crustal evolution. 

Site U1558 (30°53.7814′S, 24°50.4822′W; proposed Site SATL-43A) is in the central South Atlantic Ocean at a water depth of ~4334 meters below sea level (mbsl) ~1067 km west of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (see Figure F1 and Tables T1, T2, all in the Expedition 390/393 summary chapter [Coggon et al., 2024c]) on crust that formed at a slow half spreading rate of ~19.5 mm/y (Kardell et al., 2019; Christeson et al., 2020) (see Figure F7 in the Expedition 390/393 summary chapter [Coggon et al., 2024c]). With an estimated age of 49.2 Ma, Site U1558 is the second oldest location of the South Atlantic Transect (SAT) campaign (International Ocean Discovery Program [IODP] Expeditions 390C, 395E, 390, and 393). 

Site U1557 (30°56.4651′S, 26°37.7892′W, proposed Site SATL-56A) is in the central South Atlantic Ocean at a water depth of ~5011 meters below sea level (mbsl) ~1243 km west of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (see Figure F1 and Tables T1, T2, all in the Expedition 390/393 summary chapter [Coggon et al., 2024d]) on crust that formed at a slow half spreading rate of ~13.5 mm/y, which is the slowest spreading rate in the study region (Kardell et al., 2019; Christeson et al., 2020) (see Figure F7 in the Expedition 390/393 summary chapter [Coggon et al., 2024d]; Reece et al., 2016; Reece and Estep, 2019). With an estimated age of 60.7 Ma, Site U1557 is just about the oldest location of the South Atlantic Transect (SAT) campaign (International Ocean Discovery Program [IODP] Expeditions 390C, 395E, 390, and 393). Site U1557 is more heavily sedimented than Site U1556, which is located 6.5 km west of Site U1557 on 61.2 Ma ocean crust. Together, both sites allow for investigation of the effect of sediment thickness on crustal evolution. 

This section provides an overview of operations, depth conventions, core handling, curatorial procedures, and analyses performed on the R/V JOIDES Resolution during the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) South Atlantic Transect (SAT) Expeditions 390C, 395E, 390, and 393. This information applies only to shipboard work described in the Expedition reports section of the SAT Proceedings of the International Ocean Discovery Program volume. Methods used by investigators for shore-based analyses of expedition samples and data will be described in separate individual postexpedition research publications.