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Cell–cell adhesion is important for cell growth, tissue development, and neural network formation. Structures of cell adhesion molecules have been widely studied by crystallography, revealing the molecular details of adhesion interfaces. However, due to technical limitations, the overall structure and organization of adhesion molecules at cell adhesion interfaces has not been fully investigated. Here, we combine electron microscopy and other biophysical methods to characterize the structure of cell–cell adhesion mediated by the cell adhesion molecule Sidekick (Sidekick-1 and Sidekick-2) and obtain 3D views of the Sidekick-mediated adhesion interfaces as well as the organization of Sidekick molecules between cell membranes by electron tomography. The results suggest that the Ig-like domains and the fibronectin III (FnIII) domains of Sidekicks play different roles in cell adhesion. The Ig-like domains mediate the homophilic transinteractions bridging adjacent cells, while the FnIII domains interact with membranes, resulting in a tight adhesion interface between cells that may contribute to the specificity and plasticity of cell–cell contacts during cell growth and neural development.

Logistics has long been important in an industrial society. Compared with the traditional structure of distribution, which requires freight to be delivered mostly to warehouses or retail stores, customers now often prefer packages to be delivered to their residences, especially after the delivery challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. The delivery of parcels to urban residential areas increases the challenge due to the amount of delivery volume, tight delivery schedules, and continuously changing delivery conditions. Last-mile delivery tries to address the challenges, taking advantage of the available automation, sensor and communication technologies, and people’s attitudes toward parcel delivery for the benefit of all stakeholders. Various approaches to last-mile delivery have been proposed and analyzed in the literature. This paper reviews the recent literature on vehicle routing for last-mile delivery. The review identified four major categories: crowdshipping, parcel lockers, delivery by sidekicks, and delivery to optional points. The nature of the problems is discussed in five aspects: fleet capacity, time window, fleet option, dynamism of input, and stochastic parameters. The review identifies the achievements and limitations of the research in the areas and proposes a future research agenda.

Many of the immunoglobulin superfamily (IgSF) molecules play pivotal roles in cell communication. The Sidekick (Sdk) gene, first described in Drosophila, encodes the single-pass transmembrane protein, Sdk, which is one of the largest among IgSF membrane proteins. Sdk first appeared in multicellular animals during the Precambrian age and later evolved to Sdk1 and Sdk2 in vertebrates by gene duplication. In flies, a single Sdk is involved in positioning photoreceptor neurons and their axons in the visual system and is responsible for dynamically rearranging cell shapes by strictly populating tricellular adherens junctions in epithelia. In vertebrates, Sdk1 and Sdk2 are expressed by unique sets of cell types and distinctively participate in the formation and/or maintenance of neural circuits in the retina, indicating that they are determinants of synaptic specificity. These functions are mediated by specific homophilic binding of their ectodomains and by intracellular association with PDZ scaffold proteins. Recent human genetic studies as well as animal experiments implicate that Sdk genes may influence various neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders, such as autism spectrum disorders, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, addiction, and depression. The gigantic Sdk1 gene is susceptible to erratic gene rearrangements or mutations in both somatic and germ-line cells, potentially contributing to neurological disorders and some types of cancers. This review summarizes what is known about the structure and roles of Sdks.Many of the immunoglobulin superfamily (IgSF) molecules play pivotal roles in cell communication. The Sidekick (Sdk) gene, first described in Drosophila, encodes the single-pass transmembrane protein, Sdk, which is one of the largest among IgSF membrane proteins. Sdk first appeared in multicellular animals during the Precambrian age and later evolved to Sdk1 and Sdk2 in vertebrates by gene duplication. In flies, a single Sdk is involved in positioning photoreceptor neurons and their axons in the visual system and is responsible for dynamically rearranging cell shapes by strictly populating tricellular adherens junctions in epithelia. In vertebrates, Sdk1 and Sdk2 are expressed by unique sets of cell types and distinctively participate in the formation and/or maintenance of neural circuits in the retina, indicating that they are determinants of synaptic specificity. These functions are mediated by specific homophilic binding of their ectodomains and by intracellular association with PDZ scaffold proteins. Recent human genetic studies as well as animal experiments implicate that Sdk genes may influence various neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders, such as autism spectrum disorders, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, addiction, and depression. The gigantic Sdk1 gene is susceptible to erratic gene rearrangements or mutations in both somatic and germ-line cells, potentially contributing to neurological disorders and some types of cancers. This review summarizes what is known about the structure and roles of Sdks.

Holy adolescence, Batman! Robin and the Making of American Adolescence offers the first character history and analysis of the most famous superhero sidekick, Robin. Debuting just a few months after Batman himself, Robin has been an integral part of the Dark Knight's history-and debuting just a few months prior to the word \"teenager\" first appearing in print, Robin has from the outset both reflected and reinforced particular images of American adolescence. Closely reading several characters who have \"played\" Robin over the past eighty years, Robin and the Making of American Adolescence reveals the Boy (and sometimes Girl!) Wonder as a complex figure through whom mainstream culture has addressed anxieties about adolescents in relation to sexuality, gender, and race. This book partners up comics studies and adolescent studies as a new Dynamic Duo, following Robin as he swings alongside the ever-changing American teenager and finally shining the Bat-signal on the latter half of \"Batman and-.\" 

This study investigates the flying sidekick traveling salesman problem (FSTSP), in which a truck and an unmanned aerial vehicle work together to make deliveries. This study develops a revised mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model for the FSTSP. The revised MILP model performs better than the existing model. Due to the FSTSP’s high complexity, we propose an effective heuristic based on simulated annealing (SA) to solve the problem. The novelty of the proposed SA heuristic lies in the new solution representation, which not only determines the visiting sequence of customers but also the service type of customers and rendezvous positions. Another feature of the proposed SA is a new operator specifically designed for the FSTSP. To evaluate the performance of the proposed SA heuristic, we conduct a comprehensive computational study where we fine-tune the parameters of the SA heuristic and compare the performance of the SA heuristic with several state-of-the-art algorithms including hybrid genetic algorithm (HGA) and iterated local search (ILS) in solving existing FSTSP benchmark instances. The results indicate that the proposed SA heuristic outperforms ILS and is statistically competitive with HGA. It obtains best-known solutions for all small FSTSP instances and 29 best-known solutions for the 60 large FSTSP instances, including 20 new best-known solutions.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are advanced technologies being implemented in diverse fields such as military operations, weather forecasting, supply chain logistics, and personal entertainment. UAVs have the potential of performing many pickup and delivery tasks in the near future as logistics companies keep investing in research and development of UAV technologies. Government and research agencies are catching up with UAV technologies through legislation and enabling technologies such as routing algorithms for UAVs. This article develops a hybrid mathematical model for flying sidekick travelling salesman problem with time windows (FS-TSP-TW). In the FS-TSP-TW, a truck pairs with a UAV (flying sidekick) to deliver packages to customers within predetermined time windows. The objective of the mathematical model is to minimize the total time (tour duration) for deliveries. Two models developed in previous research aimed to solve the flying sidekick travelling salesman problem without time windows and the travelling salesman problem (without flying sidekick) with time windows. This article integrates these two models (hence hybrid) into the FS-TSP-TW model by eliminating redundant constraints and incorporating an innovative sub-tour elimination routine. The new model effectively computes optimal routes for both the truck and UAV that meet delivery time windows. In addition, the FS-TSP-TW model identifies optimal routes for more customers with less computation time compared to previous models. The computational study validates the newly developed hybrid FS-TSP-TW model.

This article aims to present an analytical survey of various aspects of narrative mediation in the action-fantasy TV-series Xena: Warrior Princess, by discussing a number of structural, verbal as well as visual devices that justify the qualification of Xena as \"art television\". What is particularly unique to this series is the manner in which Xena's heroic exploits have reached the modern viewer, namely by means of the \"scrolls\" produced by Xena's sidekick and bardic companion Gabrielle. Consecutive sections discuss and illustrate the role of Gabrielle as storyteller and narrative mediator, the function and presentation of her \"scrolls\", the use of intertextual or remediating as well as regendering narration of familiar narratives from myth and history, and some of the narrative problems Gabrielle is made to encounter, such as writer's block, writerly self-doubt and the power of the word taking over from \"reality\".

Dogs have been part of motion pictures since the movies began. They have been featured onscreen in various capacities, from any number of \"man's best friends\" (Rin Tin Tin, Asta, Toto, Lassie, Benji, Uggie, and many, many more) to the psychotic Cujo. The contributors to Cinematic Canines take a close look at Hollywood films and beyond in order to show that the popularity of dogs on the screen cannot be separated from their increasing presence in our lives over the past century.The representation and visualization of dogs in cinema, as of other animals, has influenced our understanding of what dogs \"should\" do and be, for us and with us. Adrienne L. McLean expertly shepherds these original essays into a coherent look at \"real\" dogs in live-action narrative films, from the stars and featured players to the character and supporting actors to those pooches that assumed bit parts or performed as extras. Who were those dogs, how were they trained, what were they made to do, how did they participate as characters in a fictional universe? These are a just a few of the many questions that she and the outstanding group of scholars in this book have addressed.Often dogs are anthropomorphized in movies in ways that enable them to reason, sympathize, understand and even talk; and our shaping of dogs into furry humans has had profound effects on the lives of dogs off the screen. Certain breeds of dog have risen in popularity following their appearance in commercial film, often to the detriment of the dogs themselves, who rarely correspond to their idealized screen versions. In essence, the contributors inCinematic Canineshelp us think about and understand the meanings of the many canines that appear in the movies and, in turn, we want to know more about those dogs due in no small part to the power of the movies themselves.