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Deng, Wen

Publications and source records attributed to Deng, Wen.

13 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2017

Reversal in the Size Dependence of Grain Rotation

The conventional belief, based on the Read-Shockley model for the grain rotation mechanism, has been that smaller grains rotate more under stress due to the motion of grain boundary dislocations. However, in our high-pressure synchrotron Laue x-ray microdiffraction experiments, 70 nm nickel particles are found to rotate more than any other grain size. We infer that the reversal in the size dependence of the grain rotation arises from the crossover between the grain boundary dislocation-mediated and grain interior dislocation-mediated deformation mechanisms. The dislocation activities in the grain interiors are evidenced by the deformation texture of nickel nanocrystals. This new finding reshapes our view on the mechanism of grain rotation and helps us to better understand the plastic deformation of nanomaterials, particularly of the competing effects of grain boundary and grain interior dislocations.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Effects and mechanisms of melatonin on the proliferation and neural differentiation of PC12 cells

Melatonin, a lipophilic molecule that is mainly synthesized in the pineal gland, performs various neuroprotective functions. However, the detailed role and mechanisms of promoting neuronal differentiation remains limited. This study demonstrated that 10 μM melatonin led to significant increases in the proliferation and neurite outgrowth of PC12 cells. Increased expression of microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2, a neuron-specific protein) was also observed. However, luzindole (melatonin receptor antagonist) and PD98059 (MEK inhibitor) attenuated these increases. LY294002 (AKT inhibitor) inhibited melatonin-mediated proliferation in PC12 cells and did not affect melatonin-induced neural differentiation. The expression of p-ERK1/2/ERK1/2 was increased by melatonin treatment for 14 days in PC12 cells, whereas luzindole or PD98059 reduced the melatonin-induced increase. These results suggest that the activation of both the MEK/ERK and PI3K/AKT signaling pathways could potentially contribute to melatonin-mediated proliferation, but that only the MEK/ERK pathway participates in the melatonin-induced neural differentiation of PC12 cells. Altogether, our study demonstrates for the first time that melatonin may exert a positive effect on neural differentiation via melatonin receptor signalling and that the MEK/ERK1/2 signalling may act down stream from the melatonin pathway. - Highlights: • Melatonin improves the proliferation of PC12 cells. • Melatonin induces neural differentiation of PC12 cells. • Melatonin-mediated proliferation in PC12 cells relies on the ERK and AKT pathways. • Activation of ERK is essential for melatonin-induced neural differentiation of PC12.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

Influence of dynamic factors on nonwetting fluid snap-off in pores

Snap-off is an important dynamic multiphase flow phenomenon which occurs in porous media. It plays a dominant role in the residual trapping and mobilization/immobilization of nonwetting fluids such as hydrocarbons or CO 2 . Current studies, applications, and threshold criteria of snap-off are mostly based on static or equilibrium conditions. Thus, the dynamics of snap-off which is relevant for many real world applications has rarely been systematically studied. While a static criterion indicates the snap-off potential for nonwetting fluids, the competition between the time required for snap-off and the local pore throat capillary number determines whether snap-off actually occurs. Using a theoretical model to couple the wetting film thickness to the local capillary number at the pore throat, we analyzed the dynamics of the wetting/nonwetting interface instability in sinusoidally constricted capillary tubes. The influence of dynamic factors as encapsulated by the effect of local capillary number on nonwetting fluid snap-off time were investigated for varying pore throat to pore body aspect ratio and pore body distances. Finally, the analysis showed that snap-off can be inhibited by a sufficiently large local capillary number even in cases where the static snap-off criterion has been met.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2011

EMSL Pore Scale Modeling Challenge/Workshop

The design and implementation of cost-effective remediation strategies for subsurface contamination not only relies on descriptive models of contaminant distribution but predictive models of contaminant fate and transport. The development of such predictive models is of great importance to many government agencies including the Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Defense, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Accurate prediction of the fate and transport of environmental contaminants in the subsurface has driven development of increasingly sophisticated subsurface flow and transport models. Even without considering spatial and temporal scalability, contaminant transport at the field scale is complex, and this almost inevitably results in an especially sophisticated model being developed for a specific field site. Unfortunately, these models are not easily generalizable to other field sites or and can only be used by the model authors to generate meaningful results. Over time, this results in the existence of numerous specialized models that are not readily comparable to each other and difficult to cross-validate. There is a lack of fundamental experimental observations at the pore scale that can be used to support model development and validation at the field scale.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗