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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 217 records · Page 12
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Arsenic stabilization performance of a novel starch-modified Fe-Mn binary oxide colloid

Arsenic (As) is an environmentally hazardous contaminant and can be a serious threat to human health. In China, remediation needs for a large number of As-contaminated sites renders a strong demand for efficient remedial reagents and cost effective approaches. In this study, a novel starch-modified Fe-Mn binary oxide (SFM), an amorphous colloidal material, has been synthesized as a remedial reagent and its As stabilization performance has been evaluated. A set of laboratory batch experiments were carried out by directly adding SFM of different dosages into three contaminated soils. Results demonstrated that SFM could transform As in soil from non-specifically and specifically sorbed fractions to the more stable form bounded to amorphous iron hydrous oxides, thus reducing the As concentration in TCLP leachates by 42.0-93.2%. Results from adsorption tests and microscopic analysis indicated that the interactions between SFM and As are mainly controlled by adsorption, oxidation, and precipitation processes. SFM has abundant surface hydroxyl groups, with excellent adsorption properties for both As(V) and As(III), with the maximum adsorption capacities of 160.63 and 284.64 mg/g respectively at pH 7.0. The adsorption process closely fitted pseudo second-order kinetics and Freundlich isotherm model. SFM could increase soil Eh and oxidize As(III) to As(V), which facilitated the As stabilization in soilColloidal iron-based material directly used for stabilization in As contaminated soils is reported here for the first time. Starch modification improves both the reactivity and mobility of SFM in soil. Our findings propose an efficient and convenient reagent for As remediation in soil.

Yan, Xiulan↗
DOE OSTI2024

Addressing the Challenge of Electrochemical Ionomer Oxidation in Future Anion Exchange Membrane Water Electrolyzers

Hydrogen production through anion-exchange membrane water electrolyzers (AEMWEs) offers cost advantages over proton-exchange membrane counterparts, mainly due to the good oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity of platinum-group-metal-free catalysts in alkaline environments. However, the electrochemical oxidation of ionomers at the OER catalyst interface can decrease the local electrode pH, which limits AEMWE performance. Various strategies at the single-cell-level have been explored to address this issue. Here, this work reviews the current understanding of electrochemical ionomer oxidation and strategies to mitigate it, providing our perspective on each approach. Our analysis highlights the competitive adsorption strategy as particularly promising for mitigating ionomer oxidation. This Perspective also outlines future directions for advancing high-performance alkaline AEMWEs and other energy devices using hydrocarbon ionomers.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2022

Metal-free polypeptide redox flow batteries

Metal-free redox flow batteries with TEMPO-based polypeptide catholytes and viologen-based polypeptide anolytes were demonstrated. Post-cycling analysis indicated the main source of capacity fade was degradation of the redox-active pendant groups.

Liang, Zhiming↗
DOE OSTI2021

A graphene edge-mediated quantum gate

We propose a quantum gate architecture that allows for the systematic control of the effective exchange interactions between magnetic impurities embedded in nanoscale graphene flakes connected by a gated bridge. The entanglement between the magnetic moment and the edge states of the fragments is used to electrostatically tune the exchange interaction from ferro to antiferromagnetic by merely changing the bridge's carrier density. By characterizing the effects of size and coupling parameters, we explore different operation regimes of this device by means of exact calculations with the density matrix renormalization group. We analyze the results utilizing a simplified model that accounts for the main many-body mechanisms. Finally, we discuss how to use arrays of these devices to build quantum simulators for quantum many-body Hamiltonians.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2023

Late-formed haloes prefer to host quiescent central galaxies – I. Observational results

ABSTRACT The star formation and quenching of central galaxies are regulated by the assembly histories of their host haloes. In this work, we use the central stellar mass to halo mass ratio as a proxy of halo formation time, and we devise three different models, from the physical hydrodynamical simulation to the empirical statistical model, to demonstrate its robustness. With this proxy, we inferred the dependence of the central galaxy properties on the formation time of their host haloes using the SDSS main galaxy sample, where central galaxies are identified with the halo-based group finder. We found that central galaxies living in late-formed haloes have higher quiescent fractions and lower spiral fractions than their early-formed counterparts by $\lesssim 8~{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ . Finally, we demonstrate that the group finding algorithm has a negligible impact on our results.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗
DOE OSTI2023

Type 2 diabetes impairs annulus fibrosus fiber deformation and rotation under disc compression in the University of California Davis type 2 diabetes mellitus (UCD-T2DM) rat model

Abstract Understanding the biomechanical behavior of the intervertebral disc is crucial for studying disease mechanisms and developing tissue engineering strategies for managing disc degeneration. We used synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering to investigate how changes to collagen behavior contribute to alterations in the disc’s ability to resist compression. Coccygeal motion segments from 6-month-old lean Sprague-Dawley rats ( n=7) and diabetic obese University of California Davis type 2 diabetes mellitus (UCD-T2DM) rats ( n=6, diabetic for 68±7 days) were compressed during simultaneous synchrotron scanning to measure collagen strain at the nanoscale (beamline 7.3.3 of the Advanced Light Source). After compression, the annulus fibrosus was assayed for nonenzymatic cross-links. In discs from lean rats, resistance to compression involved two main energy-dissipation mechanisms at the nanoscale: (1) rotation of the two groups of collagen fibrils forming the annulus fibrosus and (2) straightening (uncrimping) and stretching of the collagen fibrils. In discs from diabetic rats, both mechanisms were significantly impaired. Specifically, diabetes reduced fibril rotation by 31% and reduced collagen fibril strain by 30% (compared to lean discs). The stiffening of collagen fibrils in the discs from diabetic rats was consistent with a 31% higher concentration of nonenzymatic cross-links and with evidence of earlier onset plastic deformations such as fibril sliding and fibril–matrix delamination. These findings suggest that fibril reorientation, stretching, and straightening are key deformation mechanisms that facilitate whole-disc compression, and that type 2 diabetes impairs these efficient and low-energy elastic deformation mechanisms, thereby altering whole-disc behavior and inducing the earlier onset of plastic deformation.

Rosenberg, James L.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Characterization of Oral Candida spp. Biofilms in Children and Adults Carriers from Eastern Europe and South America

Background: Candida albicans and non-Candida albicans Candida species (NCACs) are known to colonize and invade various tissues, including the oral mucosa. In this work, we aimed to characterize mature biofilms of several Candida spp. clinical isolates (n = 33) obtained from the oral mucosa of children, adults, and elders of Eastern Europe and South America. Methods: Each strain was evaluated for its capacity to form biofilms in terms of total biomass using the crystal violet assay and for matrix components production (proteins and carbohydrates) using the BCA and phenol-sulfuric tests, respectively. The effect of different antifungals on biofilm formation was studied. Results: in the children’s group, a predominance of C. krusei (81%) was observed, while, among adults, the main species was C. albicans (59%). Most strains showed a reduced response to antimicrobial drugs when in biofilm form (p < 0.01). Moreover, it was observed that strains isolated from children produced more matrix, with higher levels of protein and polysaccharides. Conclusions: children were more likely to be infected by NCACs than adults. More importantly, these NCACs were able to form biofilms richer in matrix components. This finding is of clinical importance, particularly in pediatric care, since stronger biofilms are highly associated with antimicrobial resistance, recurrent infections, and higher therapeutic failure.

Alves, Anelise Maria Costa Vasconcelos (ORCID:0000↗
DOE OSTI2023

Few-Shot Learning Enables Population-Scale Analysis of Leaf Traits in Populus trichocarpa

Plant phenotyping is typically a time-consuming and expensive endeavor, requiring large groups of researchers to meticulously measure biologically relevant plant traits, and is the main bottleneck in understanding plant adaptation and the genetic architecture underlying complex traits at population scale. In this work, we address these challenges by leveraging few-shot learning with convolutional neural networks to segment the leaf body and visible venation of 2,906 Populus trichocarpa leaf images obtained in the field. In contrast to previous methods, our approach (a) does not require experimental or image preprocessing, (b) uses the raw RGB images at full resolution, and (c) requires very few samples for training (e.g., just 8 images for vein segmentation). Traits relating to leaf morphology and vein topology are extracted from the resulting segmentations using traditional open-source image-processing tools, validated using real-world physical measurements, and used to conduct a genome-wide association study to identify genes controlling the traits. In this way, the current work is designed to provide the plant phenotyping community with (a) methods for fast and accurate image-based feature extraction that require minimal training data and (b) a new population-scale dataset, including 68 different leaf phenotypes, for domain scientists and machine learning researchers. All of the few-shot learning code, data, and results are made publicly available.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

On Feature, Classifier and Detector Fusers for 235U Signatures Using Gamma Spectral Counts

Three types of information fusion strategies are studied to assess the performance of classifiers for detecting low-level 235 U radiation sources, using features obtained from gamma spectra of NaI detectors. These three strategies are based on using two spectral region features, fusing eight classifiers of diverse designs, and fusing multiple detectors located at different positions around the source. The inner, middle and outer groups of detectors, within a formation of two concentric circles and a spiral of 21 detectors, are identified based on their distance to the source, which is located at the center. This study provides two main qualitative insights into this classification task. First, the fusion of detectors leads to an overall improved classification performance, least in the inner group, most in the outer group, and in between for the middle group. Second, several classifiers and fusers achieve lower training error which does not translate to lower generalization error, indicating their over-fitting to training data.

Rao, Nageswara↗
DOE OSTI2022

On Feature, Classifier and Detector Fusers for U-235 Signatures Using Gamma Spectral Counts

Three types of information fusion strategies are studied to assess the performance of classifiers for detecting low-level U-235 radiation sources, using features obtained from gamma spectra of NaI detectors. These three strategies are based on using two spectral region features, fusing eight classifiers of diverse designs, and fusing multiple detectors located at different positions around the source. The inner, middle and outer groups of detectors, within a formation of two concentric circles and a spiral of 21 detectors, are identified based on their distance to the source, which is located at the center. This study provides two main qualitative insights into this classification task. First,the fusion of detectors leads to an overall improved classification performance, least in the inner group, most in the outer group, and in between for the middle group. Second, several classifiers and fusers achieve lower training error which does not translate to lower generalization error, indicating their over-fitting to training data.

Rao, Nageswara↗
DOE OSTI2019

Viscoelasticity in associating oligomers and polymers: experimental test of the bond lifetime renormalization model

Recent findings that the association bond lifetimes τ α* in associating polymers diverge from their supramolecular network relaxation times τ c challenge past theories. The bond lifetime renormalization proposed by Rubinstein and coworkers [Stukalin et al., Macromolecules, 2013, 46, 7525] provides a promising explanation. To examine systematically its applicability, we employ shear rheology and dielectric spectroscopy to study telechelic associating polymers with different main chain (polypropylene glycol and polydimethylsiloxane), molecular weight (below entanglement molecular weight) and end groups (amide, and carboxylic acid) which form dimeric associations by hydrogen bonding. The separation between τ c (probed by rheology) and τ α* (probed by dielectric spectroscopy) strongly increases with chain length as qualitatively predicted by the model. However, to describe the increase quantitatively, a transition from Rouse to reptation dynamics must be assumed. This suggests that dynamics of super-chains must be considered to properly describe the transient network.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

Generating optical supercontinuum and frequency comb in tenuous plasmas

There are several mechanisms by which the frequency spectrum of a laser broadens when it propagates at near-relativistic intensity in a tenuous plasma. Focusing on one-dimensional effects, we identify two strong optical nonlinearities, namely, four-wave mixing (FWM) and forward Raman scattering (FRS), for creating octave-wide spectra. FWM dominates the interaction when the laser pulse is short and intense, and its combination with phase modulation produces a symmetrically broadened supercontinuum. FRS dominates when the laser pulse is long and relatively weak, and it broadens the laser spectrum mainly toward lower frequencies and produces a frequency comb. The frequency chirping combined with group velocity dispersion compresses the laser pulse, causing higher peak intensity.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Rapid water dynamics structures the OH-stretching spectra of solitary water in ionic liquids and dipolar solvents

In a recent study [J. Phys. Chem. B 126, 4584–4598 (2022)], we have used infrared spectroscopy to investigate the solvation and dynamics of solitary water in ionic liquids and dipolar solvents. Complex shapes observed for water OH-stretching bands, common to all high-polarity solvents, were assigned to water in several solvation states. Here, in the present study, classical molecular dynamics simulations of a single water molecule in four ionic liquids and three dipolar solvents were used to test and refine this interpretation. Consistent with past assignments, simulations show solitary water usually donates two hydrogen bonds to distinct solvent molecules. Such symmetrically solvated water produces the primary pair of peaks identified in the OH spectra of water in nearly all solvents. We had further proposed that additional features flanking this main peak are due to asymmetric solvation states, states in which only one OH group makes a hydrogen bond to solvent. Such states were found in significant concentrations in all of the systems simulated. Simulations of the OH stretching spectra using a semiclassical description and the vibrational map developed by Auer and Skinner [J. Chem. Phys. 128, 224511–224512 (2008)] provided semi-quantitative agreement with experiment. Analysis of species-specific spectra confirmed assignment of the additional features in the experimental spectra to asymmetrically solvated water. The simulations also showed that rapid water motions cause a marked motional narrowing compared with the inhomogeneous limit. This narrowing is largely responsible for making the additional features due to minority solvation states manifest in the spectra.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2022

Report of the Snowmass 2021 Theory Frontier Topical Group on Quantum Information Science

We summarize current and future applications of quantum information science to theoretical high energy physics. Three main themes are identified and discussed; quantum simulation, quantum sensors and formal aspects of the connection between quantum information and gravity. Within these themes, there are important research questions and opportunities to address them in the years and decades ahead. Efforts in developing a diverse quantum workforce are also discussed. This work summarizes the subtopical area Quantum Information for High Energy Physics TF10 which forms part of the Theory Frontier report for the Snowmass 2021 planning process.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

The Evolution of Randomized Clinical Trial Designs to Assess Therapeutics in Alzheimer Disease

Importance The success of recent randomized clinical trials (RCTs) for Alzheimer disease (AD), particularly those focusing on anti-amyloid therapies, has been discussed at length. However, the evolution of RCT design features for AD that preceded this success remain underexplored. Objective To describe temporal changes in the features of RCT design for interventions in AD. Evidence Review PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were searched in January 2025 for phase 2 and 3 AD RCTs published between January 1992 and December 2024. RCTs that investigated an intervention for AD, with a placebo or standard-of-care control group, were included. Four assessors independently reviewed full-text articles to capture study characteristics. Main Outcomes and Measures The number of participants and the duration of RCTs as well as the target population, outcomes, and funding were extracted from published reports. These features were analyzed with respect to time using linear regression and χ 2 analyses. Results The study included 203 RCTs with 79 589 participants testing interventions in AD. From 1992 to 2024, the mean sample size increased by 464% for phase 2 RCTs (from 42 to 237), and 50% for phase 3 RCTs (from 632 to 951), while the mean trial duration increased by 188% (from 16 to 46 weeks) for phase 2, and 256% (from 20 to 71 weeks) for phase 3 RCTs. This longer duration of RCTs may be partially attributed by a greater share of disease-modifying rather than symptomatic treatments. Similarly, more recent trials required AD biomarker evidence for enrollment (from 1 of 36 [2.7%] before 2006 to 40 of 76 [52.6%] since 2019). A substantial difference in the type of therapeutics researched was observed, with anti-amyloid and anti-tau RCTs being more likely to be funded by the pharmaceutical industry compared with neurotransmitter or other RCTs (anti-amyloid or anti-tau, 68 of 71 [95.8%]; neurotransmitter, 52 of 69 [77.6%]; other, 33 of 52 [63.5%]). RCT transparency improved, with more frequent data accessibility statements, registered reports, and better reporting on race and ethnicity. Conclusions and Relevance This methodology research of AD RCTs highlights substantial changes in key features of AD clinical trials from 1992 to 2024. AD RCTs have become larger and longer, such that they are powered to detect smaller clinical differences. The increased sample sizes and duration should enable the detection of smaller and more slowly occurring outcomes, which may lead to successful RCTs of therapies with slower and more subtle efficacy.

General & Internal Medicine↗
DOE OSTI2024

Gamma-Ray and Cosmic Ray Muon Modalities for Cargo Inspection

Screening and inspection of cargo containers are two essential methods to nondestructively examine the contents of shipment. These methods enable the detection of illicit transportation of unauthorized materials such as nuclear and radioactive materials, explosives, drugs, and so on, typically at borders or secure facilities. Although high-energy X-ray transmission is a standard system and is widely used for cargo inspection, the inherent challenges of high false-positive rates and high attenuation factors necessitate the development of complementary techniques that can increase the detection efficiency and accuracy in large and dense materials. Gamma-rays, which possess higher penetration characteristics because of their high energy, offer an alternative nonintrusive modality for cargo scanning. They represent a promising inspection method when compared to X-rays for three reasons: (1) improved ability to detect nuclear and radioactive materials, (2) higher inspection throughput rates, and (3) lower false-positive rates. Currently, there are two main gamma-ray inspection techniques, active and passive interrogation. Active interrogation can be further grouped into (1) gamma-ray transmission imaging and (2) neutron-induced gamma-ray emission detection. Gamma-ray transmission imaging utilizes differences in material densities for mapping the shipment contents and detecting anomalies. It is analogous to the X-ray transmission method; however, the high-energy photons make it more difficult to shield against, which enables more efficient performance in large and dense material inspection. Neutron-induced gamma-ray emission inspection is designed for the detection of nuclear and radioactive material because those materials emit characteristic gamma-rays when they are activated by neutron absorption. On the other hand, passive interrogation techniques rely on high-efficiency detectors to detect radiation emitted from hidden special nuclear or other radioactive materials. Similar to passive interrogation, cosmic ray muon monitoring and imaging are relatively new techniques that do not require external radioactive sources. These techniques have received attention as a potential next-generation radiographic probe to identify illicit transportation of nuclear and radioactive materials in cargo containers. Cosmic ray muons have unique features, (1) much higher energies than X-rays or gamma-rays (on the order of 10−1—104 GeV), (2) enhanced penetration capability, and (3) natural occurrence, thereby eliminating the need for induced radiation sources. These features enable cosmic ray muons to be utilized for detection of special nuclear materials in high-background-noise environments. By analyzing incoming and outgoing muon trajectories, scattering angles, and energies, it has been shown that it would be possible to locate hidden and well-shielded materials in cargo containers via three-dimensional muon tomography images or signal analysis. Gamma-rays, cosmic ray muons, and other nonintrusive cargo inspection modalities are complementary to each other, allowing them to address various cargo inspection conditions (i.e., scanning time, cost, radiation exposure level, and types of target materials). This chapter presents a detailed review of the theoretical fundamentals and technical principles behind the current gamma-ray and cosmic ray muon modalities for cargo inspection. Additionally, critical assessments and suggestions for the future directions to advance the use of gamma and muon modalities are discussed.

Bae, Junghyun↗
DOE OSTI2024

Amorphous Iridium Oxide-Integrated Anode Electrodes with Ultrahigh Material Utilization for Hydrogen Production at Industrial Current Densities

Herein, ionomer-free amorphous iridium oxide (IrO x ) thin electrodes are first developed as highly active anodes for proton exchange membrane electrolyzer cells (PEMECs) via low-cost, environmentally friendly, and easily scalable electrodeposition at room temperature. Combined with a Nafion 117 membrane, the IrO x -integrated electrode with an ultralow loading of 0.075 mg cm –2 delivers a high cell efficiency of about 90%, achieving more than 96% catalyst savings and 42-fold higher catalyst utilization compared to commercial catalyst-coated membrane (2 mg cm –2 ). Additionally, the IrO x electrode demonstrates superior performance, higher catalyst utilization and significantly simplified fabrication with easy scalability compared with the most previously reported anodes. Notably, the remarkable performance could be mainly due to the amorphous phase property, sufficient Ir 3+ content, and rich surface hydroxide groups in catalysts. Overall, due to the high activity, high cell efficiency, an economical, greatly simplified and easily scalable fabrication process, and ultrahigh material utilization, the IrO x electrode shows great potential to be applied in industry and accelerates the commercialization of PEMECs and renewable energy evolution.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2022

Gas generation and intramolecular isotope study in laboratory pyrolysis of the Springfield coal from the Illinois Basin

Position-specific (PS) isotopes of propane have been proposed as a potential geochemical tool to decipher various geological processes (e.g., thermal cracking, biodegradation, H exchange) in natural reservoirs. The limited studies have been conducted on the PS isotopes of propane from the pyrolysis gases from marine shales, and natural gases sourced from lacustrine and marine kerogens, but little is known on gases produced from the humic kerogen. Here, this study investigated the PS δ 13 C of propane in the closed-system pyrolysis of the Springfield coal, Illinois Basin, Indiana, at 310 to 470 °C (Easy %Ro: 0.76 to 3.07). The C kinetic isotope effect (KIE) of CH 4 produced in both this study and previous low-temperature pyrolysis of the same coal indicates the cleavage of C—O bonds is the main generation pathway at the early kerogen cracking stage, followed by the breakdown of alkyl groups. At the wet-gas cracking stage, C 3 H 8 production from thermally stable compounds has a significant influence on the bulk and position-specific C KIE in the pyrolysis of marine Woodford kerogen and Springfield coal. According to the PS δ 13 C of propane, the central site is likely more enriched in 13 C and the δ 13 C of the terminal site is relatively heterogeneous within the propyl group attached to different functional groups of the gas-prone kerogen. Our findings based on the pyrolysis experiments and natural gas samples indicate thermal cracking and biodegradation appear to alter the δ 13 C cen values more significantly than the δ 13 C ter values of propane. The larger magnitude of ΔC c-t in the kMC simulations (Peterson et al., 2018) compared with those from the marine shale and coal possibly implies the non-random distributions of 13 C of propane precursors in the kerogens. As a new dimension of intramolecular isotopic information of propane, the PS δ 13 C values can contribute to fingerprinting the gas origins and identifying the various geological processes (e.g., kerogen cracking, wet-gas cracking, microbial activities) in sedimentary basins.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗