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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2013

ENTERPRISE SRS: LEVERAGING ONGOING OPERATIONS TO ADVANCE RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGIES

The Savannah River Site (SRS) is repurposing its vast array of assets to solve future national issues regarding environmental stewardship, national security, and clean energy. The vehicle for this transformation is Enterprise SRS which presents a new, strategic view of SRS as a united endeavor for “all things nuclear” as opposed to a group of distinct and separate entities with individual missions and organizations. Key among the Enterprise SRS strategic initiatives is the integration of research into facilities in conjunction with ongoing missions to provide researchers from other national laboratories, academic institutions, and commercial entities the opportunity to demonstrate their technologies in a relevant environment and scale prior to deployment. To manage that integration of research demonstrations into site facilities, The DOE Savannah River Operations Office, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, and the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) have established a center for applied nuclear materials processing and engineering research (hereafter referred to as the Center). The key objective of this initiative is to bridge the gap between promising transformational nuclear materials management advancements and large-scale deployment of the technology by using SRS assets (e.g. facilities, staff, and property) for those critical engineering-scale demonstrations necessary to assure the successful deployment of new technologies. The Center will coordinate the demonstration of R&D technologies and serve as the interface between the engineering-scale demonstration and the R&D programs, essentially providing cradle-to-grave support to the R&D team during the demonstration. While the initial focus of the Center will be on the effective use of SRS assets for these demonstrations, the Center also will work with research teams to identify opportunities to perform R&D demonstrations at other facilities. Unique to this approach is the fact that these SRS assets will continue to accomplish DOE’s critical nuclear material missions (e.g., processing in H-Canyon and plutonium storage in K-Area). These demonstrations can be accomplished in a more cost-effective manner through the use of existing facilities in conjunction with ongoing missions. Essentially, the R&D program would not need to pay the full operational cost of a facility, just the incremental cost of performing the demonstration. Current Center activities have been focused on integrating advanced safeguards monitoring technology demonstrations into the SRS H-Canyon and advanced location technology demonstrations into K-Area Materials Storage. These demonstrations are providing valuable information to researchers and program owners. In addition these demonstrations are providing the Center with an improved protocol for demonstration management that can be exercised across the entire SRS (and to offsite venues) to ensure that future demonstrations are done efficiently and provide an opportunity to use these unique assets for multiple purposes involving national laboratories, academia, and commercial entities. Key among the envisioned future use of SRS assets is the demonstration of new radioactive waste management technologies critical for advancing the mission needs of the DOE-EM program offices in their efforts to cleanup 107 sites across the United States. Of particular interest is the demonstration of separations technologies in H-Canyon. Given the modular design of H-Canyon, those demonstrations would be accomplished using a process frame. The demonstration equipment would be installed on the process frame and that frame would then be positioned into an H-Canyon cell so that the demonstration is performed in a radiological environment involving prototypic nuclear materials.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2013

Enterprise SRS: leveraging ongoing operations to advance radioactive waste management technologies

The Savannah River Site (SRS) is re-purposing its vast array of assets to solve future national issues regarding environmental stewardship, national security, and clean energy. The vehicle for this transformation is Enterprise SRS which presents a new, strategic view of SRS as a united endeavor for 'all things nuclear' as opposed to a group of distinct and separate entities with individual missions and organizations. Key among the Enterprise SRS strategic initiatives is the integration of research into facilities in conjunction with ongoing missions to provide researchers from other national laboratories, academic institutions, and commercial entities the opportunity to demonstrate their technologies in a relevant environment and scale prior to deployment. To manage that integration of research demonstrations into site facilities, The DOE Savannah River Operations Office, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, and the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) have established a center for applied nuclear materials processing and engineering research (hereafter referred to as the Center). The key objective of this initiative is to bridge the gap between promising transformational nuclear materials management advancements and large-scale deployment of the technology by using SRS assets (e.g. facilities, staff, and property) for those critical engineering-scale demonstrations necessary to assure the successful deployment of new technologies. The Center will coordinate the demonstration of R and D technologies and serve as the interface between the engineering-scale demonstration and the R and D programs, essentially providing cradle-to-grave support to the R and D team during the demonstration. While the initial focus of the Center will be on the effective use of SRS assets for these demonstrations, the Center also will work with research teams to identify opportunities to perform R and D demonstrations at other facilities. Unique to this approach is the fact that these SRS assets will continue to accomplish DOE's critical nuclear material missions (e.g., processing in H-Canyon and plutonium storage in K-Area). These demonstrations can be accomplished in a more cost-effective manner through the use of existing facilities in conjunction with ongoing missions. Essentially, the R and D program would not need to pay the full operational cost of a facility, just the incremental cost of performing the demonstration. Current Center activities have been focused on integrating advanced safeguards monitoring technology demonstrations into the SRS H-Canyon and advanced location technology demonstrations into K-Area Materials Storage. These demonstrations are providing valuable information to researchers and program owners. In addition these demonstrations are providing the Center with an improved protocol for demonstration management that can be exercised across the entire SRS (and to offsite venues) to ensure that future demonstrations are done efficiently and provide an opportunity to use these unique assets for multiple purposes involving national laboratories, academia, and commercial entities. Key among the envisioned future use of SRS assets is the demonstration of new radioactive waste management technologies critical for advancing the mission needs of the DOE-EM program offices in their efforts to cleanup 107 sites across the United States. Of particular interest is the demonstration of separations technologies in H-Canyon. Given the modular design of H-Canyon, those demonstrations would be accomplished using a process frame. The demonstration equipment would be installed on the process frame and that frame would then be positioned into an H-Canyon cell so that the demonstration is performed in a radiological environment involving prototypic nuclear materials. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2014

Facility for low-temperature spin-polarized-scanning tunneling microscopy studies of magnetic/spintronic materials prepared in situ by nitride molecular beam epitaxy

Based on the interest in, as well as exciting outlook for, nitride semiconductor based structures with regard to electronic, optoelectronic, and spintronic applications, it is compelling to investigate these systems using the powerful technique of spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), a technique capable of achieving magnetic resolution down to the atomic scale. However, the delicate surfaces of these materials are easily corrupted by in-air transfers, making it unfeasible to study them in stand-alone ultra-high vacuum STM facilities. Therefore, we have carried out the development of a hybrid system including a nitrogen plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy/pulsed laser epitaxy facility for sample growth combined with a low-temperature, spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscope system. The custom-designed molecular beam epitaxy growth system supports up to eight sources, including up to seven effusion cells plus a radio frequency nitrogen plasma source, for epitaxially growing a variety of materials, such as nitride semiconductors, magnetic materials, and their hetero-structures, and also incorporating in situ reflection high energy electron diffraction. The growth system also enables integration of pulsed laser epitaxy. The STM unit has a modular design, consisting of an upper body and a lower body. The upper body contains the coarse approach mechanism and the scanner unit, while the lower body accepts molecular beam epitaxy grown samples using compression springs and sample skis. The design of the system employs two stages of vibration isolation as well as a layer of acoustic noise isolation in order to reduce noise during STM measurements. This isolation allows the system to effectively acquire STM data in a typical lab space, which during its construction had no special and highly costly elements included, (such as isolated slabs) which would lower the environmental noise. The design further enables tip exchange and tip coating without breaking vacuum, and convenient visual access to the sample and tip inside a superconducting magnet cryostat. A sample/tip handling system is optimized for both the molecular beam epitaxy growth system and the scanning tunneling microscope system. The sample/tip handing system enables in situ STM studies on epitaxially grown samples, and tip exchange in the superconducting magnet cryostat. The hybrid molecular beam epitaxy and low temperature scanning tunneling microscopy system is capable of growing semiconductor-based hetero-structures with controlled accuracy down to a single atomic-layer and imaging them down to atomic resolution.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2018

BioBits™ Explorer: A modular synthetic biology education kit

Hands-on demonstrations greatly enhance the teaching of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) concepts and foster engagement and exploration in the sciences. While numerous chemistry and physics classroom demonstrations exist, few biology demonstrations are practical and accessible due to the challenges and concerns of growing living cells in classrooms. We introduce BioBits™ Explorer, a synthetic biology educational kit based on shelf-stable, freeze-dried, cell-free (FD-CF) reactions, which are activated by simply adding water. The FD-CF reactions engage the senses of sight, smell, and touch with outputs that produce fluorescence, fragrances, and hydrogels, respectively. We introduce components that can teach tunable protein expression, enzymatic reactions, biomaterial formation, and biosensors using RNA switches, some of which represent original FD-CF outputs that expand the toolbox of cell-free synthetic biology. The BioBits™ Explorer kit enables hands-on demonstrations of cutting-edge science that are inexpensive and easy to use, circumventing many current barriers for implementing exploratory biology experiments in classrooms.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

NREL MOIS Data for NWEI Azura May 2016

NREL Modular Ocean Instrumentation System (MOIS) data files for the Azura grid-connected deployment at the 30-meter berth of the US Navy's Wave Energy Test Site (WETS 30m Site) at the Kaneohe Marine Corps Base Hawaii (MCBH) on the windward (northeast) coast of the island of Oahu, HI. See general documentation describing specifics of the data files and formats in a separate NREL submission (linked below). Note: DMS, load cell, and analog data files were not collected during the month of May, 2016 due to a controller software problem that was resolved in early June 2016.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
DOE OSTI2022

Salt Sampling FY21 Technical Report

The goal of the salt sampling program at Argonne is to develop and deploy automated molten salt sampling approaches to enable high-precision in-process salt sample analysis to improve the timeliness of sampling-based accountancy measurements. Tools currently under development in support of this goal include (1) a modular vacuum sampler with an accompanying sample handling method for coupling vacuum sampling with high-precision at-line sample analysis, (2) a pneumatic sample generator that enables high-throughput sample analysis to improve the precision of existing analytical techniques, and (3) a windowless flow cell to enable on-line optical analysis of molten salt in a sampling loop. Compared to point sampling approaches (i.e., dip probes), vacuum sampling systems and on-line sampling loops facilitate access to a larger cross-section of a process fluid. This is known to improve the characterization of the process fluid by producing more representative samples and by enabling the analysis of a larger cross section of the fluid. A vacuum sampling approach for molten salts eliminates the risk of dross contamination of samples and avoids the use of moving parts in the salt. In FY21, two methods for integrating a vacuum sampler with a pneumatic sample generator were tested. These included direct fluidic coupling and coupling using a solid salt transfer mechanism. Solid salt transfer was ultimately selected over fluidic coupling, primarily to enable the transport of samples over longer distances to support automated at-line integration with high-precision techniques (such as microcalorimetry) that cannot withstand the extreme conditions near an electrorefining process. To facilitate rapid solid salt coupling, new mechanisms were developed for rapidly charging and discharging salt sample tubes at the vacuum sampler and pneumatic sample generator, respectively. While the charging mechanism will be deployed in FY22, the tube transfer method and discharge mechanism were tested in FY21. These were deployed at one of Argonne’s engineering-scale electrorefiners to implement at-line high-throughput pneumatic micro-sample generation capabilities. The method was used to generate precise uranium- and lanthanide-bearing electrorefiner micro-samples with the specific dimensions requested by researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory for use in testing their novel microcalorimeter x-ray techniques. The solid salt transfer mechanism proved not only to be an effective means of integrating the precision sample generator with vacuum sampling, but also improved the performance of the sampler generator. Because the modular sampling approach described here eliminates the need for new high-radiation sample handling capabilities, salt-wetted seals, salt-wetted moving parts, and heated transfer lines outside the electrorefiner, it will address most of the remaining technical challenges for the at-line deployment of high-precision analytical techniques. This will enable significant reductions in the time delay for sampling-based accountancy measurements by eliminating the need for manual off-line sample processing and analysis. On-line optical analysis of molten salt in a sampling loop would provide complementary information to at-line and in-situ techniques. In FY21, an open-aperture molten salt gravity flow cell with windowless optical access to flowing salt was successfully demonstrated. Future work should include the refinement and performance testing of the on-line and at-line sampling tools, integration of additional analysis techniques, stakeholder outreach and collaboration, evaluation of the integrated methods, and analyses to determine how the various tools might fit into an integrated safeguards monitoring system of unattended near real time monitoring tools.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Cyclobutanedicarboxylate Metal–Organic Frameworks as a Platform for Dramatic Amplification of Pore Partition Effect

Ultrafine tuning of MOF structures at sub-angstrom or picometer levels can help improve separation selectivity for gases with subtle differences. However, for MOFs with large-enough pore size, the effect from ultrafine tuning on sorption can be muted. Here we show an integrative strategy that couples together extreme pore compression with ultrafine pore tuning. Furthermore, this strategy is made possible by unique combination of two features of the pacs platform (pacs = partitioned acs): multi-modular framework and exceptional tolerance towards isoreticular replacement. Specifically, we use one module (Ligand 1, L1) to shrink pore size to an extreme minimum on pacs. A compression ratio of about 30% was achieved (based on unit-cell c/a ratio) from prototypical 1,4-benzenedicarboxylate-pacs to trans-1,3-cyclobutanedicarboxylate-pacs. This is followed by using another module (Ligand 2, L2) for ultrafine pore tuning (< 3% compression). This L1-L2 strategy increases C 2 H 2 /CO 2 selectivity from 2.6 to 20.8 and gives rise to excellent experi-mental breakthrough performance. Being the shortest cyclic dicarboxylate that mimics para-benzene-based moieties us-ing bioisosteric (BIS) strategy on pacs, trans-1,3-cyclobutanedicarboxylate-based MOF chemistry offers new opportuni-ties in MOF chemistry.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2025

Electrical signaling in fungi: past and present challenges

Abstract Electrical signaling is a fundamental mechanism for integrating environmental stimuli and coordinating responses in living organisms. While extensively studied in animals and plants, the role of electrical signaling in fungi remains a largely underexplored field. Early studies suggested that filamentous fungi generate action potential-like signals and electrical currents at hyphal tips, yet their function in intracellular communication remained unclear. Renewed interest in fungal electrical activity has fueled developments such as the hypothesis that mycorrhizal networks facilitate electrical communication between plants and the emerging field of fungal-based electronic materials. Given their continuous plasma membrane, specialized septal pores, and insulating cell wall structures, filamentous fungi possess architectural features that could support electrical signaling over long distances. However, studying electrical phenomena in fungal networks presents unique challenges due to the microscopic dimensions of hyphae, the structural complexity of highly modular mycelial networks, and the limitations of traditional electrophysiological methods. This review synthesizes current evidence for electrical signaling in filamentous fungi, evaluates methodological approaches, and highlights experimental challenges. By addressing these challenges and identifying best practices, we aim to advance research in this field and provide a foundation for future studies exploring the role of electrical signaling in fungal biology.

Buffi, Matteo↗
DOE OSTI2013

What a Difference a Dalton Makes: Bacterial Virulence Factors Modulate Eukaryotic Host Cell Signaling Systems via Deamidation

Pathogenic bacteria commonly deploy enzymes to promote virulence. These enzymes can modulate the functions of host cell targets. While the actions of some enzymes can be very obvious (e.g., digesting plant cell walls), others have more subtle activities. Depending on the lifestyle of the bacteria, these subtle modifications can be crucially important for pathogenesis. In particular, if bacteria rely on a living host, subtle mechanisms to alter host cellular function are likely to dominate. Several bacterial virulence factors have evolved to use enzymatic deamidation as a subtle posttranslational mechanism to modify the functions of host protein targets. Deamidation is the irreversible conversion of the amino acids glutamine and asparagine to glutamic acid and aspartic acid, respectively. Interestingly, all currently characterized bacterial deamidases affect the function of the target protein by modifying a single glutamine residue in the sequence. Deamidation of target host proteins can disrupt host signaling and downstream processes by either activating or inactivating the target. Despite the subtlety of this modification, it has been shown to cause dramatic, context-dependent effects on host cells. Several crystal structures of bacterial deamidases have been solved. All are members of the papain-like superfamily and display a cysteine-based catalytic triad. However, these proteins form distinct structural subfamilies and feature combinations of modular domains of various functions. Based on the diverse pathogens that use deamidation as a mechanism to promote virulence and the recent identification of multiple deamidases, it is clear that this enzymatic activity is emerging as an important and widespread feature in bacterial pathogenesis.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1994

Micromechanics Analysis Code (MAC) User Guide: Version 1.0

The ability to accurately predict the thermomechanical deformation response of advanced composite materials continues to play an important role in the development of these strategic materials. Analytical models that predict the effective behavior of composites are used not only by engineers performing structural analysis of large-scale composite components but also by material scientists in developing new material systems. For an analytical model to fulfill these two distinct functions it must be based on a micromechanics approach which utilizes physically based deformation and life constitutive models and allows one to generate the average (macro) response of a composite material given the properties of the individual constituents and their geometric arrangement. Here the user guide for the recently developed, computationally efficient and comprehensive micromechanics analysis code, MAC, who's predictive capability rests entirely upon the fully analytical generalized method of cells, GMC, micromechanics model is described. MAC is a versatile form of research software that 'drives' the double or triple ply periodic micromechanics constitutive models based upon GMC. MAC enhances the basic capabilities of GMC by providing a modular framework wherein (1) various thermal, mechanical (stress or strain control), and thermomechanical load histories can be imposed; (2) different integration algorithms may be selected; (3) a variety of constituent constitutive models may be utilized and/or implemented; and (4) a variety of fiber architectures may be easily accessed through their corresponding representative volume elements.

Wilt, T. E.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Micromechanics Analysis Code With Generalized Method of Cells (MAC/GMC): User Guide

The ability to accurately predict the thermomechanical deformation response of advanced composite materials continues to play an important role in the development of these strategic materials. Analytical models that predict the effective behavior of composites are used not only by engineers performing structural analysis of large-scale composite components but also by material scientists in developing new material systems. For an analytical model to fulfill these two distinct functions it must be based on a micromechanics approach which utilizes physically based deformation and life constitutive models and allows one to generate the average (macro) response of a composite material given the properties of the individual constituents and their geometric arrangement. Here the user guide for the recently developed, computationally efficient and comprehensive micromechanics analysis code, MAC, who's predictive capability rests entirely upon the fully analytical generalized method of cells, GMC, micromechanics model is described. MAC/ GMC is a versatile form of research software that "drives" the double or triply periodic micromechanics constitutive models based upon GMC. MAC/GMC enhances the basic capabilities of GMC by providing a modular framework wherein 1) various thermal, mechanical (stress or strain control) and thermomechanical load histories can be imposed, 2) different integration algorithms may be selected, 3) a variety of material constitutive models (both deformation and life) may be utilized and/or implemented, and 4) a variety of fiber architectures (both unidirectional, laminate and woven) may be easily accessed through their corresponding representative volume elements contained within the supplied library of RVEs or input directly by the user, and 5) graphical post processing of the macro and/or micro field quantities is made available.

Arnold, S. M.↗
NASA NTRS2002

SMEX-Lite Modular Solar Array Architecture

The NASA Small Explorer (SMEX) missions have typically had three years between mission definition and launch. This short schedule has posed significant challenges with respect to solar array design and procurement. Typically, the solar panel geometry is frozen prior to going out with a procurement. However, with the SMEX schedule, it has been virtually impossible to freeze the geometry in time to avoid scheduling problems with integrating the solar panels to the spacecraft. A modular solar array architecture was developed to alleviate this problem. This approach involves procuring sufficient modules for multiple missions and assembling the modules onto a solar array framework that is unique to each mission. The modular approach removes the solar array from the critical path of the SMEX integration and testing schedule. It also reduces the cost per unit area of the solar arrays and facilitates the inclusion of experiments involving new solar cell or panel technologies in the SMEX missions.

Lyons, John W.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Is stochastic thermodynamics the key to understanding the energy costs of computation?

The relationship between the thermodynamic and computational properties of physical systems has been a major theoretical interest since at least the 19th century. It has also become of increasing practical importance over the last half-century as the energetic cost of digital devices has exploded. Importantly, real-world computers obey multiple physical constraints on how they work, which affects their thermodynamic properties. Moreover, many of these constraints apply to both naturally occurring computers, like brains or Eukaryotic cells, and digital systems. Most obviously, all such systems must finish their computation quickly, using as few degrees of freedom as possible. This means that they operate far from thermal equilibrium. Furthermore, many computers, both digital and biological, are modular, hierarchical systems with strong constraints on the connectivity among their subsystems. Yet another example is that to simplify their design, digital computers are required to be periodic processes governed by a global clock. None of these constraints were considered in 20th-century analyses of the thermodynamics of computation. The new field of stochastic thermodynamics provides formal tools for analyzing systems subject to all of these constraints. We argue here that these tools may help us understand at a far deeper level just how the fundamental thermodynamic properties of physical systems are related to the computation they perform.

computation↗
NASA NTRS1988

Regenerative fuel cell energy storage system for a low earth orbit space station

A study was conducted to define characteristics of a Regenerative Fuel Cell System (RFCS) for low earth orbit Space Station missions. The RFCS's were defined and characterized based on both an alkaline electrolyte fuel cell integrated with an alkaline electrolyte water electrolyzer and an alkaline electrolyte fuel cell integrated with an acid solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) water electrolyzer. The study defined the operating characteristics of the systems including system weight, volume, and efficiency. A maintenance philosophy was defined and the implications of system reliability requirements and modularization were determined. Finally, an Engineering Model System was defined and a program to develop and demonstrate the EMS and pacing technology items that should be developed in parallel with the EMS were identified. The specific weight of an optimized RFCS operating at 140 F was defined as a function of system efficiency for a range of module sizes. An EMS operating at a nominal temperature of 180 F and capable of delivery of 10 kW at an overall efficiency of 55.4 percent is described. A program to develop the EMS is described including a technology development effort for pacing technology items.

Martin, R. E.↗
DOE OSTI2017

Expression system for structural and functional studies of human glycosylation enzymes

Vertebrate glycoproteins and glycolipids are synthesized in complex biosynthetic pathways localized predominantly within membrane compartments of the secretory pathway. The enzymes that catalyze these reactions are exquisitely specific, yet few have been extensively characterized because of challenges associated with their recombinant expression as functional products. We used a modular approach to create an expression vector library encoding all known human glycosyltransferases, glycoside hydrolases, and sulfotransferases, as well as other glycan-modifying enzymes. We then expressed the enzymes as secreted catalytic domain fusion proteins in mammalian and insect cell hosts, purified and characterized a subset of the enzymes, and determined the structure of one enzyme, the sialyltransferase ST6GalNAcII. Many enzymes were produced at high yields and at similar levels in both hosts, but individual protein expression levels varied widely. Furthermore, this expression vector library will be a transformative resource for recombinant enzyme production, broadly enabling structure–function studies and expanding applications of these enzymes in glycochemistry and glycobiology.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2012

Engineering naturally occurring trans -acting non-coding RNAs to sense molecular signals

Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are versatile regulators in cellular networks. While most trans-acting ncRNAs possess well-defined mechanisms that can regulate transcription or translation, they generally lack the ability to directly sense cellular signals. In this work, we describe a set of design principles for fusing ncRNAs to RNA aptamers to engineer allosteric RNA fusion molecules that modulate the activity of ncRNAs in a ligand inducible way in Escherichia coli. We apply these principles to ncRNA regulators that can regulate translation (IS10 ncRNA) and transcription (pT181 ncRNA), and demonstrate that our design strategy exhibits high modularity between the aptamer ligand-sensing motif and the ncRNA target recognition motif, which allows us to reconfigure these two motifs to engineer orthogonally acting fusion molecules that respond to different ligands and regulate different targets in the same cell. Finally, we show that the same ncRNA fused with different sensing domains results in a sensory-level NOR gate that integrates multiple input signals to perform genetic logic. These ligand-sensing ncRNA regulators provide useful tools to modulate the activity of structurally related families of ncRNAs, and building upon the growing body of RNA synthetic biology, our ability to design aptamer–ncRNA fusion molecules offers new ways to engineer ligand-sensing regulatory circuits.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

High flux thermal receiver and method of use

A thermal receiver, such as a solar flux thermal receiver, is disclosed comprising a modular arrangement of arrayed microchannels or micropins to heat a working fluid by heat transfer. Disclosed solar receivers provide a much higher solar flux and consequently a significant reduction in thermal losses, size, and cost, relative to known receivers. Unit cell receivers can be numbered up and combined in parallel to form modules, and modules combined to form full scale receivers.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗