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At least 325 records · Page 18

Synthesis and Characterization of Ru(II) Tris(1,1O-phenanthroline)-Electron Acceptor Dyads Incorporating the 4-benzoyl-N-methylpyridinium Cation or N-Benzyl-N'-methyl-viologen. Improving the Dynamic Range, Sensitivity and Response Time of Sol-Gel Based Optical Oxygen Sensors

The title compounds (1 and 2, above) were synthesized by Sonogashira coupling reactions of appropriate Ru(1I) complexes with the electron a cceptors. Characterization was conducted in solution and in frozen ma trices. Finally, the title compounds were evaluated as dopants of sol-gel materials. It was found that the intramolecular quenching efficie ncy of 4-benzoyl-Nmethylpyridinium cation in solution depends on the solvent: photoluminescence is quenched completely in CH,CN, but not i n methanol or ethanol. On the other hand, intramolecular emission que nching by 4-benzyl-N-methyl viologen is complete in all solvents. The difference between the two quenchers is traced electrochemically to t he solvation of the 4-benzoyl-Nmethylpyridiniums by alcohol. In froze n matrices or adsorbed on the surfaces of silica aerogel, both Ru(I1) complex/electron acceptor dyads of this study are photoluminescent, and the absence of quenching has been traced to the environmental rigi dity. When doped aerogels are cooled at 77 K, the emission intensity increases by approximately 4x, and the spectra shift to the blue, analogous to what is observed with Ru(I1) complexes in solutions undergoi ng fluid-to-rigid transition. However, in contrast to frozen solution s, the luminescent moieties in the bulk of aerogels kept at low tempe ratures are still accessible to gas-phase quenchers diffusing through the mesopores, leading to more sensitive platforms for sensors than o ther room-temperature configurations. Thus the photoluminescence of o ur Ru(I1) complex dyads adsorbed on aerogel is quenchable by O2 both at room temperature and at 77 K. Furthermore, it was also found that O 2 modulates the photoluminescence of aerogels doped with 4-benzoyl -N -methylpyridinium-based dyads over a wider dynamic range compared wi th aerogels doped with either our vislogen-based dyads or with Ru(I1) tris(1,lO-phenanthroline) itself.

Leventis, Nicholas↗

Analysis of Organic Molecules Extracted from Mars Analogues and Influence of Their Mineralogy Using N-Methyl-N-(tert-butyldimethylsilyl)Trifluoroacetamide Derivatization Coupled with Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry in Preparation for the Sample Analysis at Mars Derivatization Experiment on the Mars Science Laboratory Mission

The search for complex organic molecules on Mars, including important biomolecules such as amino acids and carboxylic acids will require a chemical extraction and derivatization step to transform these organic compounds into species that are sufficiently volatile to be detected by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS). We have developed, a one-pot extraction and chemical derivatization protocol using N-methyl-N-(tert-butyldimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide (MTBSTFA) and dimethylformamide (DMF) for the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) experiment on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL). The temperature and duration the derivatization reaction, pre-concentration of chemical derivatives, and gas chromatographic separation parameters have been optimized under SAM instrument design constraints. MTBSTFA/DMF extraction and derivatization at 300 C for several minutes of a variety of terrestrial Mars analogue materials facilitated the detection of amino acids and carboxylic acids in a surface soil sample collected from the Atacama Desert and a carbonate-rich stromatolite sample from Svalbard. However, the rapid reaction of MTBSTFA with water in several analogue materials that contained high abundances of hydrated minerals and the possible deactivation of derivatized compounds by iron oxides, as detected by XRD/XRF using the CheMin field unit Terra, proved to be highly problematic for the direct extraction of organics using MTBSTFA, The combination of pyrolysis and two different chemical derivatization methods employed by SAM should enable a wide range of organic compounds to be detected by GCMS if present on Mars,

Stalport, F.↗

Dimethylsilanediol (DMSD) Source Assessment and Mitigation on ISS: Estimated Contributions from Personal Hygiene Products Containing Volatile Methyl Siloxanes (VMS)

Dimethylsilanediol (DMSD) is a small organosilicon compound present in humidity condensate on the International Space Station. Aqueous DMSD originates from volatile methyl siloxane (VMS) compounds in the ISS cabin atmosphere. DMSD is not effectively removed by the WPA (Water Processor Assembly), requiring removal and replacement of both WPA Multifiltration (MF) Beds for an estimated resupply penalty of approximately 70 kg/year. Analyses indicate that WPA can handle DMSD if the concentration in the condensate can by reduced by fifty percent. Personal Hygiene Products (PHPs) used by crew are suspected to be a significant source of VMS. Source removal of VMS will be required to achieve a measurable impact to the DMSD concentration in the condensate. The inventory of total crew provisions for ISS was analyzed to identify silicon containing materials and products used for personal hygiene that emit VMS. Accounting for the wide range in mass of hygiene product applied to skin or hair, the frequency of application, the product selection, the number of crew using a given product, the range in silicon mass fraction of different products, and the potential vaporization of the product, the potential total VMS emissions from personal hygiene products for a crew of six on ISS were estimated. The total daily VMS emissions from PHPs estimate ranges from 261 to 1145 mg-Si per day, compared to total estimated VMS generation rates on ISS of 800 to 1500 mg-Si per day. The main sources of VMS were determined to be antiperspirants (173 to 696 mg-Si per day), skin lotions (63 to 248 mg-Si per day), wipes (25 to 124 mg-Si per day) and hair conditioner (0 to 69 mg-Si per day). Several siloxanes-free options are available for deodorants, wet wipes, lotions, and leave-in conditioners. These products are now being assessed for crew member use in future increments.

Muirhead, Dean L.↗

Does Simulated Weightlessness Alter the Methylation Status of Gene Promoters During Bone Remodeling?

The skeleton interacts with its environment in a way that resembles a mechanostat - through a controlled process of bone remodeling, namely local formation and resorption, to maintain a healthy structure. During weightlessness, astronauts lose structure in weight-bearing bones due to decreased formation by osteoblasts and increased resorption by osteoclasts. In contrast, increased mechanical loading through exercise targets bone remodeling to remove and repair microdamage, improving structural integrity. In fact, recent advances in astronaut exercise regimens have prevented the deleterious changes in skeletal structure during spaceflight. However, knowledge of the molecular underpinnings of the skeletal response to spaceflight and to mechanical stimulation is limited. We propose that epigenetic modification, specifically DNA methylation, may influence osteoblast differentiation and activity during spaceflight and exercise. We hypothesize that simulated weightlessness hypermethylates pro-osteoblastogenic gene promoters and decreases expression of osteoblastogenic genes. Oppositely, we hypothesize that mechanical loading hypomethylates pro-osteoblastogenic gene promoters and increases expression of osteoblastogenic genes.

Stevick, Rebecca J.↗

Joint estimation of biogeochemical model parameters from multiple experiments: A bayesian approach applied to mercury methylation

Here, to characterize complex biogeochemical systems, results from multiple experiments, where each targets a specific subprocess, are commonly combined. The resulting datasets are interpreted through the calibration of biogeochemical models for process inference and predictions. Commonly used calibration approaches of fitting datasets from individual experiments to subprocess models one at a time is prone to missing information shared between datasets and incomplete uncertainty propagation. We propose a Bayesian joint-fitting scheme addressing the above-mentioned concerns by jointly fitting all the available datasets, thus calibrating the entire biogeochemical model in one go using Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC). The identification of null spaces in the parameter distributions from MCMC guided the simplification of certain subprocess models. For example, fast kinetic sorption was replaced by equilibrium sorption, and Monod demethylation was replaced by first-order demethylation. Joint fitting of datasets resulted in complete uncertainty propagation with parameter estimates informed by all available data.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

The human aortic endothelium undergoes dose-dependent DNA methylation in response to transient hyperglycemia

Glycemic control is a strong predictor of long-term cardiovascular risk in patients with diabetes mellitus, and poor glycemic control influences long-term risk of cardiovascular disease even decades after optimal medical management. This phenomenon, termed glycemic memory, has been proposed to occur due to stable programs of cardiac and endothelial cell gene expression. This transcriptional remodeling has been shown to occur in the vascular endothelium through a yet undefined mechanism of cellular reprogramming.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Mercury Methylation and Soil Organic Matter Degradation in Incubations with Added Acetate, Isotope-Labeled Mercury, and Selective Microbial Inhibitors, Teller and Council Sites, Seward Peninsula, 2018-2019

This dataset provides the results of laboratory soil microcosm incubation experiments conducted under anaerobic conditions with added acetate, isotope-labeled mercury, and selective microbial inhibitors (2-bromoethanesulfonate and sodium molybdate). The microcosms contained soil collected in August 2018 from the NGEE Arctic Teller Road Site at mile marker 27 (TL_MM27) near Intensive Site 9 (TL_IS_9) and from the Council Road Site (CN_MM71). Incubations were conducted at 8°C for 180 days (Teller incubations) or 60 days (Council incubations). The microcosm headspace was sampled at designated intervals for greenhouse gas concentrations, then destructively harvested and extracted using ultrapure water and 0.1 M KCl for analysis of the porewater geochemistry. This dataset contains one pdf, two csv data files, and one zipped file with raw data.The Next-Generation Ecosystem Experiments: Arctic (NGEE Arctic), was a research effort to reduce uncertainty in Earth System Models by developing a predictive understanding of carbon-rich Arctic ecosystems and feedbacks to climate. NGEE Arctic was supported by the Department of Energy's Office of Biological and Environmental Research.The NGEE Arctic project had two field research sites: 1) located within the Arctic polygonal tundra coastal region on the Barrow Environmental Observatory (BEO) and the North Slope near Utqiagvik (Barrow), Alaska and 2) multiple areas on the discontinuous permafrost region of the Seward Peninsula north of Nome, Alaska.Through observations, experiments, and synthesis with existing datasets, NGEE Arctic provided an enhanced knowledge base for multi-scale modeling and contributed to improved process representation at global pan-Arctic scales within the Department of Energy's Earth system Model (the Energy Exascale Earth System Model, or E3SM), and specifically within the E3SM Land Model component (ELM).

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Mechanistic Insights into the Catalytic Condensation of Methyl Ketones on MgO Surfaces

Ketone coupling via aldol condensation is one of the promising routes to produce cyclic and value-added precursors for renewable hydrocarbon biofuels. A first-principles-based microkinetic modeling is performed to evaluate the surface-mediated reaction mechanisms and the role of water molecules in the observed activities for 2-pentanone and 3-pentanone aldol condensation on dehydroxylated MgO(111) surface and hydroxylated terminated surface[OH-MgO(111)]. Here, we have identified the enhancement of the surface OH group to MgO(111) surface catalytic activity by destabilizing the binding strength of reaction intermediates and reducing the energy barriers of rate-determining steps(proton transfer and dehydration steps). The 2-pentanone has one elementary step less in the complete reaction mechanism of aldol condensation and preferable energy barrier for proton transfer and dehydration steps, revealing 2-pentanone as terminal ketone is more reactive than 3-pentanone as central ketone. The water molecules dominated the OH-MgO( 111) surface after further addition of water, leading to the reduction of turnover frequency of the aldol condensation dimer product as the loss of aldol condensation reaction intermediates in competitive adsorption with water molecules.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗