The Uncertainty of Crop Yield Projections Is Reduced by Improved Temperature Response Functions
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Wang, Enli↗
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Molecular motors and their functions in plants
Molecular motors that hydrolyze ATP and use the derived energy to generate force are involved in a variety of diverse cellular functions. Genetic, biochemical, and cellular localization data have implicated motors in a variety of functions such as vesicle and organelle transport, cytoskeleton dynamics, morphogenesis, polarized growth, cell movements, spindle formation, chromosome movement, nuclear fusion, and signal transduction. In non-plant systems three families of molecular motors (kinesins, dyneins, and myosins) have been well characterized. These motors use microtubules (in the case of kinesines and dyneins) or actin filaments (in the case of myosins) as tracks to transport cargo materials intracellularly. During the last decade tremendous progress has been made in understanding the structure and function of various motors in animals. These studies are yielding interesting insights into the functions of molecular motors and the origin of different families of motors. Furthermore, the paradigm that motors bind cargo and move along cytoskeletal tracks does not explain the functions of some of the motors. Relatively little is known about the molecular motors and their roles in plants. In recent years, by using biochemical, cell biological, molecular, and genetic approaches a few molecular motors have been isolated and characterized from plants. These studies indicate that some of the motors in plants have novel features and regulatory mechanisms. The role of molecular motors in plant cell division, cell expansion, cytoplasmic streaming, cell-to-cell communication, membrane trafficking, and morphogenesis is beginning to be understood. Analyses of the Arabidopsis genome sequence database (51% of genome) with conserved motor domains of kinesin and myosin families indicates the presence of a large number (about 40) of molecular motors and the functions of many of these motors remain to be discovered. It is likely that many more motors with novel regulatory mechanisms that perform plant-specific functions are yet to be discovered. Although the identification of motors in plants, especially in Arabidopsis, is progressing at a rapid pace because of the ongoing plant genome sequencing projects, only a few plant motors have been characterized in any detail. Elucidation of function and regulation of this multitude of motors in a given species is going to be a challenging and exciting area of research in plant cell biology. Structural features of some plant motors suggest calcium, through calmodulin, is likely to play a key role in regulating the function of both microtubule- and actin-based motors in plants.
Non-NASA Center↗
Computational Model Prediction and Biological Validation Using Simplified Mixed Field Exposures for the Development of a GCR Reference Field
The yield of chromosomal aberrations has been shown to increase in the lymphocytes of astronauts after long-duration missions of several months in space. Chromosome exchanges, especially translocations, are positively correlated with many cancers and are therefore a potential biomarker of cancer risk associated with radiation exposure. Although extensive studies have been carried out on the induction of chromosomal aberrations by low- and high-LET radiation in human lymphocytes, fibroblasts, and epithelial cells exposed in vitro, there is a lack of data on chromosome aberrations induced by low dose-rate chronic exposure and mixed field beams such as those expected in space. Chromosome aberration studies at NSRL will provide the biological validation needed to extend the computational models over a broader range of experimental conditions (more complicated mixed fields leading up to the galactic cosmic rays (GCR) simulator), helping to reduce uncertainties in radiation quality effects and dose-rate dependence in cancer risk models. These models can then be used to answer some of the open questions regarding requirements for a full GCR reference field, including particle type and number, energy, dose rate, and delivery order. In this study, we designed a simplified mixed field beam with a combination of proton, helium, oxygen, and iron ions with shielding or proton, helium, oxygen, and titanium without shielding. Human fibroblasts cells were irradiated with these mixed field beam as well as each single beam with acute and chronic dose rate, and chromosome aberrations (CA) were measured with 3-color fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) chromosome painting methods. Frequency and type of CA induced with acute dose rate and chronic dose rates with single and mixed field beam will be discussed. A computational chromosome and radiation-induced DNA damage model, BDSTRACKS (Biological Damage by Stochastic Tracks), was updated to simulate various types of CA induced by acute exposures of the mixed field beams used for the experiments. The chromosomes were simulated by a polymer random walk algorithm with restrictions to their respective domains in the nucleus [1]. The stochastic dose to the nucleus was calculated with the code RITRACKS [2]. Irradiation of a target volume by a mixed field of ions was implemented within RITRACKs, and the fields of ions can be delivered over specific periods of time, allowing the simulation of dose-rate effects. Similarly, particles of various types and energies extracted from a pre-calculated spectra of galactic cosmic rays (GCR) can be used in RITRACKS. The number and spatial location of DSBs (DNA double-strand breaks) were calculated in BDSTRACKS using the simulated chromosomes and local (voxel) dose. Assuming that DSBs led to chromosome breaks, and simulating the rejoining of damaged chromosomes occurring during repair, BDSTRACKS produces the yield of various types of chromosome aberrations as a function of time (only final yields are presented). A comparison between experimental and simulation results will be shown.
Hada, M.↗
Approximate Solutions Of Equations Of Steady Diffusion
Rigorous analysis yields reliable criteria for "best-fit" functions. Improved "curve-fitting" method yields approximate solutions to differential equations of steady-state diffusion. Method applies to problems in which rates of diffusion depend linearly or nonlinearly on concentrations of diffusants, approximate solutions analytic or numerical, and boundary conditions of Dirichlet type, of Neumann type, or mixture of both types. Applied to equations for diffusion of charge carriers in semiconductors in which mobilities and lifetimes of charge carriers depend on concentrations.
Edmonds, Larry D.↗
Oxygen interaction with space-power materials
Data from the space shuttle flights have established that many materials experience relatively rapid degradation when exposed to the low Earth orbit ambient atmosphere, which is predominately atomic oxygen. While much was learned from samples flown on the shuttle, laboratory simulations of the shuttle environment are necessary for a detailed understanding of the various interactions which contribute to the observed degradations. These laboratory experiments are particularly important for predicting the deterioration to be expected for materials aboard orbiting power systems, which will be exposed for long periods of time and could have components operating at very high temperatures. By using a mass spectrometer to synchronously detect molecules emitted from the surface as a result of amplitude modulated oxygen ion bombardment, quantum yields were obtained as a function of ion energy. A technique was developed to obtain preliminary yield data by slowly scanning the mass setting of the mass spectrometer; measurements were extended down to zero modulation frequency; yield data was obtained for the insulating materials (Nomex, Kevlar, and Teflon) used in the construction of electrodynamic tethers; a heated sample holder was constructed to investigate the effect of sample temperature on quantum yields; and the instrumentation was developed to observe the mass spectrometer signal as a function of time during and following bombardment of the sample by a brief (approximately 1 millisecond) pulse of ions.
Eck, T. G.↗
The quasi-equilibrium framework revisited: analyzing long-term CO 2 enrichment responses in plant–soil models
Abstract. Elevated carbon dioxide ( CO 2 ) can increase plant growth, but themagnitude of this CO 2 fertilization effect is modified by soilnutrient availability. Predicting how nutrient availability affects plantresponses to elevated CO 2 is a key consideration for ecosystemmodels, and many modeling groups have moved to, or are moving towards,incorporating nutrient limitation in their models. The choice of assumptionsto represent nutrient cycling processes has a major impact on modelpredictions, but it can be difficult to attribute outcomes to specificassumptions in complex ecosystem simulation models. Here we revisit thequasi-equilibrium analytical framework introduced by Comins andMcMurtrie (1993) and explore the consequences of specific model assumptionsfor ecosystem net primary productivity (NPP). We review the literature applying this framework to plant–soilmodels and then analyze the effect of several new assumptions on predictedplant responses to elevated CO 2 . Examination of alternativeassumptions for plant nitrogen uptake showed that a linear function of themineral nitrogen pool or a linear function of the mineral nitrogen pool withan additional saturating function of root biomass yield similar CO 2 responses at longer timescales ( >5 years), suggesting that the addedcomplexity may not be needed when these are the timescales of interest. Incontrast, a saturating function of the mineral nitrogen pool with lineardependency on root biomass yields no soil nutrient feedback on thevery-long-term ( >500 years), near-equilibrium timescale, meaning that oneshould expect the model to predict a full CO 2 fertilization effecton production. Secondly, we show that incorporating a priming effect on slowsoil organic matter decomposition attenuates the nutrient feedback effect onproduction, leading to a strong medium-term (5–50 years) CO 2 response. Models incorporating this priming effect should thus predict astrong and persistent CO 2 fertilization effect over time. Thirdly,we demonstrate that using a “potential NPP” approach to represent nutrientlimitation of growth yields a relatively small CO 2 fertilizationeffect across all timescales. Overall, our results highlight thefact that the quasi-equilibriumanalytical framework is effective for evaluating both the consequences andmechanisms through which different model assumptions affect predictions. Tohelp constrain predictions of the future terrestrial carbon sink, werecommend the use of this framework to analyze likely outcomes of new modelassumptions before introducing them to complex model structures.
58 GEOSCIENCES↗
The modified plasma dispersion function
The modified plasma dispersion function (MPDF), based on the generalized Lorentzian (kappa) particle distribution function, is introduced, and a comprehensive set of graphs of the real and imaginary parts of the MPDF is presented. For any positive integral value of kappa, MPDF is calculated in closed form as a finite series. It is demonstrated how the MPDF approaches the plasma dispersion function in the limit as kappa yields infinity, a result to be expected since the kappa distribution function formally approaches the Maxwellian as kappa yields infinity. It is concluded that the MPDF can provide a tool in studying microinstabilities in plasmas when the particle distribution function is not only the standard generalized Lorentzian, but also of the Lorentzian type, including the loss-cone, bi-Lorentzian, and product bi-Lorentzian distributions.
Summers, Danny↗
Impact and Penetration of Thin Aluminum 2024 Flat Panels at Oblique Angles of Incidence
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are actively involved in improving the predictive capabilities of transient finite element computational methods for application to safety issues involving unintended impacts on aircraft and aircraft engine structures. One aspect of this work involves the development of an improved deformation and failure model for metallic materials, known as the Tabulated Johnson-Cook model, or MAT224, which has been implemented in the LS-DYNA commercial transient finite element analysis code (LSTC Corp., Livermore, CA) (Ref. 1). In this model the yield stress is a function of strain, strain rate and temperature and the plastic failure strain is a function of the state of stress, temperature and strain rate. The failure criterion is based on the accumulation of plastic strain in an element. The model also incorporates a regularization scheme to account for the dependency of plastic failure strain on mesh size. For a given material the model requires a significant amount of testing to determine the yield stress and failure strain as a function of the three-dimensional state of stress, strain rate and temperature. In addition, experiments are required to validate the model. Currently the model has been developed for Aluminum 2024 and validated against a series of ballistic impact tests on flat plates of various thicknesses (Refs. 1 to 3). Full development of the model for Titanium 6Al-4V is being completed, and mechanical testing for Inconel 718 has begun. The validation testing for the models involves ballistic impact tests using cylindrical projectiles impacting flat plates at a normal incidence (Ref. 2). By varying the thickness of the plates, different stress states and resulting failure modes are induced, providing a range of conditions over which the model can be validated. The objective of the study reported here was to provide experimental data to evaluate the model under more extreme conditions, using a projectile with a more complex shape and sharp contacts, impacting flat panels at oblique angles of incidence.
Ruggeri, Charles R.↗
A thermodynamically consistent finite strain phase field approach to ductile fracture considering multi-axial stress states
Phase field models for ductile fracture have gained significant attention in the last two decades due to their ability in implicitly tracking the nucleation and propagation of cracks. However, most crack phase field formulations for elastoplastic solids focus only on the effects of plastic deformation, and do not consider the different multi-axial stress states that may arise in practical designs. In this work, a thermodynamically consistent phase field approach coupled with finite strain plasticity, considering multi-axial stress states is presented. In order to account for the coupling between plasticity and stress states, the Stress-Weighted Ductile Fracture Model (SWDFM) is utilized. The SWDFM represents a criterion for predicting ductile crack initiation under both monotonic and cyclic loadings based on histories of an internal plastic variable, stress triaxiality, and the Lode angle parameter. The excellent performance of the SWDFM for predicting ductile crack initiation motivates for its incorporation into a phase field approach for predicting both crack initiation and propagation through degradation of the fracture toughness. Moreover, based on the second law of thermodynamics, exact requirements are imposed on the rate at which the fracture toughness can evolve. Here, a novel function for degrading the plastic yield surface during the evolution of damage is introduced. This function, in line with experimental observations, leads to an accumulation of plastic deformation in damaged regions of a solid, and avoids numerical instabilities arising from concentrations of large plastic deformations in severely damaged regions. For validating the proposed model, results of computational simulations are compared to data from selected tests considering different multi-axial stress states. Comparisons of the numerical results with data from laboratory experiments demonstrate the capabilities of the proposed framework.
42 ENGINEERING↗
Guided search for desired functional responses via Bayesian optimization of generative model: Hysteresis loop shape engineering in ferroelectrics
Advances in theoretical modeling across multiple disciplines have yielded generative models capable of high veracity in predicting macroscopic functional responses of materials emerging as a result of complex non-local interactions. Correspondingly, of interest is the inverse problem of finding the model parameter that will yield desired macroscopic responses, such as stress–strain curves, ferroelectric hysteresis loops, etc. Here, we suggest and implement Gaussian process based methods that allow to effectively sample the degenerate parameter space of a complex non-local model to output regions of parameter space which yield desired functionalities. In this work, we discuss the specific adaptation of the acquisition function and sampling function to make the process efficient and balance the efficient exploration of parameter space for multiple possible minima and exploitation to densely sample the regions of interest where target behaviors are optimized. Additionally, this approach is illustrated via the hysteresis loop engineering in ferroelectric materials but can be adapted to other functionalities and generative models.
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
Lines of Evidence Network Analysis of Yield-Associated Genes in Pennycress (Thlaspi arvense)
Functional network analysis of 112 GWAS-identified candidate genes for yield-related traits in pennycress ( Thlaspi arvense ). Uses RWRtools Lines of Evidence to propagate Arabidopsis orthologs through a nine-layer multiplex functional network.
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
Ginzburg--Landau functionals in the large-graph limit
Ginzburg–Landau (GL) functionals on graphs, which are relaxations of graph-cut functionals on graphs, have yielded a variety of insights in image segmentation and graph clustering. In this paper, we study large-graph limits of GL functionals by taking a functional-analytic view of graphs as nonlocal kernels. For a graph Wn with n nodes, the corresponding graph GL functional GL W n ϵ is an energy for functions on Wn. We minimize GL functionals on sequences of growing graphs that converge to functions called graphons. For such sequences of graphs, we show that the graph GL functional Γ-converges to a continuous and nonlocal functional that we call the graphon GL functional. We investigate the sharp-interface limits of the graph GL and graphon GL functionals, and we relate these limits to a nonlocal total-variation (TV) functional. We express the limiting GL functional in terms of Young measures and thereby obtain a probabilistic interpretation of the minimization problem in the large-graph limit. Finally, to develop intuition about graphon GL functionals, we determine the GL minimizer for several example families of graphons.
Zhang, Edith↗
Mean and Random Errors of Visual Roll Rate Perception from Central and Peripheral Visual Displays
A large number of roll rate stimuli, covering rates from zero to plus or minus 25 deg/sec, were presented to subjects in random order at 2 sec intervals. Subjects were to make estimates of magnitude of perceived roll rate stimuli presented on either a central display, on displays in the peripheral ield of vision, or on all displays simultaneously. Response was by way of a digital keyboard device, stimulus exposition times were varied. The present experiment differs from earlier perception tasks by the same authors in that mean rate perception error (and standard deviation) was obtained as a function of rate stimulus magnitude, whereas the earlier experiments only yielded mean absolute error magnitude. Moreover, in the present experiment, all stimulus rates had an equal probability of occurrence, whereas the earlier tests featured a Gaussian stimulus probability density function. Results yield a ood illustration of the nonlinear functions relating rate presented to rate perceived by human observers or operators.
Vandervaart, J. C.↗
Near-surface damage and mixing in Si-Cl 2 -Ar atomic layer etching processes: Insights from molecular dynamics simulations
Silicon-chlorine-argon (Si-Cl 2 -Ar) atomic layer etching (ALE) is simulated using classical molecular dynamics (MD). The simulations provide a detailed view into the near-surface region during ALE processing. Bombardment of Ar + ions creates a mixed amorphous region that significantly differs from the picture of ideal ALE. There is also a significant change in the Si etch yield and the etch product distribution as a function of Ar + ion fluence. The Si etch yield is the highest at the beginning of the bombardment step but eventually decays to the physical sputtering yield. Atomic Cl and silicon chlorides are major etch products at the start of an ion bombardment step, but quickly decay. Atomic Si yields remain relatively constant as a function of Ar + ion fluence. As a result, a new schematic of Si-Cl 2 -Ar ALE is presented in order to emphasize the complex behavior observed in MD simulations.
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
Some axisymmetric self-similar galaxy models
Distribution functions are presented for some axisymmetric self-similar galaxy models with flat rotation curves. In particular, we record velocity distribution functions for the logarithmic potentials studied by Richstone. These distribution functions depend on two integrals only. Other distribution functions (possibly involving more or other integrals) associated with the same mass model differ only by an additive function that integrates over velocities to yield zero density everywhere. However, a given distribution function can be associated with different mass models.
Miller, R. H.↗
Photoionization of methanol and formaldehyde
Photoions produced in methanol and formaldehyde by radiation in the spectral region 450-1150 A were analyzed mass spectrometrically, and their relative yields were determined as a function of wavelength. First ionization potentials were determined, and the ion yield curves were interpreted in terms of ionization processes in conjunction with other data. Fragment ions were detected on mass numbers of 31, 30, 29, 15, and 14 for methanol, and 29, 2, and 1 for formaldehyde. The associated appearance potentials were determined and were used to calculate heats of formation of the ions CH2OH(+) and HCO(+), and the radicals CH3, CH2, and HCO.
Warneck, P.↗
Sensor/Actuator Selection for the Constrained Variance Control Problem
The problem of designing a linear controller for systems subject to inequality variance constraints is considered. A quadratic penalty function approach is used to yield a linear controller. Both the weights in the quadratic penalty function and the locations of sensors and actuators are selected by successive approximations to obtain an optimal design which satisfies the input/output variance constraints. The method is applied to NASA's 64 meter Hoop-Column Space Antenna for satellite communications. In addition the solution for the control law, the main feature of these results is the systematic determination of actuator design requirements which allow the given input/output performance constraints to be satisfied.
Delorenzo, M. L.↗
Wave-packet manipulation of He Rydberg states by a seeded free-electron laser
We report a two-dimensional pump-control-probe spectroscopic study of the dynamics of singly excited He Rydberg-state wave packets with a seeded extreme ultraviolet (XUV) free-electron laser (FEL) source. A pair of coherent XUV pulses, defined by their coarse time separation and relative phase, created and manipulated the wave packets. The He atoms were postionized by infrared (IR) pulses, and the ion yield was measured as a function of XUV phase and IR arrival time. We tagged and sorted the relative phase of the XUV pulse pair on a single-shot basis by fitting each FEL spectrum with a suitable function that accounts for nonidealities of the XUV pulse pairs, associated with the seeding process; more generally, the fit returns the time-dependent electric field of the FEL spectra. The experimental two-dimensional maps of ion yields, measured as a function of IR (probe) delay and of XUV (pump-control) phase, were compared with the solution of the first-order time-dependent Schrödinger equation for this field. Despite the fact that the experimental conditions imply strong excitation, beyond the approximations of first-order perturbation theory, the simulated map satisfactorily reproduces the experimental one for temporally well-separated pulses. We show that by selecting data at appropriate values of pump-control phase, we enhance or suppress the amplitude of chosen wave-packet components consisting of two or more Rydberg states. When the temporal overlap of the pulse pair cannot be neglected, the phase reconstruction is underdetermined, and we provide a simplified comparison between data and simulations. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
Dumergue, Mathieu (ORCID:0000000236984406)↗