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At least 37 records · Page 2

Contrasting effects of land-use and local disturbance on plant and pollinator communities in wetlands

While pollinators and wetlands both provide important ecosystem services (e.g., the pollination of flowering plants and improving water quality), the relationship between the two is not well understood. Both biotic and abiotic effects can mediate the local wetland flower and pollinator community. In this study, we investigated how land use, including a land use gradient at five different radii, from 250 m to 2 km, along with anthropogenic disturbance affected pollinators in wetland ecosystems. We surveyed the abundance and diversity of plant-pollinator communities in fifteen different wetlands across two years. We also tested the relationship between water quality and temperature, and the abundance and diversity of flowering plants and pollinating insects. Our results suggest that increasing temperature, which was strongly associated with developed land use, had a negative effect on the floral display of wetland plants, as well as the abundance of all flower visitors and hover flies. Hover fly abundance was also positively associated with agricultural land use and total nitrogen in the water. Meanwhile, the abundance of female bees was affected by an interaction between temperature and disturbance: female bees were most abundant when temperatures were lower in areas of low disturbance. In contrast, pollinator species richness increased with temperature when developed land use was low, and floral diversity was strongly affected by several interactions between disturbance, land use, and water quality. Finally, the community composition of both plants and insects varied significantly among low, medium, and high disturbance categories, with weedier, non-native species being significantly associated with areas of higher disturbance and in sites with greater anthropogenic land use. We demonstrate that ecological communities shift significantly in response to anthropogenic change. Our work also illustrates the importance of quantifying interactions between land use and local disturbance with abiotic factors such as temperature and water quality on ecological systems.

Disturbance↗

Role of the Mobile Active Site Flap in IMP Dehydrogenase Inhibitor Binding

Inosine 5′-monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH) is a promising antibiotic target. This enzyme catalyzes the NAD-dependent oxidation of inosine 5′-monophosphate (IMP) to xanthosine 5′-monophosphate (XMP), which is the rate-limiting step in guanine nucleotide biosynthesis. Bacterial IMPDH-specific inhibitors have been developed that bind to the NAD + site. These inhibitors display varied affinities to different bacterial IMPDHs that are not easily rationalized by X-ray crystal structures of enzyme–inhibitor complexes. Inspection of X-ray crystal structures of 25 enzyme–inhibitor complexes, including 10 newly described, suggested that a mobile active site flap may be a structural determinant of inhibitor potency. Saturation transfer difference NMR experiments also suggested that the flap may contact the inhibitors to varying extents in different IMPDHs. Flap residue Leu413 contacted some inhibitors but was not structured in the crystal structures of other inhibitor complexes. The substitution of Leu413 with Phe or Ala in Bacillus anthracis IMPDH had inhibitor-selective effects, suggesting residue 413 could be a structural determinant of affinity. Curiously, the Ala substitution increased the potency of most inhibitors, even those that contacted Leu413 in the crystal structures. Presteady-state and steady-state kinetics experiments showed that the Leu413Ala substitution had comparable effects on inhibitor binding to the noncovalent E·IMP complex and the covalent intermediate E-XMP*, suggesting that the flap had similar interactions in both complexes. These results demonstrate that contacts do not necessarily indicate favorable interactions, and poorly structured mobile regions should not be discounted when assessing binding determinants.

Conformation↗

The Galaxy platform for accessible, reproducible, and collaborative data analyses: 2024 update

Galaxy (https://galaxyproject.org) is deployed globally, predominantly through free-to-use services, supporting user-driven research that broadens in scope each year. Users are attracted to public Galaxy services by platform stability, tool and reference dataset diversity, training, support and integration, which enables complex, reproducible, shareable data analysis. Applying the principles of user experience design (UXD), has driven improvements in accessibility, tool discoverability through Galaxy Labs/subdomains, and a redesigned Galaxy ToolShed. Galaxy tool capabilities are progressing in two strategic directions: integrating general purpose graphical processing units (GPGPU) access for cutting-edge methods, and licensed tool support. Engagement with global research consortia is being increased by developing more workflows in Galaxy and by resourcing the public Galaxy services to run them. The Galaxy Training Network (GTN) portfolio has grown in both size, and accessibility, through learning paths and direct integration with Galaxy tools that feature in training courses. Code development continues in line with the Galaxy Project roadmap, with improvements to job scheduling and the user interface. Environmental impact assessment is also helping engage users and developers, reminding them of their role in sustainability, by displaying estimated CO 2 emissions generated by each Galaxy job.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Modeling and Energy Analysis of Refrigeration Systems in Supermarkets: A Case Study

Refrigeration systems are the single largest consumer of electricity in supermarkets, accounting for approximately 40–60% of total store electricity use. As supermarkets face increasing pressures to improve efficiency and reduce operational costs, understanding the energy performance of refrigeration systems in supermarkets has become essential. In this paper, we investigate the energy performance and patterns of the refrigeration system using field measurements in one supermarket. The compressor coefficient of performance (COP) averaged 4.5 during nighttime steady-state operation, providing a practical efficiency benchmark. We develop simple physical-based load models for the display cases in the supermarket, where the refrigeration system uses R404A. The results show the display case models achieve a good agreement with measured data, validating its utility for energy estimation during unoccupied hours. Finally, the analysis reveals several challenges of data collection systems for refrigeration systems in the supermarket industry as well.

Chen, Yimin [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000338181655)↗

Ultra-clear Aerogels for Insulated Glass in Refrigeration Doors (CRADA Final Report)

Display refrigerators commonly employ glass doors to provide product visibility; however, these doors exhibit significantly poorer thermal insulation than solid doors, resulting in increased heat transfer and higher energy consumption. To address this limitation, this project investigated the use of silica aerogel as a transparent insulating medium for refrigerator glass doors, with the objective of enhancing thermal performance without compromising visual clarity. In Phase I of the project, we assessed the feasibility of silica aerogel insulation through laboratory and full-scale studies, including material characterization, durability testing, and heat transfer measurements, along with the development and performance evaluation of prototype glass doors under realistic operating conditions. In Phase II, the project focused on scaling the technology toward practical deployment. This included scaling up the manufacturing process to achieve a surface area roughly 20 times larger for commercial applications, developing full-scale prototypes that integrated silica aerogel into standard display refrigerator doors, and conducting field evaluations to assess thermal performance, energy savings, and operational durability under real-world conditions.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Confocal Raman Microscopy as a Probe of Material Deconstruction in Processed Low-Density Polyethylene Particles

Confocal Raman microscopy was applied to detect structural change within individual particles of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) following chemical and electrochemical processing steps that aimed to facilitate material decomposition. A high numerical aperture (NA) oil-immersion objective enabled depth-profiling through the near surface region (20 μm–40 μm) of irregularly shaped particles with an axial spatial resolution < 2 μm estimated from measurements of instrument detection efficiency profiles. Changes in vibrational bands sensitive to polyethylene crystallinity were evident following treatments and linked to the release of low molecular weight compounds present as additives and products of processing. Effects of processing were probed by monitoring the rise of Raman scattering intensity in vibrational modes associated with polyethylene chains in a zig-zag (trans) conformation near 1128 cm –1 , 1294 cm –1 , and 1418 cm –1 , signaling chain clustering and development of organized, crystalline-like assemblies. Pristine LDPE particles displayed a uniform structure across the near surface region, while particles treated initially with chemical extractant and then further processed displayed increasingly enhanced crystallinity up to the maximum depth probed (40 μm). As a step toward measurements on ensembles of particles, least squares modeling was adapted to derive pure component spectra reflecting crystallinity change within spectral datasets. The work demonstrates high spatial resolution Raman depth-profiling for the characterization of processed polymers using a high NA immersion objective to overcome the limitations of air-objectives often used for confocal Raman microscopy.

Wahiduzzaman, Md. [Department of Chemistry and Bio↗

Near-field infrared imaging of polar domain walls in Ni 3 TeO 6

Domain walls are leading platforms for the development of ultra-low power switching and memory devices due to their potential to be moved, created, and erased in real time and to mitigate heat flux. Interface vs wavelength size effects unfortunately preclude the measurement of phonons by traditional spectroscopic techniques, so it has been challenging to unravel the primary excitations of the lattice and the symmetries that they represent across these functional interfaces. In this work, we employ synchrotron-based near-field infrared nanospectroscopy to image polar domain walls in multiferroic Ni 3 TeO 6 . This is a unique platform because, in addition to hosting polar and chiral domains that are interlocked with one another, Ni 3 TeO 6 displays both charged and neutral interfaces depending upon the direction allowing the development of structure–property relations. From a local structure and a strain point of view, we find charged walls that are twice as wide as neutral walls as well as strong frequency shifts of vibrational modes across the charged walls. The near-field amplitude drops across the walls as well. We discuss these trends in terms of polarization and chirality as well as phonon lifetimes at functional interfaces.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Impact of developmental methylmercury exposure on avian embryonic development, hatchling growth, and survival

Abstract Methylmercury (MeHg) is a globally ubiquitous and persistent environmental toxicant that negatively affects animal behavior, health, and reproduction. In birds, MeHg is transferred from female to egg, contaminating embryos during sensitive stages of early embryonic development and growth. This toxic exposure in the prenatal environment not only induces mortality but also possible lasting impacts on physiology, health, and survival, even once hatched. The purpose of our study was to further elucidate the negative effects of MeHg exposure during avian embryonic development and explore how such exposure can impact offspring development, growth, and survival, both in ovo and posthatch. To assess this, we experimentally dosed fertile mallard and wood duck eggs with MeHg II chloride and reared developing embryos and ducklings to various endpoints. We found that embryos not only readily accumulated MeHg throughout incubation, but they also displayed varying dose-dependent disparities in body mass and morphometrics, with control individuals being larger during early and late embryonic stages of development (p < 0.05). Furthermore, hatched offspring exposed to MeHg exhibited increasingly slower growth rates between 7 to 10 and 10 to 15 days posthatch (p < 0.05), and were found to have lower survival probabilities both under controlled laboratory conditions (p < 0.005), and in the natural environment (p < 0.05). Our findings on the detrimental effects of MeHg on avian embryos and hatchlings emphasize the need for more proactive means of environmental protection and remediation to protect vulnerable avian populations and the ecosystems they inhabit.

Leaphart, James C.↗

A genomic analysis reveals the diversity of cellulosome displaying bacteria

Introduction Several species of cellulolytic bacteria display cellulosomes, massive multi-cellulase containing complexes that degrade lignocellulosic plant biomass (LCB). A greater understanding of cellulosome structure and enzyme content could facilitate the development of new microbial-based methods to produce renewable chemicals and materials. Methods To identify novel cellulosome-displaying microbes we searched 305,693 sequenced bacterial genomes for genes encoding cellulosome proteins; dockerin-fused glycohydrolases (DocGHs) and cohesin domain containing scaffoldins. Results and discussion This analysis identified 33 bacterial species with the genomic capacity to produce cellulosomes, including 10 species not previously reported to produce these complexes, such asAcetivibrio mesophilus. Cellulosome-producing bacteria primarily originate from theAcetivibrio, Ruminococcus, Ruminiclostridium, andClostridiumgenera. A rigorous analysis of their enzyme, scaffoldin, dockerin, and cohesin content reveals phylogenetically conserved features. Based on the presence of a high number of genes encoding both scaffoldins and dockerin-fused GHs, the cellulosomes inAcetivibrioandRuminococcusbacteria possess complex architectures that are populated with a large number of distinct LCB degrading GH enzymes. Their complex cellulosomes are distinguishable by their mechanism of attachment to the cell wall, the structures of their primary scaffoldins, and by how they are transcriptionally regulated. In contrast, bacteria in theRuminiclostridiumandClostridiumgenera produce ‘simple’ cellulosomes that are constructed from only a few types of scaffoldins that based on their distinct complement of GH enzymes are predicted to exhibit high and low cellulolytic activity, respectively. Collectively, the results of this study reveal conserved and divergent architectural features in bacterial cellulosomes that could be useful in guiding ongoing efforts to harness their cellulolytic activities for bio-based chemical and materials production.

Microbiology↗

Bridging Additive Manufacturing and Electronics Printing in the Age of AI

Printing techniques have been instrumental in developing flexible and stretchable electronics, including organic light-emitting diode displays, organic thin film transistor arrays, electronic skins, organic electrochemical transistors for biosensors and neuromorphic computing, as well as flexible solar cells with low-cost processes such as inkjet printing, ultrasonic nozzle, roll-to-roll coating. The rise of additive manufacturing provides even more opportunities to print electronics in automated and customizable ways. In this work, we will review the current technologies of printing electronics (including printed batteries, supercapacitors, fuel cells, and sensors), especially with 3D printing. In this age of ongoing AI revolution, the application of AI algorithms is discussed in terms of combining them with 3D printing and electronics printing for a future with automated optimization, sustainable design, and customizable and scalable manufacturing.

Chemistry↗

Key Takeaways: Second Cohort of Action Plans for Rapid Power Sector Decarbonization

A collaborative report from the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM), Lessons Learned for Rapid Decarbonization of Power Sectors, was delivered to energy ministers and presented at the 13th CEM (CEM13) in the United States in September 2022. As a result, Action Plans for power sector decarbonization were developed by the first cohort of countries. The fist cohort included India, Australia, Chile, the European Union, and the United Kingdom. The first cohort's Action Plans were presented at CEM14 in India in July 2023. These Action Plans, supported by the 21st Century Power Partnership and other CEM workstreams via direct technical assistance and capacity building, are intended to focus on select implementation actions given each country's existing power sector goals and activities, and are an opportunity for countries to display leadership in power sector decarbonization. The second set of Action Plans has been developed by Brazil, Canada, the United States, and Uruguay, released at CEM15 in Brazil in October 2024.

21st Century Power Partnership↗

R.U.N. Motion VR Boots: Realistic Unimpeded Natural (RUN) Motion Boots for VR gaming in the comfort of your home

Virtual reality (VR) gaming has experienced increasingly widespread adoption in recent years largely due to the development of affordable, consumer-grade headsets equipped with high quality, miniature displays and compact sensors for motion tracking. These devices are now able to provide users with immersive experiences that far surpass what traditional video games can achieve. However, despite these technological strides, a fundamental limitation remains: VR users are unable to move freely in their physical environment without the risk of colliding with real-world obstacles and hazards. This safety concern significantly restricts the level of immersion and natural movement possible in VR gaming.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Synthetic Control of Water-Stable Hybrid Perovskitoid Semiconductors

Hybrid metal-halide perovskites and their derived materials have emerged as the next-generation semiconductors with a wide range of applications, including photovoltaics, light-emitting devices, and other optoelectronics. Over the past decade, numerous single-crystalline perovskite derivatives have been synthesized and developed. However, the synthetic methods for these derivatives mainly rely on acidic crystallization conditions. This approach leads to crystals comprising metal halide building blocks, which show problematic stability when directly exposed to water. In this study, a methodology is developed for synthesizing hybrid metal-halide compounds using lead iodide and the zwitterionic bifunctional molecule cysteamine (CYS), to form various perovskitoid structures under a broad pH range. Interestingly, the different pH conditions alter the coordination environment of lead halides, leading to lead-sulfide and lead-nitride covalent bond formation. This modification significantly enhances their stability when in direct contact with water, lasting for months. Photoluminescence measurements and first principal density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the perovskitoids synthesized under basic and acidic pH conditions exhibit a direct bandgap nature, while those synthesized under neutral conditions display an indirect bandgap. This approach opens new avenues for manipulating synthetic methods to develop water-stable hybrid semiconductors suitable for a wide range of applications, such as solid-state light emitters.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Simultaneous on-chip generation of violet, blue, cyan, green, yellow, orange, and red light from an octave-spanning infrared frequency comb

An integrated, multi-spectral visible-light source could significantly benefit technologies such as displays, medical imaging, spectroscopy, visible-light communications, and astrophysics. However, despite recent advances in chip-scale visible lasers, simultaneously generating light of all colors in a single chip has been challenging. Existing solutions are either not suitable for full chip-scale integration, or are fundamentally difficult to scale. Here we demonstrate the simultaneous on-chip generation of infrared, red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and violet light. Leveraging the low loss, low dispersion, and high density of modes of an adiabatic multimode silicon nitride (SiN) microresonator, we use a single infrared pump of moderate power (~130 mW) to produce an octave-spanning infrared frequency comb that is then converted to different portions of the visible spectrum. We measure non-mode-locked combs and soliton steps corresponding to mode-locked states, making our comb generator suitable for applications that demand either low or high coherence. Since the required pump power is compatible with high-power lasers demonstrated in the same SiN platform, our multi-octave light generator can be fully integrated in a chip-scale form factor. We envision that such a light source will be a catalyst for the development and deployment of miniaturized multi-spectral technologies for quantum systems, medical imaging, displays, and spectroscopy.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Rhizosphere Microbiome Diversity Potentially Supports Robust Nature of Field Pennycress ( Thlaspi arvense L.) in Dryland Cropping Systems of Eastern Washington

ABSTRACT Field pennycress ( Thlaspi arvense L.) is an annual in the Brassicaceae family and is currently being developed as an oilseed intermediate crop suitable for renewable biodiesel and jet fuel. It displays many desirable characteristics for this role including cold tolerance, a rapid life cycle, and a seed fatty acid profile conducive to bioenergy generation. These traits make field pennycress favorable for winter oilseed cultivation in the inland Pacific Northwest (iPNW). Simultaneously, intermediate crops are an increasingly recognized component of both agronomic sustainability and soil health management. Intermediate crops enhance soil microbial diversity, which benefits both soil and plant health. To understand the impact of field pennycress on soil microbial diversity, two natural accessions and seven experimental accessions were grown at three sites in Eastern Washington. Aboveground biomass and rhizosphere soil were then collected. Soil genomic DNA was extracted from rhizosphere samples and used to generate an amplicon library for bacterial (16S) and fungal (ITS) rRNA sequences. The resulting libraries were analyzed in QIIME2, which revealed that not only did the fad2 deficient line from the Spring32‐10 background have significantly increased aboveground biomass production compared to other pennycress genotypes, but also displayed significantly higher β‐diversity in the rhizosphere community specifically at the site experiencing the driest conditions. ANCOM analysis showed that multiple sequences similar to beneficial plant and soil health enhancing organisms such as Trichoderma spirale , Pseudomonas spp., and Methylobacterium goesingense were found to be enriched in the microbiome of the fad2 Spring32‐10 background also at that site. To add additional context to rhizosphere community data, root exudates from two pennycress genotypes were captured in magenta boxes and analyzed using HPLC. Future work will expand our understanding of the mechanisms by which field pennycress creates diversity in the rhizosphere, thus expanding our ability to cultivate this crop in the iPNW.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Cis-regulatory evolution shapes facial diversity in birds and mammals

Birds and mammals exhibit extraordinary facial diversity, reflecting adaptations to distinct ecological niches and feeding strategies. While core face-building developmental programs are conserved and orchestrated by interactions between ectodermal organizers and the underlying mesenchyme, mechanisms driving facial shape variation remain poorly understood. Here, we integrate single-cell transcriptomic and chromatin accessibility profiling of mouse and chicken developing face to construct a comparative regulatory map. Although both ectodermal and mesenchymal populations display distinct regulatory features in each species, the mesenchyme exhibits markedly greater divergence, pointing to its central role in shaping facial morphology. We further reveal unexpected molecular complexity in the main face-shaping organizer, including a mouse-specific Shh/Wnt5a expression domain. At key morphogen loci (Bmp4, Fgf8, and Wnt5a), conserved and lineage-specific enhancers exhibit spatially restricted activity patterns that mirror divergent signaling domains. These findings demonstrate how cis-regulatory evolution modulates conserved developmental programs to generate morphological novelty, providing a valuable resource for studying vertebrate facial evolution.

Kyomen, Stella [Max Planck Institute for Evolution↗

Theoretical Studies of Polar Systems near Ferroelectrics Quantum Critical Points (Final Report)

The PI has studied emergent quantum phases near polar quantum critical points. A first challenge was to develop a theoretical description of the observation that many polar materials undergo classical first-order transitions while displaying quantum criticality. The possibility of novel metallic states near polar quantum critical points was then studied; identification and characterization of a non-Fermi liquid phase was made in a multiband system. In dilute quantum critical polar metals, electronic coupling to polar energy fluctuations was shown to result in attractive electron-electron interactions and to superconductivity. A spin-phonon resonance measurement in applied magnetic field was proposed to determine the magnitude of spin-orbit mediated electron-phonon coupling; furthermore in the polar phase new field-induced phonon collective modes were identified with specific signatures for experiment. In order to keep current, the PI has also worked on other types of strongly correlated problems. With experimental groups, she has developed phenomenologies to identify and explain observed dynamical critical behaviors. The PI has studied the interplay of topology, fractionalization and deconfinement in a minimalist spin model. An emergent phase transition in a 1 + 1 frustrated spin nanotube has also been identified and characterized. The PI has also begun exploring criticality out of equilibrium, characterizing rich dynamical phases associated with photoinduced polar transitions.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Porous Organic Cage Membranes for Molecular Gas Separations (Final Technical Report for DE-SC0021357)

This proposal aims at demonstrating the development of a novel family of membranes, composed of porous organic cages (POC) which offer the possibility of displaying high separation performance for challenging molecular gas separations relevant to natural gas purification, and olefin/paraffin separation. The proposed POCs synthesized in membrane form will display the most desirable properties of polymers (facile processability and flexibility) and inorganic materials (hierarchically ordered pores with molecular sieving properties) leading to highly selective and permeable membranes. POCs should display distinctive structural, compositional, adsorption and transport properties than those of conventional porous materials, opening the doors for a new research direction in membrane science, and gas separations. Our preliminary results demonstrate the feasibility of preparing POC crystals with controlled size, and continuous POC membranes with remarkable high permeances, and separation ability for CO 2 /CH 4 , N 2 /CH 4 and C 3 H 6 /C 3 H 8 separations serving as a solid foundation for our proposed work. Fundamentally, this proposal aims at elucidating separation mechanisms of different gas mixtures related to natural gas composition, and olefin/paraffin separation over porous organic cage membranes. The proposed research will result in fundamental understanding of adsorption and transport properties of industrially relevant gas molecules through novel microporous membranes, and may lead to the development of a cost effective membrane technology for natural gas purification, and olefin/paraffin separation surpassing the conventional benchmark technology distillation. Furthermore, we aim at demonstrating selective water transport through POC membranes, which can be positively impactful in numerous industrial applications in which water is present. The ability to fabricate thin, chemically and mechanically stable POC membranes for societal relevant gas separations constitute a new and distinctive direction in membrane science. Our proposed work aims at addressing some of the challenges recognized in the Research Agenda for Transforming Separation Science . Specifically: (a) advancing understanding of complex mixtures on separation performance; (b) exploring thermodynamic and kinetic mechanisms through the elucidation of separation mechanisms, and (c) study potential stability issues of the membranes to be assessed by evaluating the long term membrane stability and performance at various temperatures and pressures. The team is uniquely qualified to execute the proposed work. The PI has solid expertise in the rational molecular engineering design of porous crystalline membranes for molecular gas separations. The PNNL collaborator has extensive experience in the synthesis, characterization, and functional applications of microporous crystals, with particular emphasis on gas adsorption.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗