Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “UPTAKE”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 451 records · Page 25

Effect of pH and calcium on short-term NO3- fluxes in roots of barley seedlings

The effect of pH and Ca2+ on net NO3- uptake, influx, and efflux by intact roots of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) seedlings was studied. Seedlings were induced with NO3- or NO2-. Net NO3- uptake and efflux, respectively, were determined by following its depletion from, and accumulation in, the external solution. Since roots of both uninduced and NO2(-)-induced seedlings contain little internal NO3- initial net uptake rates are equivalent to influx (M. Aslam, R.L. Travis, R.C. Huffaker [1994] Plant Physiol 106: 1293-1301). NO3-, uptake (influx) by these roots was little affected at acidic pH. In contrast, in NO3(-)-induced roots, which accumulate NO3-, net uptake rates decreased in response to acidic pH. Under these conditions, NO3- efflux was stimulated and was a function of root NO3- concentration. Conversely, at basic pH, NO3- uptake by NO3- and NO2(-)-induced and uninduced roots decreased, apparently because of the inhibition of influx. Calcium had little effect on NO3- uptake (influx) by NO2(-)-induced roots at either pH 3 or 6. However, in NO3(-)-induced roots, lack of Ca2+ at pH 3 significantly decreased net NO3- uptake and stimulated efflux. The results indicate that at acidic pH the decrease in net NO3- uptake is due to the stimulation of efflux, whereas at basic pH, it is due to the inhibition of influx.

Non-NASA Center↗

U(VI) binding onto electrospun polymers functionalized with phosphonate surfactants

We previously observed that phosphonate functionalized electrospun nanofibers can uptake U(VI), making them promising materials for sensing and water treatment applications. Here, we investigate the optimal fabrication of these materials and their mechanism of U(VI) binding under the influence of environmentally relevant ions (e.g., Ca 2+ and CO 3 2- ). We found that U(VI) uptake was greatest on polyacrylonitrile (PAN) functionalized with longer-chain phosphonate surfactants (e.g., hexa- and octadecyl phosphonate; HDPA and ODPA, respectively), which were better retained in the nanofiber after surface segregation. Subsequent uptake experiments to better understand specific solid-liquid interfacial interactions were carried out using 5 mg of HDPA-functionalized PAN mats with 10 μM U at pH 6.8 in four systems with different combinations of solutions containing 5 mM calcium (Ca 2+ ) and 5 mM bicarbonate (HCO 3 -). U uptake was similar in control solutions containing no Ca 2+ and HCO 3 - (resulting in 19 ± 3% U uptake), and in those containing only 5 mM Ca2+ (resulting in 20 ± 3% U uptake). A decrease in U uptake (10 ± 4% U uptake) was observed in experiments with HCO 3 -, indicating that UO 2 -CO 3 complexes may increase uranium solubility. Results from shell-by-shell EXAFS fitting, aqueous extractions, and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) indicate that U is bound to phosphonate as a monodentate inner sphere surface complex to one of the hydroxyls in the phosphonate functional groups. New knowledge derived from this study on material fabrication and solid-liquid interfacial interactions will help to advance technologies for use in the in-situ detection and treatment of U in water.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Rapidly changing high-latitude seasonality: implications for the 21st century carbon cycle in Alaska

Seasonal variations in high-latitude terrestrial carbon (C) fluxes are predominantly driven by air temperature and radiation. At present, high-latitude net C uptake is largest during the summer. Recent observations and modeling studies have demonstrated that ongoing and projected climate change will increase plant productivity, microbial respiration, and growing season lengths at high-latitudes, but impacts on high-latitude C cycle seasonality (and potential feedbacks to the climate system) remain uncertain. Here we use ecosys, a well-tested and process-rich mechanistic ecosystem model that we evaluate further in this study, to explore how climate warming under an RCP8.5 scenario will shift C cycle seasonality in Alaska throughout the 21st century. The model successfully reproduced recently reported large high-latitude C losses during the fall and winter and yet still predicts a high-latitude C sink, pointing to a resolution of the current conflict between process-model and observation-based estimates of high-latitude C balance. We find that warming will result in surprisingly large changes in net ecosystem exchange (NEE; defined as negative for uptake) seasonality, with spring net C uptake overtaking summer net C uptake by year 2100. This shift is driven by a factor of 3 relaxation of spring temperature limitation to plant productivity that results in earlier C uptake and a corresponding increase in magnitude of spring NEE from –19 to –144 gC m –2 season –1 by the end of the century. Although a similar relaxation of temperature limitation will occur in the fall, radiation limitation during those months will limit increases in C fixation. Additionally, warmer soil temperatures and increased carbon inputs from plants lead to combined fall and winter C losses (163 gC m –2 ) that are larger than summer net uptake (123 gC m –2 season –1 ) by year 2100. However, this increase in microbial activity leads to more rapid N cycling and increased plant N uptake during the fall and winter months that supports large increases in spring NPP. Due to the large increases in spring net C uptake, the high-latitude atmospheric C sink is projected to sustain throughout this century. Our analysis disentangles the effects of key environmental drivers of high-latitude seasonal C balances as climate changes over the 21st century.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Responses of soybean to ammonium and nitrate supplied in combination to the whole root system or separately in a split-root system

To address the questions of whether allocation of carbohydrates to roots is influenced by ionic form of nitrogen absorbed and whether allocation of carbohydrates to roots in turn influences proportionality between NH4+ and NO3- uptake from mixed sources, NH4+ and NO3- were supplied separately to halves of a split-root hydroponic system and were supplied in combination to a whole-root system. Dry matter accumulation in the split-root system was 18% less in the NH4(+)-fed axis than in the NO3(-)-fed axis. This, however, does not indicate that partitioning of carbohydrate between the two axes was different. Most of the reduction in dry matter accumulation in the NH4(+)-fed axis can be accounted for by the retransport of CH2O equivalents from the root back to the shoot with amino acids produced by NH4+ assimilation. Uptake of NH4+ or NO3- by the respective halves of the split-root system was proportional to the estimated allocation of carbohydrate to that half. When NH4+ and NO3- were supplied to separate halves of the split-root system, the cumulative NH4+ to NO3- uptake ratio was 0.81. When supplied in combination to the whole-root system, the cumulative NH4+ to NO3- uptake ratio was 1.67. Thus, while the shoot may affect total nitrogen uptake through the export of carbohydrates to roots, the shoot (common for halves of the split-root system) apparently does not exert a direct effect on proportionality of NH4+ and NO3- uptake by roots. For whole roots supplied with both NH4+ and NO3-, the restriction in uptake of NO3- may involve a stimulation of NO3- efflux rather than an inhibition of NO3- influx. While only the net uptake of NH4+ and NO3- was measured by ion chromatography, monitoring at approximately hourly intervals during the first 3 days of treatment revealed irregularly occurring intervals of both depletion (net influx) and enrichment (net efflux) in solutions. In the case of NH4+, numbers of net efflux events were similar (21 to 24 out of 65 sequential sampling intervals) whether NH4+ was supplied with NO3- to whole-root systems or separately to an axis of the split-root system. In the case of NO3-, however, the number of net efflux events increased from 8 when NO3- was supplied to a separate axis of the split-root system to between 19 and 24 when NO3- was supplied with NH4+ to whole-root systems.

Non-NASA Center↗

NO x adsorption with CO and C 2 H 4 on Pd/SSZ-13: Experiments and modeling

A transient monolith model containing microkinetic schemes for NO uptake and release over Pd/SSZ-13 without and with reductants CO or C2H4 is presented. The scheme involves three cationic Pd species (Z – [PdOH] + , Z – Pd 2+ Z – , Z – Pd + ) as the active sites during uptake of NO, CO and C 2 H 4 , and their desorption and conversion at higher temperature. Kinetic parameters are estimated through a combination of density functional theory (DFT) estimates and a fit of uptake, desorption and conversion data. The tuned model is validated at different uptake temperatures, ramp rates, and flowrates. A “degree of uptake control” parameter is defined that helps to identify the step(s) that are uptake controlling. The model helps to interpret the data features and is used to identify operating conditions to meet application-relevant performance metrics, including NO trapping efficiency and NO release temperature. Furthermore, the model demonstrates higher NO uptake on Pd/SSZ-13 compared to Pd/ZSM-5.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Machine learning assisted rediscovery of methane storage and separation in porous carbon from material literature

Porous carbon (PC) has been widely regarded as one of the most promising absorbents for methane storage. Studies show that its uptake capacity and selectivity highly depend on textural structures. Although much effort has been made, unveiling their detailed structure-performance relationship remains a challenge. Here, we propose an innovative study where, with the assistance of machine learning, the hidden relationship of the textural structures of PC with the methane uptake and separation can be derived from existing data in material literature. Machine learning models were trained by the data, including specific surface area, micropore volume, mesopore volume, temperature, and pressure as the input variables and methane uptake as the output variable for prediction. Among the tested models, the multilayer perceptron (MLP) shows the highest accuracy in predicting the methane uptake. In addition, the model enables to automatically construct a uptake performance map in terms of micropore volume and mesopore volume. The obtained MLP model was also extended to explore the CO 2 /CH 4 selectivity by retraining it with the data collected from literature of PC for the CO 2 uptake. Finally, the constructed 2D selectivity map shows that the high selectivity can be achieved in the low CH 4 uptake region.

42 ENGINEERING↗

A novel methodology for assessing the hygroscopicity of aerosol filter samples

Abstract. Due to US regulations, concentrations of hygroscopic inorganic sulfate and nitrate have declined in recent years, leading to an increased importance of the hygroscopic nature of organic matter (OM). The hygroscopicity of OM is poorly characterized because only a fraction of the multitude of organic compounds in the atmosphere is readily measured, and there is limited information on their hygroscopic behaviors. Hygroscopicity of aerosol is traditionally measured using a humidified tandem differential mobility analyzer (HTDMA) or electrodynamic balance (EDB). EDB measures water uptake by a single particle. For ambient and chamber studies, HTDMA measurements provide water uptake and particle size information but not chemical composition. To fill this information gap, we developed a novel methodology to assess the water uptake by particles collected on Teflon filters. This method uses the same filter sample for both hygroscopicity measurements and chemical characterization, thereby providing an opportunity to link the measured hygroscopicity with ambient particle composition. To test the method, hygroscopic measurements were conducted in the laboratory for ammonium sulfate, sodium chloride, glucose, and malonic acid, which were collected on 25 mm Teflon filters using an aerosol generator and sampler. Constant-humidity solutions (CHSs), including potassium chloride, barium chloride dihydrate, and potassium sulfate, were employed in a saturated form to maintain the relative humidity (RH) at approximately 84 %, 90 %, and 97 % in small chambers. Our preliminary experiments revealed that, without the pouch, water uptake measurements were not feasible due to rapid water loss during weighing. Additionally, we observed some absorption by the aluminum pouch itself. To account for this, concurrent measurements were conducted for both the loaded and the blank filters at each RH level. Thus, the dry loaded and blank Teflon filters were placed in aluminum pouches with one side open and in RH-controlled chambers for more than 24 h. The wet loaded samples and wet blanks were then weighed using an ultramicrobalance to determine the water uptake by the respective compound and the blank Teflon filter. The net amount of water absorbed by each compound was calculated by subtracting the water uptake of the blank filter from that of the wet loaded filter. Hygroscopic parameters, including the water-to-solute (W / S) ratio, molality, mass fraction solute (mfs), and growth factors (GFs), were calculated from the measurements. The results obtained are consistent with those reported by the Extended Aerosol Inorganics Model (E-AIM) and previous studies utilizing HTDMA and EDB for these compounds, highlighting the accuracy of this new methodology. This new approach enables the hygroscopicity and chemical composition of individual filter samples to be assessed so that in complex mixtures, such as chamber and ambient samples, the total water uptake can be parsed between the inorganic and organic components of the aerosol.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Leveraging Actinide Hydrolysis Chemistry for Targeted Th and U Separations using Amidoxime-Functionalized Poly(HIPE)s

Polymerized high internal phase emulsions (poly(HIPE)s) are porous polymer monoliths whose synthesis can easily be tailored to allow incorporation of functional units. In this work, nitrile containing poly(HIPE)s have been prepared with either acrylonitrile (AN) or 4-cyanostyrene (4CS) comonomers. Post-synthetic modification of these nitrile-containing poly(HIPE)s yields their corresponding amidoximated analogues, which were studied for actinide uptake. These amidoxime-functionalized, porous polymers were shown to adsorb 95 % Th4+ species from aqueous solution within 30 minutes. In contrast to other amidoxime containing polymers the uptake of UO22+ in these poly(HIPE)s is lower under similar conditions. A critical analysis of actinide separations and high-energy X-ray scattering data provides insight into the polymers’ selectivity, enabled by the uptake of multinuclear Th clusters.

actinides↗

Agile Allocation in the Tundra: A Single Growing Season of Warming Increases Nutrient Availability While Decreasing Fine-Root Length

The majority of plant biomass is located belowground in Arctic ecosystems and plant roots are responsible for the uptake of the nutrients that constrain plant growth in these infertile ecosystems. Despite performing a crucial role connecting primary producers to the soil, roots are relatively understudied in the Arctic and their functional response to a rapidly warming and increasingly variable climate is unknown. Here, we assessed whether one growing season with elevated temperatures would have an impact on nutrient uptake and allocation by applying a warming technique that increased daily air temperatures by 3.2 °C. Destructive sampling was performed at the peak of the growing season to quantify biomass pools of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N), root traits, and uptake of a 15 N tracer ( 15 NH 4 + ) for the dominant plant species, Arctagrostis latifolia. We found that soil nutrient availability increased with short-term warming, but A. latifolia NH 4 + uptake remained unchanged. Fine-root length density and root biomass within the soil profile, however, were both reduced by warming. N allocation patterns across plant tissues were also altered by warming. NH 4 + uptake was best fit with a logistic model that captured the spatial relationship between roots and soil (NH 4 + uptake expressed per length fine root and NH 4 + availability expressed per unit soil volume) rather than a traditional Michaelis–Menten model. Our results indicate that short-term experimental warming can shift plant–soil interactions, suggesting that the tundra’s belowground response to elevated temperatures may be more dynamic than previously recognized.

15N tracer↗

Competition within low-density bacterial populations as an unexpected factor regulating carbon decomposition in bulk soil

Bacterial decomposition of organic matter in soils is generally believed to be mainly controlled by the access bacteria have to organic substrate. The influence of bacterial traits on this control has, however, received little attention. Using the substrate-dependent Monod growth model, we develop a bioreactive transport model to screen the interactive impacts of spatial dispersion and bacterial traits on mineralization. Bacterial traits primarily involved in the bacterial response to the substrate concentration, such as the maximum specific uptake rate and efficiency, the adaptation time of the uptake rate and the initial population density, are considered. We compare the model results with two sets of previously performed cm-scale soil-core experiments in which the mineralization of the pesticide 2,4-D was measured under well-controlled initial distributions and transport conditions. Bacterial dispersion away from the initial substrate location induced a significant increase in 2,4-D mineralization. Additionally, it reveals an increase of specific uptake rates at lower bacterial densities, more than compensating the decrease of specific uptake rates caused by substrate dilution. This regulation of bacterial activities by density, caused by the local depletion of substrate by competing bacteria, becomes dominant for bacteria with an efficient uptake of substrate at low substrate concentrations (a common feature of oligotrophs). Such oligotrophs, commonly found in soils, compete with each other for substrate even at remarkably low population densities. The ratio-dependent Contois growth model, which includes a density regulation in the expression of the uptake efficiency, is more accurate and convenient to calibrate than the substrate-dependent Monod model, at least under these conditions. In view of their strong interactions, bioreactive and transport processes cannot be handled independently but should be integrated, in particular when reactive processes of interest are carried out by oligotrophs.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Understanding the Impacts of Support–Polymer Interactions on the Dynamics of Poly(ethyleneimine) Confined in Mesoporous SBA-15

Supported amines are a promising class of CO 2 sorbents offering large uptake capacities and fast uptake rates. Additionally, among supported amines, poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI) physically impregnated in the mesopores of SBA-15 silica is widely used. Within these composite materials, the chain dynamics and morphologies of PEI strongly influence the CO 2 capture performance, yet little is known about chain and macromolecule mobility in confined pores. Here, we probe the impact of the support–PEI interactions on the dynamics and structures of PEI at the support interface and the corresponding impact on CO 2 uptake performance, which yields critical structure–property relationships. The pore walls of the support are grafted with organosilanes with different chemical end groups to differentiate interaction modes (spanning from strong attraction to repulsion) between the pore surface and PEI. Combinations of techniques, such as quasi-elastic neutron scattering (QENS), 1 H T 1 –T 2 relaxation correlation solid-state NMR, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, are used to comprehensively assess the physical properties of confined PEI. We hypothesized that PEI would have faster dynamics when subjected to less attractive or repulsive interactions. However, we discover that complex interfacial interactions resulted in complex structure–property relationships. Indeed, both the chain conformation of the surface-grafted chains and of the PEI around the surface influenced the chain mobility and CO 2 uptake performance. By coupling knowledge of the dynamics and distributions of PEI with CO 2 sorption performance and other characteristics, we determine that the macroscopic structures of the hybrid materials dictate the first rapid CO 2 uptake, and the rate of CO 2 sorption during the subsequent gradual uptake stage is determined by PEI chain motions that promote diffusive jumps of CO 2 through PEI-packed domains.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Origins of Enhanced Ion Transport in Nanostructured Anion-Conducting Polyelectrolytes

Ion-conducting polymer chemistry and microstructure profoundly impact membrane water uptake and ionic conductivity. Water uptake strongly impacts ionic conductivity; yet excess water uptake compromises ion-exchange membrane mechanical properties. Although nanophase separation has been proposed to overcome this trade-off, it is unclear how polymer backbone architecture governs ionic nanostructure and its subsequent impact on water uptake and conductivity. Here, we integrate experiments and molecular dynamics simulations to elucidate the role of backbone chemistry in governing ionic nanostructure, hydration behavior, and ion transport in anion-conducting polyelectrolytes (ACPs). We systematically investigate hydrocarbon polynorbornene (PNB)-based ACPs with three distinct backbone architectures: vinyl-addition polymerization (VAP), ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP), and hydrogenated ROMP. While maintaining comparable ion exchange capacities (IECs) and identical side-chain chemistry, we isolate the effects of backbone structure. We show that nanophase-separated ionic nanostructures originate in the dry state and evolve upon hydration through heterogeneous water uptake, with water preferentially partitioning into ion-rich domains. This nanophase separation arises from a delicate interplay between ionic segregation propensity and the entropic barrier imposed by backbone stiffness. Specifically, flexible backbones intensify attractive ion–ion interactions by reducing the entropic penalty for backbone deformation, promoting nanophase separation, while rigid backbones suppress ionic nanostructure formation. Nanophase-separated ion domains locally concentrate water upon hydration, which in turn enables the connectivity required for fast transport at lower water concentration values. Furthermore, these findings demonstrate that backbone chemistry can be tuned as a design lever to promote nanophase separation and enhance ion transport without excessive water uptake.

Anions↗

Midwest US Croplands Determine Model Divergence in North American Carbon Fluxes

Large uncertainties in North American terrestrial carbon fluxes hinder regional climate projections. Terrestrial biosphere models (TBMs), the essential tools for understanding continental-scale carbon cycle, diverge on whether temperate forests or croplands dominate carbon uptake in North America. Evidence from novel photosynthetic proxies, such as those based on chlorophyll fluorescence, has cast doubt on the “weak cropland, strong forest” carbon uptake patterns simulated by most TBMs. However, no systematic evaluation of TBMs has yet been attempted to pin down space-time patterns that are most consistent with regional CO 2 observational constraints. Here, we leverage atmospheric CO 2 observations and satellite-observed photosynthetic proxies to understand emergent space-time patterns in North American carbon fluxes from a large suite of TBMs and data-driven models. To do so, we evaluate how well the atmospheric signals resulting from carbon flux estimates reproduce the space-time variability in atmospheric CO 2 , as is observed by a network of continuous-monitoring towers over North America. Models with gross or net carbon fluxes that are consistent with the observed CO 2 variability share a salient feature of growing-season carbon uptake in Midwest US croplands. Conversely, the remaining models place most growing-season uptake in boreal or temperate forests. Differences in model explanatory power depend mainly on the simulated annual cycles of cropland uptake—especially, the timing of peak uptake—rather than the distribution of annual mean fluxes across biomes. Our results suggest that improved model representation of cropland phenology is crucial to robust, policy-relevant estimation of North American carbon exchange.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Quantifying Northern High Latitude Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) Using Carbonyl Sulfide (OCS)

The northern high latitude (NHL, 40°N to 90°N) is where the second peak region of gross primary productivity (GPP) other than the tropics. The summer NHL GPP is about 80% of the tropical peak, but both regions are still highly uncertain. Carbonyl sulfide (OCS) provides an important proxy for photosynthetic carbon uptake. Here we optimize the OCS plant uptake fluxes across the NHL by fitting atmospheric concentration simulation with the GEOS-CHEM global transport model to the aircraft profiles acquired over Alaska during NASA's Carbon in Arctic Reservoirs Vulnerability Experiment (2012–2015). We use the empirical biome-specific linear relationship between OCS plant uptake flux and GPP to derive the six plant uptake OCS fluxes from different GPP data. Such GPP-based fluxes are used to drive the concentration simulations. We evaluate the simulations against the independent observations at two ground sites of Alaska. The optimized OCS fluxes suggest the NHL plant uptake OCS flux of -247 Gg S year -1 , about 25% stronger than the ensemble mean of the six GPP-based OCS fluxes. GPP-based OCS fluxes systematically underestimate the peak growing season across the NHL, while a subset of models predict early start of season in Alaska, consistent with previous studies of net ecosystem exchange. The OCS optimized GPP of 34 PgC yr -1 for NHL is also about 25% more than the ensembles mean from six GPP data. Further work is needed to fully understand the environmental and biotic drivers and quantify their rate of photosynthetic carbon uptake in Arctic ecosystems.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Evaluation of Ocean Biogeochemistry and Carbon Cycling in CMIP Earth System Models With the International Ocean Model Benchmarking (IOMB) Software System

Abstract The International Ocean Model Benchmarking (IOMB) software package is a new community resource that we use here to evaluate surface and upper ocean biogeochemical variables and integrated anthropogenic carbon uptake from earth system models (ESMs) contributing to the 5th and 6th phases of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5 and CMIP6). IOMB generates graphics and tables for systematically comparing model predictions against multiple datasets. Our analysis reveals some improvement in the multi‐model mean from CMIP5 to CMIP6 for most of the variables we examined. Compared to data‐constrained estimates of ocean anthropogenic carbon uptake for the 1994–2007 period, negative biases exist for many models between 30 and 50°S. Global model estimates of anthropogenic carbon uptake for the same period do not change significantly from CMIP5 to CMIP6, with the combined ensemble mean estimate of 27.8 ± 0.5 Pg C lower than a data‐constrained estimate of 33.0 ± 4.0 Pg C. At the same time, the change in the natural carbon inventory from CMIP is estimated to be a source of 0.7 ± 0.3 Pg C, which is considerably smaller in magnitude than a data‐constrained estimate of 5.0 ± 3.0 Pg C. With chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) predictions available for several models, we demonstrate that negative anthropogenic dissolved inorganic carbon biases coincide with negative biases in CFC concentration, highlighting the importance of weak exchange between the surface and interior ocean in regulating rates of anthropogenic carbon uptake. To examine the robustness of this attribution across the CMIP models, we calculate the global vertical temperature gradient between 200 and 1,000 m as a metric for global stratification and exchange between the surface and deeper waters. We find a linear relationship between the bias of the vertical temperature gradients and the bias in global anthropogenic carbon uptake, consistent with the hypothesis that model biases in anthropogenic carbon uptake are related to biases in surface‐to‐interior exchange by physical processes.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Quantifying how the cis/trans ratio of N,N -dimethyl-3,5-dimethylpiperidinium hydroxide impacts the growth kinetics, composition and local structure of SSZ-39

This work integrates experiments and computational methods to quantify how the cis/trans ratio of the OSDA used in SSZ-39 synthesis impacts the crystallization kinetics, material properties, and final product composition. The crystallization kinetics increase by 30% when increasing the trans isomer content from 14% to 80%. Per prior work, in all cases based on the synthesis gel composition and product yield aluminum is the limiting reagent, and the absence of any amorphous material detected in the time resolved PXRD studies leads us to conclude that FAU dissolution is the rate limiting step in the formation of SSZ-39 in this synthesis protocol. The TGA and NMR results suggest that the trans isomer of OSDA is selectively incorporated into the product. The NMR binding studies, and corresponding DFT-based results show that the trans isomer binds to FAU more strongly than the cis isomer, providing one possible explanation for this enhancement in kinetics and preferential uptake of the trans isomer. The EDS analysis indicates that the Si/Al ratios are between 7.7 and 8.6 at low and high trans OSDA content, indicating zeolite composition is mildly sensitive to the trans isomer content. EDS results show this decrease in aluminum content leads to a corresponding decrease in sodium uptake. DFT-based calculations confirm OSDA–sodium interactions cannot explain any decrease in sodium uptake, reinforcing lower aluminum content as the cause of lower sodium uptake. Preliminary cobalt titration experiments show a surprisingly low cobalt uptake but also show a clear dependence of the cobalt uptake on the solution pH.

Cui, Zheng [Tulane University, New Orleans, LA (Un↗

Perceptions of Seasonal Influenza Vaccine Among U.S. Army Civilians and Dependents in the Kaiserslautern Military Community: A Mixed-Methods Survey

ABSTRACT Introduction Influenza is a globally occurring viral respiratory infection that can lead to hospitalizations and death. An influenza outbreak can interfere with combat readiness in a military setting, as the infection can incapacitate soldiers. Vaccination remains the most effective tool to prevent and mitigate seasonal influenza. Although influenza vaccinations for U.S. Army soldiers can be monitored through military health systems, those systems cannot capture DoD civilians and Army dependents who may not use military health services. This study aims to gauge flu vaccine uptake and perceptions in U.S. Army civilians and dependents. Materials and Methods An online survey was e-mailed to civilian and dependent enrollees of Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. The survey contained 24 questions pertaining to demographics, vaccine history, history of the flu, and beliefs toward vaccines. Chi-square tests, t-tests, and logistic regressions were performed to investigate the association between demographic, behavior, and belief factors with vaccine uptake. Free-text answers were coded and categorized by themes. Results Over 70% of respondents were vaccinated for the flu. There were differences between vaccinated and unvaccinated respondents regarding their perceptions of barriers to vaccination, benefits of the flu vaccine, severity of flu symptoms, and personal risk of getting ill with the flu. After controlling for confounders, flu vaccination in the previous season and healthcare worker status were associated with increased vaccine uptake, while perceived barriers to influenza vaccination were associated with decreased vaccine uptake. Conclusions Flu vaccine uptake may be increased by increasing access to vaccination, promoting vaccination and addressing concerns at the provider level, and engaging positively framed public messaging. Increasing flu vaccine uptake is of particular importance as the flu season approaches during the COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic.

Burns, MSC, Veronica M.↗

Mycorrhizal associations of temperate forest seedlings mediate rhizodeposition, but not soil carbon storage, under elevated nitrogen availability

Abstract Tree‐mycorrhizal associations are associated with patterns in nitrogen (N) availability and soil organic matter storage; however, we still lack a mechanistic understanding of what tree and fungal traits drive these patterns and how they will respond to global changes in soil N availability. To address this knowledge gap, we investigated how arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM)‐ and ectomycorrhizal (EcM)‐associated seedlings alter rhizodeposition in response to increased seedling inorganic N acquisition. We grew four species each of EcM and AM seedlings from forests of the eastern United States in a continuously 13 C‐labeled atmosphere within an environmentally controlled chamber and subjected to three levels of 15 N‐labeled fertilizer. We traced seedling 15 N uptake from, and 13 C‐labeled inputs (net rhizodeposition) into, root‐excluded or ‐included soil over a 5‐month growing season. N uptake by seedlings was positively related to rhizodeposition for EcM‐ but not AM‐associated seedlings in root‐included soils. Despite this contrast in rhizodeposition, there was no difference in soil C storage between mycorrhizal types over the course of the experiment. Instead root‐inclusive soils lost C, while root‐exclusive soils gained C. Our findings suggest that mycorrhizal associations mediate tree belowground C investment in response to inorganic N availability, but these differences do not affect C storage. Continued soil warming and N deposition under global change will increase soil inorganic N availability and our seedling results indicate this could lead to greater belowground C investment by EcM‐associated trees. This potential for less efficient N uptake by EcM‐trees could contribute to AM‐tree success and a shift toward more AM‐dominated temperate forests.

Fitch, Amelia A.↗