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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 91 records · Page 5

Evaluation of Radiation Proofing Polyethylene: Use of Oxygen Scavenging Additives

The degradation of polyethylene (PE) from radiation sources with both thermal and nuclear interactions show sensitivities towards oxygen and air. Characterization of the sensitivities in both inert and oxygenated atmospheres can be characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Under argon, the thermal degradation of PE follows a random scission pathway that has activation energy of ~229 kJ mol -1 . The activation energy of PE is reduced by ~30% when 1% air is added to the inert argon atmosphere, illustrating the impact of oxygen on the degradation of PE. This effort seeks to diminish degradation of PE waste containment bags and extend their lifetime, thereby, reducing the cost and worker exposure risk. The project evaluated the use of oxygen scavenger nanoparticles to mitigate the deteriorating effects of oxygen on polymer physical properties and reduce polymer degradation. The thermal degradation of PE composites with various additives were tested and two additives showed promising results approaching the activation energy of pristine PE in an inert atmosphere. This activity was sponsored by the EM Office of Technology Development through SRNL’s Technical Task Plan SR091701.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Laboratory Measurements of Cloud Scavenging of Interstitial Aerosol in a Turbulent Environment (Final Technical Report)

The link between aerosol particles and clouds is well established. Every cloud droplet forms on a preexisting particle; clouds are the primary removal mechanism for aerosol particles with diameters in the range of 0.1 to 1 micrometer. Traditionally, those connections have been considered in the absence of the chaotic air motions (turbulence) that are ubiquitous in Earth’s atmosphere. Recent work at Michigan Tech indicates that turbulent fluctuations in temperature and water vapor, which couple aerosols and cloud droplets, play an important role in whether particles grow to the size of cloud droplets and scavenging by diffusion. In this project, we measured, in a turbulent environment, the rate at which aerosol particles are incorporated into cloud droplets through both these processes, which Michigan Tech's turbulent cloud chamber enables because we can sustain a mixing cloud almost indefinitely.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Cellular Recognition and Trafficking of Amorphous Silica Nanoparticles by Macrophage Scavenger Receptor A

The internalization of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) into cells is known to involve active transport mechanisms, yet the precise biological molecules involved are poorly understood. We demonstrate that the uptake of amorphous silica ENPs (92 nm) by macrophage cells is strongly inhibited by silencing expression of scavenger receptor A (SR-A). In addition, ENP uptake is augmented by introducing SR-A expression into human cells that are normally non-phagocytic. Confocal fluorescent microscopy analyses show that the majority of single or small clusters of silica ENPs co-localize intracellularly with SR-A and are internalized through a pathway characteristic of clathrin-dependent endocytosis. In contrast, larger silica NP agglomerates (>500 nm) are poorly co-localized with the receptor, suggesting independent trafficking or internalization pathways are involved. SR-A silencing also caused decreased cellular secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines in response to silica ENPs. As SR-A is expressed in macrophages throughout the reticulo-endothelial system, this pathway is likely an important determinant of the biodistribution of, and cellular response to ENPs.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Cross-polar transport and scavenging of Siberian aerosols containing black carbon during the 2012 ACCESS summer campaign

During the ACCESS airborne campaign in July 2012, extensive boreal forest fires resulted in significant aerosol transport to the Arctic. A 10-day episode combining intense biomass burning over Siberia and low-pressure systems over the Arctic Ocean resulted in efficient transport of plumes containing black carbon (BC) towards the Arctic, mostly in the upper troposphere (6–8 km). Here, a combination of in situ observations (DLR Falcon aircraft), satellite analysis and WRF-Chem simulations is used to understand the vertical and horizontal transport mechanisms of BC with a focus on the role of wet removal. Between the northwestern Norwegian coast and the Svalbard archipelago, the Falcon aircraft sampled plumes with enhanced CO concentrations up to 200 ppbv and BC mixing ratios up to 25 ng kg –1 . During transport to the Arctic region, a large fraction of BC particles are scavenged by two wet deposition processes, namely wet removal by large-scale precipitation and removal in wet convective updrafts, with both processes contributing almost equally to the total accumulated deposition of BC. Our results underline that applying a finer horizontal resolution (40 instead of 100 km) improves the model performance, as it significantly reduces the overestimation of BC levels observed at a coarser resolution in the mid-troposphere. According to the simulations at 40 km, the transport efficiency of BC (TE BC ) in biomass burning plumes was larger (60 %), because it was impacted by small accumulated precipitation along trajectory (1 mm). In contrast TE BC was small (< 30 %) and accumulated precipitation amounts were larger (5–10 mm) in plumes influenced by urban anthropogenic sources and flaring activities in northern Russia, resulting in transport to lower altitudes. TE BC due to large-scale precipitation is responsible for a sharp meridional gradient in the distribution of BC concentrations. Wet removal in cumulus clouds is the cause of modeled vertical gradient of TE BC , especially in the mid-latitudes, reflecting the distribution of convective precipitation, but is dominated in the Arctic region by the large-scale wet removal associated with the formation of stratocumulus clouds in the planetary boundary layer (PBL) that produce frequent drizzle.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

In vitro and in vivo Analysis of the Binding of the C Terminus of the HDL Receptor Scavenger Receptor Class B type I (SR-BI) to the PDZ1 Domain of its Cytoplasmic Adaptor Protein PDZK1

The PDZ1 domain of the four PDZ domain-containing protein PDZK1 has been reported to bind the C terminus of the HDL receptor scavenger receptor class B, type I (SR-BI), and to control hepatic SR-BI expression and function. We generated wild-type (WT) and mutant murine PDZ1 domains, the mutants bearing single amino acid substitutions in their carboxylate binding loop (Lys(14)-Xaa(4)-Asn(19)-Tyr-Gly-Phe-Phe-Leu(24)), and measured their binding affinity for a 7-residue peptide corresponding to the C terminus of SR-BI ((503)VLQEAKL(509)). The Y20A and G21Y substitutions abrogated all binding activity. Surprisingly, binding affinities (K(d)) of the K14A and F22A mutants were 3.2 and 4.0 ?M, respectively, similar to 2.6 ?M measured for the WT PDZ1. To understand these findings, we determined the high resolution structure of WT PDZ1 bound to a 5-residue sequence from the C-terminal SR-BI ((505)QEAKL(509)) using x-ray crystallography. In addition, we incorporated the K14A and Y20A substitutions into full-length PDZK1 liver-specific transgenes and expressed them in WT and PDZK1 knock-out mice. In WT mice, the transgenes did not alter endogenous hepatic SR-BI protein expression (intracellular distribution or amount) or lipoprotein metabolism (total plasma cholesterol, lipoprotein size distribution). In PDZK1 knock-out mice, as expected, the K14A mutant behaved like wild-type PDZK1 and completely corrected their hepatic SR-BI and plasma lipoprotein abnormalities. Unexpectedly, the 10-20-fold overexpressed Y20A mutant also substantially, but not completely, corrected these abnormalities. The results suggest that there may be an additional site(s) within PDZK1 that bind(s) SR-BI and mediate(s) productive SR-BI-PDZK1 interaction previously attributed exclusively to the canonical binding of the C-terminal SR-BI to PDZ1.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Calcium carbonate minerals as scavengers of metals and radionuclides: Their role in natural attenuation and remediation

Calcium carbonates (CaCO3) are ubiquitous naturally occurring minerals in subsurface sediments. Calcium carbonate coatings are common in many terrestrial environments and are known to coat a variety of reactive mineral surfaces in soils and sediments, altering their reactivity and chemical behavior. For these reasons, contaminant interactions with CaCO3 minerals are relevant to contaminant fate and transport. Significant advancements have been made recently toward identifying relevant contaminant (e.g., U, I, and Cr) attenuation mechanisms, which may also serve as a basis for in situ remediation strategies. Hence, the objective of this review paper is to 1) describe the state-of-knowledge of calcium carbonate minerals as universal scavengers of metals and radionuclides; 2) provide a state of the science of how calcium carbonate interactions affect contaminant fate and transport in the subsurface environmental systems; and 2) provide insights on the use of calcium carbonate natural attenuation mechanisms and their application to the remediation of complex sites. Knowledge gaps are also identified that, when closed, can advance the use of carbonate minerals for in situ remedy applications.

Qafoku, Nikolla↗

Stabilization of Perfluorinated Membranes Using Ce 3+ and Mn 2+ Redox Scavengers

This chapter addresses the details of perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) chemical degradation and mitigation strategies from a chemically rigorous mechanistic perspective, providing insights into this long-standing obstacle to the cost-effective widespread implementation of this technology. There are two principal strategies that can be employed to decrease the rates and impact of chemical degradation. The first involves decreasing the concentration of reactive oxidant species formed in the fuel cell. The second strategy for chemical degradation mitigation involves deactivation of the oxidants before membrane damage occurs. In 2005, it was reported that Ce 3+ and Mn 2+ are very effective at protecting PFSA membranes from chemical degradation. The use of Mn 2+ will be discussed by analogy. Here, the metal cations can be introduced to the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) by a number of methods, including direct membrane doping or transfer from the electrode ink or ionomer overcoat.

08 HYDROGEN↗

Study of oxygen scavenging PET-based films activated by water

In this work an active barrier system consisting of a thin and transparent film based on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) was studied. Dynamic oxygen absorption measurements were performed at different values of relative humidity and temperature, pointing out that humidity is a key factor in activating the oxidation of the polymer sample. Moreover, the thermal and optical properties of the films were investigated and a good correlation was found between the crystallinity increase and the consequent transparency reduction occurring after the oxygen absorption.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Synthesis, Crystal Structure, and Free Radical Scavenging Activity of 4-Aminopyridinium 3,5-Dinitrobenzoate

The crystal structure of 4-aminopyridinium 3,5-dinitrobenzoate, C{sub 12}H{sub 10}O{sub 6}N{sub 4}, has been determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction technique. The title compound crystallizes in the monoclinic sp. gr. P21/n with the unit cell parameters: a = 7.4726(3) Å, b = 23.0898(9) Å, c = 8.0744(4) Å, V = 1338.64(10) Å{sup 3}, Z = 4. The asymmetric unit of the compound consists of one 3,5-dinitrobenzoate anion and 4-aminopyridine cation. The adjacent anions and cations are linked through two N−H···O hydrogen bonds, N2−H2A···O5 and N{sub 2}−H2B···O6, to form an infinite chain of anions and cations, extended along the [010] direction.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Absorptive Hydrogen Scavenging for Enhanced Aromatics Yield During Non–oxidative Methane Dehydroaromatization on Mo/H–ZSM–5 Catalysts

Addition of Zr metal particles to MoC x /ZSM–5 in interpellet mixtures (2:1 weight ratio) resulted in maximum single–pass methane conversion of 27 % for dehydroaromatization at 973 K (in significant excess of the equilibrium prescribed circa 10 % conversion at these conditions) and a concurrent 1.4–5.6–fold increase in aromatic product yields due to circumvention of thermodynamic equilibrium limitations by absorptive H 2 removal by Zr while retaining cumulative aromatic product selectivity. Here, the absorptive function of the polyfunctional catalyst formulation can be regenerated by thermal treatment in He flow at 973 K, yielding above–equilibrium methane conversion in successive regeneration cycles. H 2 uptake experiments demonstrate formation of bulk ZrH 1.75 on hydrogen absorption by Zr at 973 K. Cooperation between absorption and catalytic centers distinct in location and function enables circumvention of persistent thermodynamic challenges in non–oxidative methane dehydrogenation.

03 NATURAL GAS↗

Human serum albumin hydropersulfide is a potent reactive oxygen species scavenger in oxidative stress conditions such as chronic kidney disease

Recently, hydropersulfide (RSSH) was found to exist in mammalian tissues and fluids. Cysteine hydropersulfide can be found in free cysteine residues as well as in proteins, and it has potent antioxidative activity. Human serum albumin (HSA) is the most abundant protein in mammalian serum. HSA possesses a free thiol group in Cys-34 that could be a site for hydropersulfide formation. HSA hydropersulfide of high purity as a positive control was prepared by treatment of HSA with Na{sub 2}S. The presence of HSA hydropersulfide was confirmed by spectroscopy and ESI-TOFMS analysis where molecular weights of HSA hydropersulfide by increments of approximately 32 Da (Sulfur atom) were detected. The fluorescent probe results showed that Alexa Fluor 680 conjugated maleimide (Red-Mal) was a suitable assay and bromotrimethylammoniumbimane bromide appeared to be a selective reagent for hydropersulfide. The effect of oxidative stress related disease on the existence of albumin hydropersulfides was examined in rat 5/6 nephrectomy model of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Interestingly, the level of hydropersulfides in rat 5/6 nephrectomy model serum was decreased by a uremic toxin that increases oxidative stress in rat 5/6 nephrectomy model. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the levels of HSA hydropersulfide in human subjects were reduced in CKD but restored by hemodialysis using Red-Mal assay. We conclude that HSA hydropersulfide could potentially play an important role in biological anti-oxidative defense, and it is a promising diagnostic and therapeutic marker of oxidative diseases. - Highlights: • Hydropersulfide can behave as potent antioxidants. • We firstly detected human serum albumin hydropersulfide in healthy subjects. • Human serum albumin hydropersulfide in human subjects were reduced in chronic kidney disease but restored by hemodialysis.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗