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At least 1,531 records · Page 85

Size Exclusion Chromatography-Ion Mobility-Mass Spectrometry Coupling: a Step Toward Structural Biology

Noncovalent interactions are essential for the structural organization of biomacromolecules in cells. For this reason, the study of the biophysical, dynamic, and architectural interactions among biomacromolecules is essential. Since mass spectrometry requires compatible solutions while preserving the noncovalent bonding network, we envisioned that size exclusion chromatography coupled with ion mobility and mass spectrometry would be a valuable technique to desalt the initial sample and provide solution and gas-phase structural information in a single stage experiment. Such coupling allowed obtaining information on solution protein complex composition with SEC separation and on authenticity and purity with IMS-MS. Our study demonstrated that such coupling is compatible, useful, as well as suitable for a routine analysis, in pharmaceutical industry, for example. Mobility data were reliable and injected standards allowed calibrating the collision cross-section scale. .

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Germline Chd8 haploinsufficiency alters brain development in mouse

The chromatin remodeling gene CHD8 represents a central node in neurodevelopmental gene networks implicated in autism. In this paper, we examined the impact of germline heterozygous frameshift Chd8 mutation on neurodevelopment in mice. Chd8 + / del5 mice displayed normal social interactions with no repetitive behaviors but exhibited cognitive impairment correlated with increased regional brain volume, validating that phenotypes of Chd8 + / del5 mice overlap pathology reported in humans with CHD8 mutations. We applied network analysis to characterize neurodevelopmental gene expression, revealing widespread transcriptional changes in Chd8 + / del5 mice across pathways disrupted in neurodevelopmental disorders, including neurogenesis, synaptic processes and neuroimmune signaling. We identified a co-expression module with peak expression in early brain development featuring dysregulation of RNA processing, chromatin remodeling and cell-cycle genes enriched for promoter binding by Chd8, and we validated increased neuronal proliferation and developmental splicing perturbation in Chd8 + / del5 mice. Finally, this integrative analysis offers an initial picture of the consequences of Chd8 haploinsufficiency for brain development.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Investigation of automated task learning, decomposition and scheduling

The details and results of research conducted in the application of neural networks to task planning and decomposition are presented. Task planning and decomposition are operations that humans perform in a reasonably efficient manner. Without the use of good heuristics and usually much human interaction, automatic planners and decomposers generally do not perform well due to the intractable nature of the problems under consideration. The human-like performance of neural networks has shown promise for generating acceptable solutions to intractable problems such as planning and decomposition. This was the primary reasoning behind attempting the study. The basis for the work is the use of state machines to model tasks. State machine models provide a useful means for examining the structure of tasks since many formal techniques have been developed for their analysis and synthesis. It is the approach to integrate the strong algebraic foundations of state machines with the heretofore trial-and-error approach to neural network synthesis.

Livingston, David L.↗

Hemicellulose–Cellulose Composites Reveal Differences in Cellulose Organization after Dilute Acid Pretreatment

Model hemicellulose–cellulose composites that mimic plant cell wall polymer interactions were prepared by synthesizing deuterated bacterial cellulose in the presence of glucomannan or xyloglucan. Dilute acid pretreatment (DAP) of these materials was studied using small-angle neutron scattering, X-ray diffraction, and sum frequency generation spectroscopy. The macrofibril dimensions of the pretreated cellulose alone were smaller but with similar entanglement of macrofibrillar network as native cellulose. In addition, the crystallite size dimension along the (010) plane increased. Glucomannan–cellulose underwent similar changes to cellulose, except that the macrofibrillar network was more entangled after DAP. Conversely, in xyloglucan–cellulose the macrofibril dimensions and macrofibrillar network were relatively unchanged after pretreatment, but the cellulose I β content was increased. Our results point to a tight interaction of xyloglucan with microfibrils while glucomannan only interacts with macrofibril surfaces. Furthermore, this study provides insight into roles of different hemicellulose–cellulose interactions and may help in improving pretreatment processes or engineering plants with decreased recalcitrance.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Design and Control of Compliant Tensegrity Robots Through Simulation and Hardware Validation

To better understand the role of tensegrity structures in biological systems and their application to robotics, the Dynamic Tensegrity Robotics Lab at NASA Ames Research Center has developed and validated two different software environments for the analysis, simulation, and design of tensegrity robots. These tools, along with new control methodologies and the modular hardware components developed to validate them, are presented as a system for the design of actuated tensegrity structures. As evidenced from their appearance in many biological systems, tensegrity ("tensile-integrity") structures have unique physical properties which make them ideal for interaction with uncertain environments. Yet these characteristics, such as variable structural compliance, and global multi-path load distribution through the tension network, make design and control of bio-inspired tensegrity robots extremely challenging. This work presents the progress in using these two tools in tackling the design and control challenges. The results of this analysis includes multiple novel control approaches for mobility and terrain interaction of spherical tensegrity structures. The current hardware prototype of a six-bar tensegrity, code-named ReCTeR, is presented in the context of this validation.

Robotics↗

Constructing High-Dimensional Neural Network Potential Energy Surfaces for Gas–Surface Scattering and Reactions

While the ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) approach to gas–surface interaction has been instrumental in exploring important issues such as energy transfer and reactivity, it is only amenable to short-time events and a limited number of trajectories because of the on-the-fly nature of the density functional theory (DFT) calculations. In this work, we report a high-dimensional global reactive potential energy surface (PES) constructed with high fidelity from judiciously placed DFT points, using a machine learning method; and it is orders-of-magnitude more efficient than AIMD in dynamical calculations and can be employed in various simulations without performing additional electronic structure calculations. Importantly, the surface atoms are included in such a PES, which provides a unique platform for studying energy transfer and scattering/reaction of the impinging molecule on the solid surface on an equal footing.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

CoURAGE KAZR b1 Processing: Corrections, Calibrations, and Processing Report

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) User Facility supports atmospheric and earth system research through a comprehensive network of fixed and mobile observatories. These facilities provide long-term and intensive campaign-based observations of clouds, aerosols, precipitation, radiation, and meteorological state variables. ARM observations are designed to improve the physical understanding and numerical representation of atmospheric processes in earth system models, with particular emphasis on cloud-radiation interactions and precipitation processes. The Coast-Urban-Rural Atmospheric Gradient Experiment (CoURAGE) deploys one of the ARM Mobile Facilities (AMF) to the Mid-Atlantic region surrounding Baltimore, Maryland, for the period 1 December 2024 through 30 November 2025. This deployment focuses on characterizing atmospheric structure, cloud properties, and precipitation processes across strong land-use and surface heterogeneity gradients associated with urban, rural, and coastal (Chesapeake Bay) environments. The CoURAGE deployment complements the Baltimore Social-Environmental Collaborative (BSEC), a DOE Urban Integrated Field Laboratory (UIFL), by providing high-quality atmospheric observations needed to connect urban surface processes, emissions, and meteorology to cloud and precipitation responses. In addition to the central urban site, ancillary observing sites were deployed to rural Maryland northwest of Baltimore and to an island site in Chesapeake Bay. These measurements further complement a long-term atmospheric observatory operated in Beltsville, Maryland, by Howard University in collaboration with the Maryland Department of the Environment. Together, these assets form a four-node regional atmospheric observatory network representing Baltimore and its three primary surrounding environments—urban, rural, and coastal/bay. This coordinated observational strategy enables investigation of spatial gradients in boundary-layer structure, cloud occurrence, precipitation evolution, and aerosol-cloud interactions across complex surface regimes. Within this network, vertically pointing cloud radars play a critical role by providing continuous, high-resolution measurements of cloud and precipitation vertical structure.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Deep learning for drag force modelling in dilute, poly-dispersed particle-laden flows with irregular-shaped particles

Here, this study applies machine learning-based approaches to develop a drag force model for irregular-shaped particles in incompressible flows. The particle-laden flows are studied through an in-house particle-resolved direct numerical simulation (PR-DNS) at low-intermediate Reynolds numbers (Re). We utilize the PR-DNS to obtain drag force coefficients and flow fields of single particles. A variational auto-encoder model is used to obtain latent vectors to represent the geometrical features of the particles, and artificial neural networks (ANN) are developed to predict drag force coefficients and flow fields of the single particles. This study applies a pairwise interaction extended point-particle (PIEP) model to obtain the coefficients assuming the flow fields of neighboring particles can be linearly superposed. The PIEP method shows significant improvement on prediction for a few neighbored particles. In addition, the results reveal R2 scores of 0.56-0.62 and errors of 9.1-10.0 % for the dilute, polydispersed systems with a volume fraction of 0.5 %.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Advancing global change biology through experimental manipulations: Where have we been and where might we go?

Abstract This commentary summarizes the publication history of Global Change Biology for works on experimental manipulations over the past 25 years and highlights a number of key publications. The retrospective summary is then followed by some thoughts on the future of experimental work as it relates to mechanistic understanding and methodological needs. Experiments for elevated CO 2 atmospheres and anticipated warming scenarios which take us beyond historical analogs are suggested as future priorities. Disturbance is also highlighted as a key agent of global change. Because experiments are demanding of both personnel effort and limited fiscal resources, the allocation of experimental investments across Earth's biomes should be done in ecosystems of key importance. Uncertainty analysis and broad community consultation should be used to identify research questions and target biomes that will yield substantial gains in predictive confidence and societal relevance. A full range of methodological approaches covering small to large spatial scales will continue to be justified as a source of mechanistic understanding. Nevertheless, experiments operating at larger spatial scales encompassing organismal, edaphic, and environmental diversity of target ecosystems are favored, as they allow for the assessment of long‐term biogeochemical feedbacks enabling a full range of questions to be addressed. Such studies must also include adequate investment in measurements of key interacting variables (e.g., water and nutrient availability and budgets) to enable mechanistic understanding of responses and to interpret context dependency. Integration of ecosystem‐scale manipulations with focused process‐based manipulations, networks, and large‐scale observations will aid more complete understanding of ecosystem responses, context dependence, and the extrapolation of results. From the outset, these studies must be informed by and integrated with ecosystem models that provide quantitative predictions from their embedded mechanistic hypotheses. A true two‐way interaction between experiments and models will simultaneously increase the rate and robustness of Global Change research.

Hanson, Paul J.↗

An Approach to Realize Generalized Optimal Motion Primitives Using Physics Informed Neural Networks

Autonomous manipulation is a challenging problem in field robotics due to uncertainty in object properties, constraints, and coupling phenomenon with robot control systems. Humans learn motion primitives over time to effectively interact with the environment. We postulate that autonomous manipulation can be enabled by basic sets of motion primitives as well, but do not necessitate mimicking human motion primitives. Here, this work presents an approach to generalized optimal motion primitives using physics-informed neural networks. Our simulated and experimental results demonstrate that optimality is notionally maintained where the mean maximum observed final position percent error was 0.564% and the average mean error for all the trajectories was 1.53%. These results indicate that notional generalization is attained using a physics-informed neural network approach that enables near optimal real-time adaptation of primitive motion profiles.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Nature of Interlayer Binding and Stacking of sp–sp 2 Hybridized Carbon Layers: A Quantum Monte Carlo Study

α-graphyne is a two-dimensional sheet of sp-sp2 hybridized carbon atoms in a honeycomb lattice. While the geometrical structure is similar to that of graphene, the hybridized triple bonds give rise to electronic structure that is different from that of graphene. Similar to graphene, α-graphyne can be stacked in bilayers with two stable configurations, but the different stackings have very different electronic structures: one is predicted to have gapless parabolic bands and the other a tunable bandgap which is attractive for applications. In order to realize applications, it is crucial to understand which stacking is more stable. This is difficult to model, as the stability is a result of weak interlayer van der Waals interactions which are not well captured by density functional theory (DFT). We have used quantum Monte Carlo simulations that accurately include van der Waals interactions to calculate the interlayer binding energy of bilayer graphyne and to determine its most stable stacking mode. Our results show that inter-layer bindings of sp- and sp2-bonded carbon networks are significantly underestimated in a Kohn-Sham DFT approach, even with an exchange-correlation potential corrected to include, in some approximation, van der Waals interactions. Finally, our quantum Monte Carlo calculations reveal that the interlayer binding energy difference between the two stacking modes is only 0.9(4) eV/atom. From this we conclude that the two stable stacking modes of bilayer α-graphyne are almost degenerate with each other, and both will occur with about the same probability at room temperature unless there is a synthesis path that prefers one stacking over the other.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

A Review on Building Resilient Power Networks: Emphasizing Adjacent Span Dynamics

This research article presents a comprehensive review of resilience in power transmission and distribution systems, focusing on key studies that examine structural integrity, mechanical stress distribution, and system reliability under various conditions. The article synthesizes findings across multiple studies, covering assumptions, system topologies, methodologies, and challenges that affect resilience in these networks. Particular attention is given to identifying studies that address the influence of adjacent spans and tower--line interactions, as these factors play a crucial role in the stress distribution and structural dynamics within poles, towers, and transmission lines. In addition to identifying critical factors contributing to system vulnerability, this review emphasizes the importance of continued research to better understand and mitigate risks from extreme events, such as high winds combined with ice storms. By consolidating knowledge on current challenges and future needs, this work outlines future directions to advance resilience studies and contributes to ongoing efforts to strengthen power transmission and distribution networks, reducing disruptions in electricity supply and improving overall system resilience in an evolving climate landscape.

Ahmad, Tawsif [Pacific Northwest National Laborato↗

Software Framework for Federated Science Instruments

There is an unprecedented promise of enhanced capabilities for federations of leadership computing systems and experimental science facilities by leveraging software technologies for fast and efficient operations. These federations seek to unify different science instruments, both computing and experimental, to effectively support science users and operators to execute complex workflows. The FedScI project addresses the software challenges associated with the formation and operation of federated environments by leveraging recent advances in containerization of software and softwarization of hardware. We propose a software framework to streamline the federation usage by science users and it’s provisioning and operations by facility providers. A distinguishing element of our work is the support for improved interaction between experimental devices, such as beam-line instruments, and more traditional high-performance computing resources, including compute, network, storage systems. We present guiding principles for the software framework and highlight portions of a current prototype implementation. We describe our science use case involving neutron imaging beam-lines (SNAP/BL-3, Imaging/CG-1D) at the Spallation Neutron Source and High Flux Isotope Reactor facilities at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Additionally, we detail plans for a more direct instrument interaction within a federated environment, which could enable more advanced workflows with feedback loops to shorten the time to science.

Naughton III, Thomas↗

The many-body expansion for aqueous systems revisited: II. Alkali metal and halide ion – water interactions

We present a detailed study of the Many-Body Expansion (MBE) for alkali metal and halide ion-water interactions and quantify the effect of these ions on the strength of the surrounding aqueous hydrogen bonding environment. Building on our previous work on neutral water clusters [J. P. Heindel and S. S. Xantheas, J. Chem. Theor. Comput. 16 (11), 6843–6855 (2020)], we carry out the complete MBE for ion-water clusters, Z+/-(H2O)9, where Z = Li+, K+, Cs+, Cl-, Br-, I- and compare with the results for (H2O)10. The 2-B ion-water (I-W) interaction represents a larger percentage of the total cluster binding energy compared to a pure water cluster of the same size with the total 3-B term being smaller and of opposite sign (repulsive) whereas higher order terms are essentially negligible. The same oscillating behavior around zero for MBE terms higher than the 5-B with basis set that was reported for water clusters is also observed for the ion-water clusters considered with Basis Set Superposition Error (BSSE) corrections amending this like in the water cluster case. A remarkable, linear anti-correlation between the total 2-B ion-water and the total 2-B and 3-B water-water interactions is found, quantifying the effect of the different ions in disrupting and altering (weakening) the neighboring hydrogen bonded water network. Our results suggest a universal behavior of the two different families of ions (alkali metals and halides) for both the correlations of the various components of the total binding energies as well as the estimate of the 2-B BSSE correction which is reported to follow a common profile for ion-water and water-water interactions when cast in terms of reduced distances and energies. We expect our insights into the nature of BSSE will be important for future ab initio based, many-body molecular dynamics studies.

ion-water interactions, water-water interaction, m↗

Intermolecular Interactions and Electrostatic Properties of the [beta]-Hydroquinone Apohost: Implications for Supramolecular Chemistry

The crystal structure of the {beta}-polymorph of hydroquinone ({beta}-HQ), the apohost of a large family of clathrates, is reported with a specific focus on intermolecular interactions and the electrostatic nature of its cavity. Hirshfeld surface analysis reveals subtle close contacts between two interconnecting HQ networks, and the local packing and related close contacts were examined by breakdown of the fingerprint plot. An experimental multipole model containing anisotropic thermal parameters for hydrogen atoms has been successfully refined against 15(2) K single microcrystal synchrotron X-ray diffraction data. The experimental electron density model has been compared with a theoretical electron density calculated with the molecule embedded in its own crystal field. Hirshfeld charges, interaction energies and the electrostatic potential calculated for both models are qualitatively in good agreement, but small differences in the electrostatic potential persist due to charge transfer from all hydrogen atoms to the oxygen atoms in the theoretical model. The electrostatic potential in the center of the cavity is positive, very shallow and highly symmetric, suggesting that the inclusion of polar molecules in the void will involve a balance between opposing effects. The electric field is by symmetry zero in the center of the cavity, increasing to a value of 0.0185 e/{angstrom}{sup 2} (0.27 V/{angstrom}) 1 {angstrom} along the 3-fold axis and 0.0105 e/{angstrom}{sup 2} (0.15 V/{angstrom}) 1 {angstrom} along the perpendicular direction. While these values are substantial in a macroscopic context, they are quite small for a molecular cavity and are not expected to strongly polarize a guest molecule.

08 HYDROGEN↗

Scale-Dependent Fracture-Matrix Interactions And Their Impact on Radionuclide Transport - Final Report

Matrix diffusion and adsorption within a rock matrix are widely regarded as important mechanisms for retarding the transport of radionuclides and other solutes in fractured rock (e.g., Neretnieks, 1980; Tang et al., 1981; Maloszewski and Zuber, 1985; Novakowski and Lapcevic, 1994; Jardine et al., 1999; Zhou and Xie, 2003; Reimus et al., 2003a,b). When remediation options are being evaluated for old sources of contamination, where a large fraction of contaminants reside within the rock matrix, slow diffusion out of the matrix greatly increases the difficulty and timeframe of remediation. Estimating the rates of solute exchange between fractures and the adjacent rock matrix is a critical factor in quantifying immobilization and/or remobilization of DOE-relevant contaminants within the subsurface. In principle, the most rigorous approach to modeling solute transport with fracture-matrix interaction would be based on local-scale coupled advection-diffusion/dispersion equations for the rock matrix and in discrete fractures that comprise the fracture network (Discrete Fracture Network and Matrix approach, hereinafter referred to as DFNM approach), fully resolving aperture variability in fractures and matrix property heterogeneity. However, such approaches are computationally demanding, and thus, many predictive models rely upon simplified models. These models typically idealize fracture rock masses as a single fracture or system of parallel fractures interacting with slabs of porous matrix or as a mobile-immobile or multi-rate mass transfer system. These idealizations provide tractable approaches for interpreting tracer tests and predicting contaminant mobility, but rely upon a fitted effective matrix diffusivity or mass-transfer coefficients. However, because these fitted parameters are based upon simplified conceptual models, their effectiveness at predicting long-term transport processes remains uncertain. Evidence of scale dependence of effective matrix diffusion coefficients obtained from tracer tests highlights this point and suggests that the underlying mechanisms and relationship between rock and fracture properties are not fully understood in large complex fracture networks. In this project, we developed a high-resolution DFN model of solute transport in fracture networks to explore and quantify the mechanisms that control transport in complex fracture networks and how these may give rise to observed scale-dependent matrix diffusion coefficients. Results demonstrate that small scale heterogeneity in the flow field caused by local aperture variability within individual fractures can lead to long-tailed breakthrough curves indicative of matrix diffusion, even in the absence of interactions with the fracture matrix. Furthermore, the temporal and spatial scale dependence of these processes highlights the inability of short-term tracer tests to estimate transport parameters that will control long-term fate and transport of contaminants in fractured aquifers.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

A Network Integration Approach to Predict Conserved Regulators Related to Pathogenicity of Influenza and SARS-CoV Respiratory Viruses

Respiratory infections stemming from influenza viruses and the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome corona virus (SARS-CoV) represent a serious public health threat as emerging pandemics. Despite efforts to identify the critical interactions of these viruses with host machinery, the key regulatory events that lead to disease pathology remain poorly targeted with therapeutics. Here we implement an integrated network interrogation approach, in which proteome and transcriptome datasets from infection of both viruses in human lung epithelial cells are utilized to predict regulatory genes involved in the host response. We take advantage of a novel “crowd-based” approach to identify and combine ranking metrics that isolate genes/proteins likely related to the pathogenicity of SARS-CoV and influenza virus. Subsequently, a multivariate regression model is used to compare predicted lung epithelial regulatory influences with data derived from other respiratory virus infection models. We predicted a small set of regulatory factors with conserved behavior for consideration as important components of viral pathogenesis that might also serve as therapeutic targets for intervention. Our results demonstrate the utility of integrating diverse ‘omic datasets to predict and prioritize regulatory features conserved across multiple pathogen infection models.

Computational Biology↗

Generative Physics-Informed Neural Network Solving Multi-Scale and Multi-Phase Plasma Chemical Flow Field

Low-temperature plasmas (LTPs) are non-equilibrium systems with near-room-temperature gas and highly energetic electrons. This makes them ideal for delicate applications in biomedicine and semiconductor manufacturing, enabling processes like wound healing, sterilization, etching, and plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition without thermal damage. However, LTPs involve complex chemistries, with hundreds of species and thousands of reactions, complicating their diagnosis, prediction, and control. Conventional diagnostics, such as Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), laser-induced fluorescence (LIF), and optical emission spectroscopy (OES), offer limited species detection, while mass spectrometry (MS) struggles with low-sensitivity species. Additionally, LTP simulations face multi-scale challenges, as macroscopic fluid dynamics and microscopic particle collisions operate on vastly different timescales. To address these issues, we developed an artificial intelligence (AI) based diagnostic system: a generative physics-informed neural network (PINN-Gen) that can predict spatially resolved species concentrations and temperatures in LTPs by integrating experimental data from planar LIF with microscopic plasma chemical kinetics and macroscopic fluid mechanics, including plasma-liquid interactions at the interface between two phases. PINN-Gen solves no equations but checks the errors of physical laws by substituting the output from neural network, and the comparison with the experimental results. Thus, it naturally avoids the multi-scale difficulty of numerical simulations and predicts the results of conventionally unsolvable multi-scale and multi-phase problems. The real-time prediction will be robust due to the physical information used in the training of such a neural network, and only very limited input of condition required due to its generative feature.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗