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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 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2019

PHB and Montmorillonite Clay Composites as KNO{sub 3} and NPK Support for a Controlled Release

In order to improve nutrient uptake by plants and at the same time decrease losses by leaching, polymeric compounds based on biodegradable poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) and montmorillonite clay (MMt) were melt processed with KNO{sub 3} and NPK fertilizers (Fert). We present a comprehensive analysis of releasing profile of the potassium (K{sup +}), nitrogen (NH{sub 4}{sup +} and NO{sub 3}{sup −}) and phosphorous (PO{sub 4}{sup 3−}) from PHB/MMt/fertilizer at 90/0/10, 50/0/50, 80/10/10, 40/10/50, 25/25/50 formulation. The amount and type of the fertilizer and the presence of clay delineated the release of the cations and anions from the matrix. Cations released faster than anions through MMt composites due to cations–MMt interactions and its diffusion through MMt phase. The nutrients delivery from composites was lower than pure fertilizer. Composites formulations with smaller amount of PHB and MMt (25 wt%) were enough to encapsulate the fertilizer and delay the ions releasing. Further, the simple method of preparation also attains the sustainability of the whole process.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2016

Kir2.1 regulates rat smooth muscle cell proliferation, migration, and post-injury carotid neointimal formation

Phenotype switching of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) from the contractile type to the synthetic type is a hallmark of vascular disorders such as atherosclerosis and restenosis after angioplasty. Inward rectifier K{sup +} channel 2.1 (Kir2.1) has been identified in VSMC. However, whether it plays a functional role in regulating cellular transformation remains obscure. In this study, we evaluated the role of Kir2.1 on VSMC proliferation, migration, phenotype switching, and post-injury carotid neointimal formation. Kir2.1 knockdown significantly suppressed platelet-derived growth factor BB-stimulated rat vascular smooth muscle cells (rat-VSMC) proliferation and migration. Deficiency in Kir2.1 contributed to the restoration of smooth muscle α-actin, smooth muscle 22α, and calponin and to a reduction in osteopontin expression in rat-VSMC. Moreover, the in vivo study showed that rat-VSMC switched to proliferative phenotypes and that knockdown of Kir2.1 significantly inhibited neointimal formation after rat carotid injury. Kir2.1 may be a potential therapeutic target in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, such as atherosclerosis and restenosis following percutaneous coronary intervention.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2017

Dynamics of the EAG1 K{sup +} channel selectivity filter assessed by molecular dynamics simulations

EAG1 channels belong to the KCNH family of voltage gated potassium channels. They are expressed in several brain regions and increased expression is linked to certain cancer types. Recent cryo-EM structure determination finally revealed the structure of these channels in atomic detail, allowing computational investigations. In this study, we performed molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the ion binding sites and the dynamical behavior of the selectivity filter. Our simulations suggest that sites S2 and S4 form stable ion binding sites, while ions placed at sites S1 and S3 rapidly switched to sites S2 and S4. Further, ions tended to dissociate away from S0 within less than 20 ns, due to increased filter flexibility. This was followed by water influx from the extracellular side, leading to a widening of the filter in this region, and likely non-conductive filter configurations. Simulations with the inactivation-enhancing mutant Y464A or Na{sup +} ions lead to trapped water molecules behind the SF, suggesting that these simulations captured early conformational changes linked to C-type inactivation.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2017

Structural modification and photoluminescence studies of Eu in lamellar fluorphlogopite by the adjustment of layer charge

Highlights: • The structure of fluorphlogopite was modified by the decrease of layer charge. • Characteristic emission of Eu{sup 3+} was greatly enhanced as doped to the modified clay. • The emitting color changed from orange-red to red in respect to the original host. • This is a new strategy to enhance the luminescence of inorganic layered materials. - Abstract: In this paper, the lamellar fluorphlogopite was structurally modified by the adjustment of layer charge and the rare earth Eu{sup 3+} was doped to fluorphlogopite with a subsequent high temperature solid state reaction process. The structural modification involved a preliminary treatment of fluorphlogopite with HNO{sub 3} and oxalic acid to reduce the layer charge density, and part of the charge-reduced fluorphlogopite was converted to a homoionic Na form by ion exchange with NaCl or NaB(C{sub 6}H{sub 5}){sub 4}. It has been noticed that the interlayer spacing of modified fluorphlogopite is decreased as compared with the original fluorphlogopite due to the ionic radius difference between K{sup +} and Na{sup +}. The photoluminescence study suggests that adjustment of layer charge of fluorphlogopite is beneficial to enhance the luminescence intensity excited with near UV light, and the layered system may be a potential red light component for the use of solid-state lighting and other optoelectronic fields.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Iptakalim inhibits PDGF-BB-induced human airway smooth muscle cells proliferation and migration

Chronic airway diseases are characterized by airway remodeling which is attributed partly to the proliferation and migration of airway smooth muscle cells (ASMCs). ATP-sensitive potassium (K{sub ATP}) channels have been identified in ASMCs. Mount evidence has suggested that K{sub ATP} channel openers can reduce airway hyperresponsiveness and alleviate airway remodeling. Opening K{sup +} channels triggers K{sup +} efflux, which leading to membrane hyperpolarization, preventing Ca{sup 2+}entry through closing voltage-operated Ca{sup 2+} channels. Intracellular Ca{sup 2+} is the most important regulator of muscle contraction, cell proliferation and migration. K{sup +} efflux decreases Ca{sup 2+} influx, which consequently influences ASMCs proliferation and migration. As a K{sub ATP} channel opener, iptakalim (Ipt) has been reported to restrain the proliferation of pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) involved in vascular remodeling, while little is known about its impact on ASMCs. The present study was designed to investigate the effects of Ipt on human ASMCs and the mechanisms underlying. Results obtained from cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), flow cytometry and 5-ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine (EdU) incorporation showed that Ipt significantly inhibited platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-BB-induced ASMCs proliferation. ASMCs migration induced by PDGF-BB was also suppressed by Ipt in transwell migration and scratch assay. Besides, the phosphorylation of Ca{sup 2+}/calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMKII), extracellular regulated protein kinases 1/2 (ERK1/2), protein kinase B (Akt), and cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) response element binding protein (CREB) were as well alleviated by Ipt administration. Furthermore, we found that the inhibition of Ipt on the PDGF-BB-induced proliferation and migration in human ASMCs was blocked by glibenclamide (Gli), a selective K{sub ATP} channel antagonist. These findings provide a strong evidence to support that Ipt antagonize the proliferating and migrating effects of PDGF-BB on human ASMCs through opening K{sub ATP} channels. Altogether, our results highlighted a novel profile of Ipt as a potent option against the airway remodeling in chronic airway diseases. - Highlights: Iptakalim is a novel ATP-sensitive potassium channel opener. Iptakalim showed anti-proliferation and anti-migration effects on PDGF-BB-induced human airway smooth muscle cells. Inhibitory effects of Iptakalim could be abolished by glibenclamide, a selective K{sub ATP} channel antagonist. Inhibitory effects of Iptakalim involved the signaling pathways of CaMKII, ERK1/2 and Akt, as well as their downstream, CREB.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

Modification of electronic properties of graphene by using low-energy K{sup +} ions

Despite its superb electronic properties, the semi-metallic nature of graphene with no band gap (E{sub g}) at the Dirac point has been a stumbling block for its industrial application. We report an improved means of producing a tunable band gap over other schemes by doping low energy (10 eV) potassium ions (K{sup +}) on single layer graphene formed on 6H-SiC(0001) surface, where the noble Dirac nature of the π-band remains almost unaltered. The changes in the π-band induced by K{sup +} ions reveal that the band gap increases gradually with increasing dose (θ) of the ions up to E{sub g} = 0.65 eV at θ = 1.10 monolayers, demonstrating the tunable character of the band gap. Our core level data for C 1s, Si 2p, and K 2p suggest that the K{sup +}-induced asymmetry in charge distribution among carbon atoms drives the opening of band gap, which is in sharp contrast with no band gap when neutral K atoms are adsorbed on graphene. This tunable K{sup +}-induced band gap in graphene illustrates its potential application in graphene-based nano-electronics.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

The kaon identification system in the NA62 experiment at CERN

The main goal of the NA62 experiment at CERN is to measure the branching ratio of the ultra-rare K{sup +} → π{sup +} ν ν-bar decay with 10% accuracy. NA62 will use a 750 MHz high-energy un-separated charged hadron beam, with kaons corresponding to ∼6% of the beam, and a kaon decay-in-flight technique. The positive identification of kaons is performed with a differential Cherenkov detector (CEDAR), filled with Nitrogen gas and placed in the incoming beam. To stand the kaon rate (45 MHz average) and meet the performances required in NA62, the Cherenkov detector has been upgraded (KTAG) with new photon detectors, readout, mechanics and cooling systems. The KTAG provides a fast identification of kaons with an efficiency of at least 95% and precise time information with a resolution below 100 ps. A half-equipped KTAG detector has been commissioned during a technical run at CERN in 2012, while the fully equipped detector, its readout and front-end have been commissioned during a pilot run at CERN in October 2014. The measured time resolution and efficiency are within the required performances. (authors)

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2015

Transverse momentum distributions of strange hadrons produced in p–p collisions at √s{sub NN} = 200 GeV

The mid-rapidity transverse momentum spectra of strange hadrons (K{sup +},K{sup −},K{sup −}/K{sup +},Λ,Λ̄,Ξ{sup −},Ξ{sup +}, and Ω) produced in p–p collisions at the highest RHIC energy √s{sub NN} = 200 GeV have been studied using a statistical unified thermal freeze-out model. The calculated results are found to be in good agreement with the experimental data taken from STAR and BRAHMS experiments. The fits of the transverse momentum spectra to the model calculations provide the thermal freeze-out conditions in terms of the temperature and collective flow effect parameters for different particle species. The model incorporates a longitudinal and a transverse hydrodynamic flow. The rapidity distributions of kaons and their ratios are also reproduced successfully, which reveals the presence of partial nuclear transparency effects in p–p collisions at √s{sub NN} = 200 GeV. The contributions from heavier decay resonances are also taken into account.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Investigation of the process e{sup +}e{sup −} → K{sup +}K{sup −} with the aid of the CMD-3 detector at the VEPP-2000 electron-positron collider

Preliminary results of an experiment that is aimed at measuring the cross section for the process e{sup +}e{sup −} → K{sup +}K{sup −} at c.m. energies in the range between 1.01 and 2.0 GeV with the aid of the CMD-3 detector and which is being performed at the VEPP-2000 collider of the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics (Novosibirsk, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences) are presented.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Preliminary results of measurements of hadronic cross sections with the CMD-3 detector at the VEPP-2000 electron–positron collider

Experiments with the CMD-3 detector at the VEPP-2000 electron–positron collider in the range of center of mass collision energies from 0.32 to 2 GeV have been performed since December 2010. The amount of accumulated data corresponds to an integrated luminosity of about 60 pb{sup -1}. The resultsof a preliminary analysis are presented for the following annihilation channels: e{sup +}e{sup -} → 3(π{sup +}π{sup -}), 2(π{sup +}π{sup -}π{sup 0}), K{sup +}K{sup -}π{sup +}π{sup -}, K{sup +}K{sup -}, pp̄, and π{sup +}π{sup -}. Since processes of electron–positron annihilation that involve the production of multihadron states proceed through several intermediate states, their analysis is necessary for the correct description of the emission-angle and invariant-mass distributions of product particles.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Testing model energy spectra of charged particles produced in hadron interactions on the basis of atmospheric muons

An original method for calculating the spectrum of atmospheric muons with the aid of the CORSIKA 7.4 code package and numerical integration is proposed. The first step consists in calculating the energy distribution of muons for various fixed energies of primary-cosmic-ray particles and within several chosen hadron-interaction models included in the CORSIKA 7.4 code package. After that, the spectrum of atmospheric muons is calculated via integrating the resulting distribution densities with the chosen spectrum of primary-cosmic-ray particles. The atmospheric-muon fluxes that were calculated on the basis of the SIBYLL 2.1, QGSJET01, and QGSJET II-04 models exceed the predictions of the wellknown Gaisser approximation of this spectrum by a factor of 1.5 to 1.8 in the range of muon energies between about 10{sup 3} and 10{sup 4} GeV.Under the assumption that, in the region of extremely highmuon energies, a dominant contribution to the muon flux comes from one to two generations of charged π{sup ±} and K{sup ±} mesons, the production rate calculated for these mesons is overestimated by a factor of 1.3 to 1.5. This conclusion is confirmed by the results of the LHCf and TOTEM experiments.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Coherent production of the K{sup +}π{sup 0} system by K{sup +} mesons on copper nuclei in the OKA detector

In a sample of ∼5 × 10{sup 9} positive kaon collisions with copper nuclei, the events of coherent production of K{sup +}π{sup 0} pairs are selected, the contributions of the Coulomb and strong production mechanisms are discriminated, and the corresponding cross sections are determined. The phase shift difference between the Coulomb and strong amplitudes is obtained.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Looking for chiral anomaly in pion photoproduction on kaons

In an experiment currently being performed at the Institute for High Energy Physics, Serpukhov, Russia, a beam of charged kaons is directed on a copper target. In the electromagnetic field of the target nuclei, two reactions occur: K{sup +}γ → K{sup +}π{sup 0} and K{sup +}γ → K{sup 0}π{sup +}. A peculiar distinction between these two reactions is that there is a chiral anomaly contribution in the former reaction, but not in the latter. This contribution can be directly seen through comparison of the cross sections of these reactions near the threshold. In Ref. [1] expressions for these cross sections are derived taking into account the anomaly and the contribution of the lightest vector mesons. In this talk an overview of the derivation is provided and cross sections numerical values near the threshold are presented.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2015

A Program in Medium-Energy Nuclear Physics

We report here on the final stages of the Berman grant. The study of the spectrum and properties of the excited states of the nucleon (the N* states) is one of the highest-priority goals of nuclear physics and one of the major programs of Jefferson Lab, especially in Hall B. We have most recently focused our attention on exclusive studies (in both spin and strangeness) of the neutron in the deuteron. Our g13 experiment, “Production of Kaons from the Deuteron with Polarized Photons” [Nadel-Turonski (2006)], was carried out between October 2006 and June 2007. This experiment was done using both linearly and circularly polarized photons, mainly to try to unscramble the multitude of wide and overlapping N* states and to measure their properties by studying in fine detail their decays into strange-particle reaction channels. To this end, one of our students, Edwin Munevar, has analyzed the γn→K + Σ - reaction channel for his Ph.D. topic. The strangeness-production channels constitute the subject of the original GW group’s g13 proposal. But the g13 data set, by virtue of its statistics, polarization, and kinematic coverage, is ideally suited for many other reaction channels as well. Among these is the azimuthal angular asymmetry for deuteron photodisintegration, which was analyzed by another of our students, Nicholas Zachariou, for his Ph.D. topic, with help from Nickolay Ivanov (from the Yerevan Physics Institute in Armenia). This study required a deuterium target and a linearly polarized photon beam.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Hadron production in e + e - annihilation at BABAR, and implication for the muon anomalous magnetic moment

The BABAR collaboration has an extensive program of studying hadronic cross sections in low-energy e + e - collisions, accessible via initial-state radiation. Our measurements allow significant improvements in the precision of the predicted value of the muon anomalous magnetic moment. These improvements are necessary for illuminating the current 3.6 sigma difference between the predicted and the experimental values. We have published results on a number of processes with two to six hadrons in the final state. We report here the results of recent studies with final states that constitute the main contribution to the hadronic cross section in the energy region between 1 and 3 GeV, as e + e - → K + K - , π + π - , and e + e - → 4 hadrons

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Searches for New Physics in CP Violation from BABAR

Results of recent searches for new physics in CP violation in charm decays from the BABAR experiment are presented. These results include a measurement of D 0 - anti D 0 mixing and searches for CP violation in two-body D 0 decays, a search for CP violation in the charm decays D ± → K S 0 K ± and D s ± → K S 0 K ± , K S 0 π ± , and a search for direct CP violation in the singly-Cabibbo suppressed D ± → K + K - π ± decays. These studies are based on the final dataset collected by BABAR at the PEP-II B factory at SLAC in the period 1999-2008. No evidence of CP violation is found in these charm decays. The measured mixing parameter y CP = [0.72 ± 0.18(stat) ± 0.12(syst)]% excludes the no-mixing null hypothesis with a significance of 3.3σ .

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
NASA NTRS1985

Empirical description of the hadron-hadron and hadron-nucleus interaction at the accelerator energy range

Taking into account several assumptions, a formula is transformed into two expressions for kaon and baryon plus antibaryon production in proton interaction and for pion production in pion interactions. Combining both formulae, expression are obtained for the spectrum of kaons and baryons plus antibaryons produced in the meson interactions. For analysis of the cosmic ray propagation in the atmosphere in actual fact, instead of the formulae for interactions of protons and mesons with protons, formulae appropriate for interactions with air nuclei was used. Using the method outlined among others by Elias et al. (1980) simple corrections were introduced to the derived expressions to account for the fact that the target is an air nucleus.

Kubiak, G.↗