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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

Anaerobic digestion of autoclaved and untreated food waste

Highlights: • Autoclaving decreased the formation of NH4-N and H{sub 2}S during food waste digestion. • Stable digestion was achieved with untreated and autoclaved FW at OLR 6 kg VS/m{sup 3}day. • Use of acclimated inoculum allowed very rapid increases in OLR. • Highest CH{sub 4} yields were observed at OLR 3 kg VS/m{sup 3}day with untreated FW. • Autoclaved FW produced highest CH{sub 4} yields during OLR 4 kgVS/m{sup 3}day. - Abstract: Anaerobic digestion of autoclaved (160 °C, 6.2 bar) and untreated source segregated food waste (FW) was compared over 473 days in semi-continuously fed mesophilic reactors with trace elements supplementation, at organic loading rates (OLRs) of 2, 3, 4 and 6 kg volatile solids (VS)/m{sup 3} d. Methane yields at all OLR were 5–10% higher for untreated FW (maximum 0.483 ± 0.013 m{sup 3} CH{sub 4}/kg VS at 3 kg VS/m{sup 3} d) than autoclaved FW (maximum 0.439 ± 0.020 m{sup 3} CH{sub 4}/kg VS at 4 kg VS/m{sup 3} d). The residual methane potential of both digestates at all OLRs was less than 0.110 m{sup 3} CH{sub 4}/kg VS, indicating efficient methanation in all cases. Use of acclimated inoculum allowed very rapid increases in OLR. Reactors fed on autoclaved FW showed lower ammonium and hydrogen sulphide concentrations, probably due to reduced protein hydrolysis as a result of formation of Maillard compounds. In the current study this reduced biodegradability appears to outweigh any benefit due to thermal hydrolysis of ligno-cellulosic components.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

A Predictive Model for Survival of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Generic E. coli in Soil Amended with Untreated Animal Manure

Abstract This study aimed at developing a predictive model that captures the influences of a variety of agricultural and environmental variables and is able to predict the concentrations of enteric bacteria in soil amended with untreated Biological Soil Amendments of Animal Origin (BSAAO) under dynamic conditions. We developed and validated a Random Forest model using data from a longitudinal field study conducted in mid‐Atlantic United States investigating the survival of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and generic E. coli in soils amended with untreated dairy manure, horse manure, or poultry litter. Amendment type, days of rain since the previous sampling day, and soil moisture content were identified as the most influential agricultural and environmental variables impacting concentrations of viable E. coli O157:H7 and generic E. coli recovered from amended soils. Our model results also indicated that E. coli O157:H7 and generic E. coli declined at similar rates in amended soils under dynamic field conditions.The Random Forest model accurately predicted changes in viable E. coli concentrations over time under different agricultural and environmental conditions. Our model also accurately characterized the variability of E. coli concentration in amended soil over time by providing upper and lower prediction bound estimates. Cross‐validation results indicated that our model can be potentially generalized to other geographic regions and incorporated into a risk assessment for evaluating the risks associated with application of untreated BSAAO. Our model can be validated for other regions and predictive performance also can be enhanced when data sets from additional geographic regions become available.

Pang, Hao↗

Secondary electron emission characteristics of untreated and ion-textured titanium

Experimentally determined values of true secondary electron emission and relative values of reflected primary electron yield are presented for untreated (simply machined) and ion-textured, high-purity titanium over ranges of primary electron beam energies and beam impingement angles. The purpose of the investigation was to explore the feasibility of using titanium as electrode material in the multistage depressed collectors (MDC's) used in microwave amplifier traveling wave tubes (TWT's) for space communications and aircraft applications. Because of its relatively low density and thermal expansion characteristics and relatively high strength, thermal emissivity, and melting temperature, titanium presents itself as a possible candidate for the MDC electrode application. A detailed description of the method of ion texturing the titanium is included. Although the ion-treated surface considered in this study is not presented as being optimum from the standpoint of secondary electron emission suppression, it nevertheless serves to demonstrate that the surface can be modified by this procedure to significantly reduce these emission characteristics relative to those of the untreated surface. Further studies can reasonably be expected to produce surfaces with even lower secondary emission characteristics. The titanium surface were tested at primary electron beam energies of 200 to 2000 eV and at direct (0 deg) to near-grazing (85 deg) beam impingement angles. True secondary electron emission and relative reflected primary electron yield characteristics of the surfaces were compared with each other and with textured titanium surface exhibited secondary electron emission characteristics sharply lower than those exhibited by untreated titanium or copper. Clearly, then, in consideration of the secondary electron emission suppression of ion-textured titanium along with its other favorable physical properties, it must be included as a potential candidate for use as MDC electrode material in some applications.

Curren, Arthur N.↗

Analyzing BMP2, FGFR, and TGF Beta Expressions in High-Grade Osteosarcoma Untreated and Treated Autografts Using Proteomic Analysis

In the last few decades, biological reconstruction techniques have improved greatly for treating high-grade osteosarcoma patients. To conserve the limb, and its function the affected tumor-bearing bones have been treated using liquid nitrogen and irradiation processes that enable the removal of entire tumors from the bone, and these treated autografts can be reconstructed for the patients. Here, we focus on the expressions of the growth factor family proteins from the untreated and treated autografts that play a crucial role in bone union, remodeling, and regeneration. In this proteomic study, we identify several important cytoskeletal, transcriptional, and growth factor family proteins that showed substantially low levels in untreated autografts. Interestingly, these protein expressions were elevated after treating the tumor-bearing bones using liquid nitrogen and irradiation. Therefore, from our preliminary findings, we chose to determine the expressions of BMP2, TGF-Beta, and FGFR proteins by the target proteomics approach. Using a newly recruited validation set, we successfully validate the expressions of the selected proteins. Furthermore, the increased growth factor protein expression after treatment with liquid nitrogen may contribute to bone regeneration healing, assist in faster recovery, and reduce local recurrence and metastatic spread in high-grade sarcoma patients.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Surface Chemistry, Friction, and Wear Properties of Untreated and Laser-Annealed Surfaces of Pulsed-Laser-Deposited WS(sub 2) Coatings

An investigation was conducted to examine the surface chemistry, friction, and wear behavior of untreated and annealed tungsten disulfide (WS2) coatings in sliding contact with a 6-mm-diameter 440C stainless-steel ball. The WS2 coatings and annealing were performed using the pulsed-laser-deposition technique. All sliding friction experiments were conducted with a load of 0.98 N (100 g), an average Hertzian contact pressure of 0.44 GPa, and a constant rotating speed of 120 rpm. The sliding velocity ranged from 31 to 107 mm/s because of the range of wear track radii involved in the experiments. The experiment was performed at room temperature in three environments: ultrahigh vacuum (vacuum pressure, 7X(exp -10) Pa), dry nitrogen (relative humidity, less than 1 percent), and humid air (relative humidity, 15 to 40 percent). Analytical techniques, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX), x-ray photo electron spectroscopy (XPS), surface profilometry, and Vickers hardness testing, were used to characterize the tribological surfaces of WS2 coatings. The results of the investigation indicate that the laser annealing decreased the wear of a WS2 coating in an ultrahigh vacuum. The wear rate was reduced by a factor of 30. Thus, the laser annealing increased the wear life and resistance of the WS2 coating. The annealed WS 2 coating had a low coefficient of friction (less than O.1) and a low wear rate ((10(exp -7) mm(exp 3)/N-m)) both of which are favorable in an ultrahigh vacuum.

Miyoshi, Kazuhisa↗

Disposition and bioavailability of inulin and free sugar in untreated and dilute acid pretreated Agave tequilana leaves

Industrially, the Agave tequilana plant is most commonly associated with beverage production, which requires it to be grown for 8–10 year before harvesting. However, its robust growth characteristics and low water usage requirements suggest that it could also be utilized as a substrate for alternative fermentation processes that do not require such long crop turnover times. Therefore, a study was undertaken to characterize the feasibility of utilizing the leaves from two year-old plants as a microbial fermentation biomass substrate. Quantitative saccharification revealed the carbohydrate concentration of two year-old A. tequilana leaves to be 633 mg g -1 dry weight biomass. HPLC analysis identified the primary carbohydrates as glucans, with minor contributions from xylans, galactans, arabinanas, and mannans. Fructose was observed predominantly as inulin. The direct use of unpretreated A. tequilana leaf biomass as a sole carbon source could support yeast growth, however, dilute acid pretreatment removed sufficient levels of carbohydrates to prevent the growth of wild type or inulinase-expressing yeast strains. Up to 133.5 g kg -1 of soluble carbohydrates and 69.6 g kg -1 of soluble inulin were extracted in the pretreatment soakate and 4.0 g kg -1 1 of soluble carbohydrates and 1.3 g kg -1 of soluble inulin remained in the biomass post processing. Ultimately, inulinase gene expression did not significantly improve yeast growth rates, but permitted up to 6.3 g kg -1 of the available soluble inulin from the dilute acid pretreatment soakate to be metabolized towards cellular growth.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

A Phase II Study of Bevacizumab in Combination With Definitive Radiotherapy and Cisplatin Chemotherapy in Untreated Patients With Locally Advanced Cervical Carcinoma: Preliminary Results of RTOG 0417

Purpose: Concurrent cisplatin-based chemoradiotherapy (CRT) is the standard treatment for locally advanced cervical cancer. RTOG 0417 was a Phase II study exploring the safety and efficacy of the addition of bevacizumab to standard CRT. Methods and Materials: Eligible patients with bulky tumors (Stage IB-IIIB) were treated with once-weekly cisplatin (40 mg/m{sup 2}) chemotherapy and standard pelvic radiotherapy and brachytherapy. Bevacizumab was administered at 10 mg/kg intravenously every 2 weeks for three cycles. Treatment-related serious adverse event (SAE) and other adverse event (AE) rates within the first 90 days from treatment start were determined. Treatment-related SAEs were defined as any Grade {>=}4 vaginal bleeding or thrombotic event or Grade {>=}3 arterial event, gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding, or bowel/bladder perforation, or any Grade 5 treatment-related death. Treatment-related AEs included all SAEs and Grade 3 or 4 GI toxicity persisting for >2 weeks despite medical intervention, Grade 4 neutropenia or leukopenia persisting for >7 days, febrile neutropenia, Grade 3 or 4 other hematologic toxicity, and Grade 3 or 4 GI, renal, cardiac, pulmonary, hepatic, or neurologic AEs. All AEs were scored using the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria (CTCAE) v 3.0 (MedDRA version 6.0). Results: A total of 60 patients from 28 institutions were enrolled between 2006 and 2009, and of these, 49 patients were evaluable. The median follow-up was 12.4 months (range, 4.6-31.4 months).The median age was 45 years (range, 22-80 years). Most patients had FIGO Stage IIB (63%) and were of Zubrod performance status of 0 (67%). 80% of cases were squamous. There were no treatment-related SAEs. There were 15 (31%) protocol-specified treatment-related AEs within 90 days of treatment start; the most common were hematologic (12/15; 80%). 18 (37%) occurred during treatment or follow-up at any time. 37 of the 49 patients (76%) had cisplatin and bevacizumab administered per protocol, and 46 of the 49 (94%) had both external beam and brachytherapy administered per protocol or with acceptable variation. Conclusion: Bevacizumab in addition to standard pelvic chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced cervical cancer is feasible and safe with respect to the protocol-specified treatment-related SAEs and AEs.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

RTOG 0417: Efficacy of Bevacizumab in Combination With Definitive Radiation Therapy and Cisplatin Chemotherapy in Untreated Patients With Locally Advanced Cervical Carcinoma

Purpose: Radiation Therapy Oncology Group 0417 was a phase II study that explored the safety and efficacy of the addition of bevacizumab to chemoradiation therapy. The safety results have been previously reported. Herein we report the secondary efficacy endpoints of overall survival (OS), locoregional failure (LRF), para-aortic nodal failure (PAF), distant failure (DF), and disease-free survival (DFS). Methods and Materials: Eligible patients with bulky Stage IB-IIIB disease were treated with once-weekly cisplatin (40 mg/m{sup 2}) chemotherapy and standard pelvic radiation therapy and brachytherapy. Bevacizumab was administered at 10 mg/kg intravenously every 2 weeks for 3 cycles during chemoradiation. For OS, failure was defined as death of any cause and was measured from study entry to date of death. LRF was defined as any failure in the pelvis. PAF was defined as any para-aortic nodal failure. DF was analyzed both including and excluding PAF. DFS was measured from study entry to date of first LRF. DF was measured with or without PAF or death. OS and DFS were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method, and LRF and DF rates were estimated by the cumulative incidence method. Results: 49 eligible patients from 28 institutions were enrolled between 2006 and 2009. The median follow-up time was 3.8 years (range, 0.8-6.0 years). The surviving patients had a median follow-up time of 3.9 years (range, 2.1-6.0 years). Most patients had tumors of International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics Stage IIB (63%), and 80% were squamous. The 3-year OS, DFS, and LRF were 81.3% (95% confidence interval [CI], 67.2%-89.8%), 68.7% (95% CI, 53.5%-79.8%), and 23.2% (95% CI, 11%-35.4%), respectively. The PAF, DF without PAF, and DF with PAF at 3 years were 8.4% (95% CI, 0.4%-16.3%), 14.7% (95% CI, 4.5%-24.9%), and 23.1% (95% CI 11.0%-35.2%), respectively. Conclusion: In this study, bevacizumab in combination with standard pelvic chemoradiation therapy for locally advanced cervical cancer showed efficacy results that are promising and may warrant further investigation.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

Mussel-inspired surface modification of untreated wasted husks with stable polydopamine/polyethylenimine for efficient continuous Cr(VI) removal

Highlights: • Functional rice husks with abundant amino groups was firstly modified with PDA/PEI for Cr(VI) removal. • Potentiality of monolithic samples for dynamic continuous adsorption. • Expectable higher adsorption capacity than most of reported similar bio-sorbents. • Excellent mechanical stability, reusability and convenient separation. - Abstract: A cost-effective and chemically modified biological adsorbent based on agricultural wasted husks for heavy metal removal was fabricated by coating with Polydopamine–Polyethylenimine via the mussel inspired chemistry. Batch and fixed bed column adsorption experiments were carried out to explore the sorption capacity and potency of industrial application. The batch results indicated that the maximum adsorption capacity reached 42.8 mg/g which is much larger than most adsorbents based on bioresource and agricultural wastes for Cr(VI) removal in aqueous solution simultaneously with excellent recycling performance. In column adsorption experiments, it exhibited high mechanical stability and applied potential. The equilibrium time was 9130 min under the flow rate of 1 ml/min, and reached the equilibrium adsorption capacity of 47.14 mg/g. The breakthrough curves ploted by the data of fixed bed experiments under different flow rates (1 ml/min & 2 ml/min) fitted the Thomas model with R{sup 2} of 0.9510 and 0.9437 respectively.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Dose Deposition Profiles in Untreated Brick Material

In nuclear forensics or accident dosimetry, building materials such as bricks can be used to retrospectively determine radiation fields using thermoluminescence and/or optically stimu-lated luminescence. A major problem with brick material is that significant chemical processing is generally necessary to isolate the quartz from the brick. In this study, a simplified treatment process has been tested in an effort to lessen the processing burden for retrospective dosimetry studies. It was found that by using thermoluminescence responses, the dose deposition profile of a brick sample could be reconstructed without any chemical treat-ment. This method was tested by estimating the gamma-ray ener-gies of an 241Am source from the dose deposition in a brick. The results demonstrated the ability to retrospectively measure the source energy with an overall energy resolution of approximately 6 keV. This technique has the potential to greatly expedite dose re-constructions in the wake of nuclear accidents or for any related application where doses of interest are large compared to overall process system noise.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗

Gallbladder Volvulus: A Rare Emergent Cause of Acute Cholecystitis, if Untreated, Progresses to Necrosis and Perforation

An 86 year-old woman with a past medical history significant for abdominal hernia and Alzheimer dementia presented to the Emergency Department with a 24 hour history of acute right upper quadrant pain associated with nausea and non-bilious emesis. Physical exam revealed right sided abdominal tenderness with associated mass. All laboratory values were within normal ranges. Both abdominal ultrasound and computed tomography of the abdomen/pelvis revealed a large distended gallbladder with wall thickening and gallstones. Based on presentation and radiologic findings, the emergency general surgery service was consulted for suspected acute cholecystitis. The patient was then admitted for intravenous antibiotics and scheduled for laparoscopic cholecystectomy the following day. Intra-operative findings revealed volvulus with acute necrosis of the entire gallbladder. The gallbladder had a long pedunculated cystic duct and artery that was detorsed before proceeding with resection. Postoperatively, the patient did well and was discharged a few days later tolerating a regular diet.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

Why credible propeller noise measurements are possible in the acoustically untreated NASA Lewis 8 ft by 6 ft wind tunnel

An explanation is presented for the lack of acoustic reflections in noise studies of propfan models in the NASA-Lewis 8 x 6 ft wind tunnel, where trials were run at Mach numbers 0.5-0.85. The highly directional propeller noise, i.e., mainly in the plane of rotation, experiences a convective effect due to the high subsonic axial Mach number. Reflected sounds are carried downstream, out of range of the acoustic sensors in the tunnel. Furthermore, reflected noise is less audible, and therefore does not affect measurements near peak values. It is suggested that some data contamination may occur below Mach 0.6, and that measurements be performed on higher harmonics generated by low level reflected noise.

Dittmar, J. H.↗