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Engineering topics

Chen, Hong

Publications and source records attributed to Chen, Hong.

At least 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2018

Human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells protect from hyperoxic lung injury by ameliorating aberrant elastin remodeling in the lung of O2-exposed newborn rat

Highlights: • UC-MSCs inhibit elastin expression in the human lung fibroblasts. • UC-MSCs inhibit elastase activity in the lung of BPD rats. • UC-MSCs could rescue berrant elastin expression and deposition in the lung of BPD rats. The incidence and mortality rates of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) remain very high. Therefore, novel therapies are imminently needed to improve the outcome of this disease. Human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs) show promising therapeutic effects on oxygen-induced model of BPD. In our experiment, UC-MSCs were intratracheally delivered into the newborn rats exposed to hyperoxia, a well-established BPD model. This study demonstrated that UC-MSCs reduce elastin expression stimulated by 90% O{sub 2} in human lung fibroblasts-a (HLF-a), and inhibit HLF-a transdifferentiation into myofibroblasts. In addition, the therapeutic effects of UC-MSCs in neonatal rats with BPD, UC-MSCs could inhibit lung elastase activity and reduce aberrant elastin expression and deposition in the lung of BPD rats. Overall, this study suggested that UC-MSCs could ameliorate aberrant elastin expression in the lung of hyperoxia-induced BPD model which may be associated with suppressing increased TGFβ1 activation.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2017

Electricity production and sludge reduction by integrating microbial fuel cells in anoxic-oxic process

Highlights: • Four identical microbial fuel cells were constructed in an anoxic–oxic process. • The electricity produced by each MFC was within 0.371–0.477 V and 138–227 mW/m{sup 3}. • The coulombic efficiencies of the system were 0.31–1.68% (mean = 0.72%). • The integration of MFCs enhance COD and TN removal of anoxic–oxic process. • The integration of MFCs reduce sludge production and sludge yield by 24.0% and 24.2%. - Abstract: To produce energy and reduce sludge production from the treatment of municipal wastewater, four identical microbial fuel cells (MFCs) were constructed in an anoxic–oxic (A/O) process (MFCs-A/O system). Experimental results indicated that this system enhance the removals of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total nitrogen (TN). The electricity produced by each MFC were ranged from 0.371 to 0.477 V (voltage) and from 138 to 227 mW/m{sup 3} (power density) at the stable stage, when the external resistance was fixed at 1000 Ω. The coulombic efficiency of the MFCs-A/O system ranged from 0.31% to 1.68% (mean = 0.72%) at the stable stage, respectively. The removals of COD and TN in the MFCs-A/O system were slightly higher than those in the control system. Compared with the control system, the MFCs-A/O system can reduce waste activated sludge production and sludge yield by 24.0% and 24.2%, respectively. The experimental results indicated that the MFC constructed in A/O system improves wastewater treatment and the MFCs-A/O system can produce electricity while reducing sludge production and increasing wastewater treatment efficiency.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2017

Vacancy-Rich Monolayer BiO 2- x as a Highly Efficient UV, Visible, and Near-Infrared Responsive Photocatalyst

Here in this paper, a full-spectrum responsive vacancy-rich monolayer BiO 2-x has been synthesized. The increased density of states at the conduction band (CB) minimum in the monolayer BiO 2-x is responsible for the enhanced photon response and photo-absorption, which were confirmed by UV/Vis-NIR diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS) and photocurrent measurements. Compared to bulk BiO 2-x , monolayer BiO 2-x has exhibited enhanced photocatalytic performance for rhodamine B and phenol removal under UV, visible, and near-infrared light (NIR) irradiation, which can be attributed to the vacancy VBi-O"' as confirmed by the positron annihilation spectra. The presence of V Bi-O "' defects in monolayer BiO 2-x promoted the separation of electrons and holes. This finding provides an atomic level understanding for developing highly efficient UV, visible, and NIR light responsive photocatalysts.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Effect of wheel speed and annealing temperature on microstructure and texture evolution of Ni{sub 45}Mn{sub 36.6}In{sub 13.4}Co{sub 5} ribbon

Ni{sub 45}Mn{sub 36.6}In{sub 13.4}Co{sub 5} magnetic shape memory alloy was successfully produced as preferentially textured ribbon by melting spinning with different wheel speed. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and electron back scatter diffraction (EBSD) were used to study structure and texture evolution of these melt-spun ribbons. The thickness of melt-spun ribbon is 42 μm, 65 μm and 30 μm depending on wheel speed of 1 0 m/s, 15 m/s and 20 m/s, respectively. Density of α fiber texture (〈100〉//ND) vary with wheel speed changes, and is most intensive in the ribbon with wheel speed of 15 m/s. Grains of the ribbons grow after being annealed at 873 K, 973 K, 1073 K and 1173 K, recrystallization was not observed in ribbons after being annealed at 873 K but occurred in ribbons after being annealed at higher temperatures. The α fiber texture becomes weaker to some extent after annealing at different temperatures, due to new recrystallization texture formed at the process of annealing. - Highlights: •Sectional part of shape memory ribbon is firstly investigated by EBSD method. •Thickness and texture of ribbons vary with wheel speed. •Annealing temperature affect texture and microstructure evolution greatly. •Recrystallization textures were observed in ribbons after being annealed.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Salvianolic acid B protects against paraquat-induced pulmonary injury by mediating Nrf2/Nox4 redox balance and TGF-β1/Smad3 signaling

The present study was aimed at exploring the protective effects of Salvianolic acid B (SalB) against paraquat (PQ)-induced lung injury in mice. Lung fibrotic injuries were induced in mice by a single intragastrical administration of 300 mg/kg PQ, then the mice were administrated with 200 mg/kg, 400 mg/kg SalB, 100 mg/kg vitamin C (Vit C) and dexamethasone (DXM) for 14 days. PQ-triggered structure distortion, collagen overproduction, excessive inflammatory infiltration, pro-inflammatory cytokine release, and oxidative stress damages in lung tissues and mortality of mice were attenuated by SalB in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, SalB was noted to enhance the expression and nuclear translocation of nuclear factor erythroid 2–related factor 2 (Nrf2) and reduce expression of the reactive oxygen species-generating enzyme Nox4 [NADPH (reduced form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate) oxidase-4]. SalB also inhibited the increasing expression of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 and the phosphorylation of its downstream target Smad3 which were enhanced by PQ. These results suggest that SalB may exert protective effects against PQ-induced lung injury and pulmonary fibrosis. Its mechanisms involve the mediation of Nrf2/Nox4 redox balance and TGF-β1/Smad3 signaling. - Highlights: • Salvianolic acid B (SalB) reduced Paraquat-induced mortality and pulmonary injury in mice. • SalB has anti-oxidation, anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrogenic effects simultaneously. • Its mechanisms were targeting Nrf2-Nox4 redox balance and TGF-β1/Smad3 signaling.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

Crystal orientation dependent intersubband transition in semipolar AlGaN/GaN single quantum well for optoelectronic applications

The optical properties of intersubband transition in a semipolar AlGaN/GaN single quantum well (SQW) are theoretically studied, and the results are compared with polar c-plane and nonpolar m-plane structures. The intersubband transition frequency, dipole matrix elements, and absorption spectra are calculated for SQW on different semipolar planes. It is found that SQW on a certain group of semipolar planes (55° < θ < 90° tilted from c-plane) exhibits low transition frequency and long wavelength response with high absorption quantum efficiency, which is attributed to the weak polarization-related effects. Furthermore, these semipolar SQWs show tunable transition frequency and absorption wavelength with different quantum well thicknesses, and stable device performance can be achieved with changing barrier thickness and Al compositions. All the results indicate that the semipolar AlGaN/GaN quantum wells are promising candidate for the design and fabrication of high performance low frequency and long wavelength optoelectronic devices.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome induces vascular dysfunction in obese OLETF rats

Objective: Obesity-induced vascular dysfunction is related to chronic low-grade systemic inflammation. Recent studies indicate that NLRP3, a multiprotein complex formed by NOD-like receptor (NLR) family members, is a key component mediating internal sterile inflammation, but the role in obesity-related vascular dysfunction is largely unknown. In the present study, we investigate whether NLRP3 activation is involved in vascular inflammation in obese Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty rats (OLETF). Methods and results: Male OLETF with their control Long-Evans Tokushima Otsuka rats (LETO) were studied at 3 and 12 months of age. Aortic relaxation in response to acetylcholine decreased gradually with age in both strains, with early and persistent endothelium dysfunction in obese OLETF compared with age-matched LETO controls. These changes are associated with parallel changes of aortic endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) content, macrophage accumulation and intimal thickening. NLRP3 increased in OLETF rats compared to LETO. Consistent with inflammasome activation, the conversion of procaspase-1 to cleaved and activated forms as well as IL-1β markedly increased in OLETF rats. Additionally, we observed increased expression of dynamin-related protein-1 (Drp1) and decreased fusion-relative protein optic atropy-1(OPA1). Altered mitochondrial dynamics was associated with elevated oxidative stress level in OLETF aortas. Conclusions: These results demonstrate that obesity seems to accelerate endothelial dysfunction in OLETFs via the activation of NLRP3 and mitochondrial dysfunction. - Highlights: • NLRP3 is involved in obesity-induced vascular dysfunction. • Impaired mitochondrial dynamics may have been linked to mitochondrial defect and inflammasome activation. • Obesity seems to accelerate vascular dysfunction via NLRP3 activation and mitochondrial dysfunction.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

Tuning the hybridization bandgap by meta-molecules with in-unit interaction

In this paper, we demonstrate that the hybridization bandgap (HBG) can be tuned conveniently by deep subwavelength meta-molecules with in-unit interaction. Spontaneous-emission-cancellation-like (SEC-like) effect is realized in a meta-molecule by introducing the destructive interference of two detuned meta-atoms. The meta-atoms consisting of subwavelength zero-index-metamaterial-based resonators are side-coupled to a microstrip. Compared to conventional HBG configurations, the presence of in-unit interaction between meta-atoms provides more flexibility in tuning the bandgap properties, keeping the device volume almost unchanged. Both numerical simulations and microwave experiments confirm that the width, depth, and spectrum shape of HBG can be tuned by simply introducing SEC-like interaction into the meta-molecule. Due to these features, our design may be promising to be applied in microwave or optics communications systems with strict limitation of device volume and flexible bandgap properties.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Enhanced light extraction of scintillator using large-area photonic crystal structures fabricated by soft-X-ray interference lithography

Soft-X-ray interference lithography is utilized in combination with atomic layer deposition to prepare photonic crystal structures on the surface of Bi{sub 4}Ge{sub 3}O{sub 12} (BGO) scintillator in order to extract the light otherwise trapped in the internal of scintillator due to total internal reflection. An enhancement with wavelength- and emergence angle-integration by 95.1% has been achieved. This method is advantageous to fabricate photonic crystal structures with large-area and high-index-contrast which enable a high-efficient coupling of evanescent field and the photonic crystal structures. Generally, the method demonstrated in this work is also suitable for many other light emitting devices where a large-area is required in the practical applications.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Angular distribution of ions and extreme ultraviolet emission in laser-produced tin droplet plasma

Angular-resolved ion time-of-flight spectra as well as extreme ultraviolet radiation in laser-produced tin droplet plasma are investigated experimentally and theoretically. Tin droplets with a diameter of 150 μm are irradiated by a pulsed Nd:YAG laser. The ion time-of-flight spectra measured from the plasma formed by laser irradiation of the tin droplets are interpreted in terms of a theoretical elliptical Druyvesteyn distribution to deduce ion density distributions including kinetic temperatures of the plasma. The opacity of the plasma for extreme ultraviolet radiation is calculated based on the deduced ion densities and temperatures, and the angular distribution of extreme ultraviolet radiation is expressed as a function of the opacity using the Beer–Lambert law. Our results show that the calculated angular distribution of extreme ultraviolet radiation is in satisfactory agreement with the experimental data.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Five-body Moshinsky brackets

In variational calculations with harmonic oscillator wavefunctions as trial bases, the transformation coefficients that relate harmonic oscillator wavefunctions in two different sets of internal coordinates are convenient to the evaluation of some matrix elements. Here, we present the explicit expression of these transformation coefficients for five-body systems. These transformation coefficients can be collected in a matrix according to the quantum number N of harmonic oscillator shell and can be programmed for arbitrary N. .

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

The defect-induced changes of the electronic and magnetic properties in the inverse Heusler alloy Ti{sub 2}CoAl

The first-principles calculations are performed to investigate the effect of swap, antisite and vacancy defects of three classes on the electronic and magnetic properties in the inverse Heusler alloy Ti{sub 2}CoAl of half-metallicity. Our calculations reveal that Ti(A/B)–Co and Co–Al swaps, Ti(A/B) and Al vacancy defects as well as Co{sub Ti(A)/Al} and Al{sub Ti(A)/Ti(B)} antisite defects are likely to form in a concentration as high as 12.5%. Among them, Co{sub Ti(A)} antisite is detected to be the most probable defect. It is shown that the spin polarizations of Ti{sub 2}CoAl are considerably reduced by the Ti(A/B)–Co swap and Ti(B)/Al vacancy defects, while a quite high spin polarization around 95% is observed in Co–Al swap as well as Ti(A) vacancy. Remarkably, all the likely antisite defects almost retain the half-metallic character in a concentration of 12.5% even if they have the possibility to form. However, induced by antisites, the Fermi levels shift to the edge of band gap with small peaks arising just above the Fermi level, which may destroy the half-metallicity by spin-flip excitation. - Graphical abstract: The spin polarization and formation energy of various possible defects in inverse Heusler alloy Ti{sub 2}CoAl. The triangle, star and square represent the swap, antisite and vacancy defects, respectively. - Highlights: • The swap, antisite, and vacancy defects are studied in half-metallic Ti{sub 2}CoAl. • The Co{sub Ti(A)} antisite is the most probable among the studied defects. • The antisite defects almost retain the half-metallicity. • Most of swap and vacancy defects have degraded the half-metallicity. • High spin polarizations are detected in Co–Al swap and Ti(A) vacancy defects.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
NASA NTRS2014

Release 2 data products from the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) Limb Profiler

The OMPS Limb Profiler (LP) was launched on board the NASA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) satellite in October 2011. OMPS-LP is a limb-scattering hyperspectral sensor that provides ozone profiling capability at 1.5 km vertical resolution from cloud top to 60 km altitude. The use of three parallel slits allows global coverage in approximately four days. We have recently completed a full reprocessing of all LP data products, designated as Release 2, that improves the accuracy and quality of these products. Level 1 gridded radiance (L1G) changes include intra-orbit and seasonal correction of variations in wavelength registration, revised static and intra-orbit tangent height adjustments, and simplified pixel selection from multiple images. Ozone profile retrieval changes include removal of the explicit aerosol correction, exclusion of channels contaminated by stratospheric OH emission, a revised instrument noise characterization, improved synthetic solar spectrum, improved pressure and temperature ancillary data, and a revised ozone climatology. Release 2 data products also include aerosol extinction coefficient profiles derived with the prelaunch retrieval algorithm. Our evaluation of OMPS LP Release 2 data quality is good. Zonal average ozone profile comparisons with Aura MLS data typically show good agreement, within 5-10% over the altitude range 20-50 km between 60 deg S and 60 deg N. The aerosol profiles agree well with concurrent satellite measurements such as CALIPSO and OSIRIS, and clearly detect exceptional events such as volcanic eruptions and the Chelyabinsk bolide in February 2013.

Limb scatter↗
DOE OSTI2014

Enhancing the quantum efficiency of InGaN yellow-green light-emitting diodes by growth interruption

We studied the effect of multiple interruptions during the quantum well growth on emission-efficiency enhancement of InGaN-based yellow-green light emitting diodes on c-plane sapphire substrate. The output power and dominant wavelength at 20 mA are 0.24 mW and 556.3 nm. High resolution x-ray diffraction, photoluminescence, and electroluminescence measurements demonstrate that efficiency enhancement could be partially attributed to crystal quality improvement of the active region resulted from reduced In clusters and relevant defects on the surface of InGaN layer by introducing interruptions. The less tilted energy band in the quantum well is also caused by the decrease of In-content gradient along c-axis resulted from In segregation during the interruptions, which increases spatial overlap of electron-hole wavefunction and thus the internal quantum efficiency. The latter also leads to smaller blueshift of dominant wavelength with current increasing.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Theoretical model of the polarization Coulomb field scattering in strained AlGaN/AlN/GaN heterostructure field-effect transistors

The theoretical model of the polarization Coulomb field scattering (PCF) caused by the polarization charge density variation at the AlGaN/AlN interface in strained AlGaN/AlN/GaN heterostructure field-effect transistors has been developed. And the theoretical values for the electron drift mobility, which were calculated using the Matthiessen's rule that includes PCF, piezoelectric scattering, polar optical-phonon scattering, and interface roughness scattering, are in good agreement with our experimental values. Therefore, the theoretical model for PCF has been confirmed.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗