Correlative SIP-FISH-Raman-SEM-NanoSIMS links identity, morphology, biochemistry, and physiology of environmental microbes
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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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Systems and methods are disclosed that provide for secure communications between a user device and an authentication system. The systems and methods create a dynamic identification for the device that is stored in both the device and authentication system.
The stability of an equilibrium system of two drops suspended from circular holes is examined. The drop surfaces are disconnected surfaces of a connected liquid body. For holes of equal radii and identical pendant drops axisymmetric perturbations are always the most dangerous. The stability region for two identical drops differs considerably from that for a single drop. Loss of stability leads to a transition from a critical system of identical drops to a stable system of axisymmetric non-identical. This system of non-identical drops reaches its own stability limit (to isochoric or non-isochoric paturbations). For non-identical drops, loss of stability results in dripping or streaming from the holes. Critical volumes for non-identical drops have been calculated as functions of the Bond number, B. For unequal hole radii, stability regions have been constructed for a set of hole radius, K. The dependence of critical volumes on K and B is analyzed.
Microbial decomposition drives the transformation of plant-derived substrates into microbial products that form stable soil organic matter (SOM). Recent theories have posited that decomposition depends on an interaction between SOM chemistry with microbial diversity and resulting function. Here, we explicitly test these theories by coupling quantitative stable isotope probing and metabolomics to track the fate of 13C enriched substrates that vary in chemical composition as they are assimilated by microbes and transformed into new metabolic products in soil. We found that mycorrhizal-driven differences in forest nutrient economies (e.g., nutrient cycling, microbial competition) led to arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) soils harboring greater micro8ial diversity than ectomycorrhizal (ECM) soils. When incubated with 13C enriched substrates, substrate type drove shifts in the identity of active decomposers and their metabolic products in the highly diverse AM soils. The decomposition pathways were more static in the less diverse, ECM soil. Importantly, the majority of these shifts were driven by taxa only present in the AM soil suggesting a strong link between microbial identity and specialized function. Collectively, these results highlight an important interaction between ecosystem-level processes and microbial diversity; whereby the identity and function of active decomposers impacts the composition of decomposition products that can form stable SOM.
Abstract Background Although originally thought to evolve clonally, studies have revealed that most bacteria exchange DNA. However, it remains unclear to what extent gene flow shapes the evolution of bacterial genomes and maintains the cohesion of species. Results Here, we analyze the patterns of gene flow within and between >2600 bacterial species. Our results show that fewer than 10% of bacterial species are truly clonal, indicating that purely asexual species are rare in nature. We further demonstrate that the taxonomic criterion of ~95% genome sequence identity routinely used to define bacterial species does not accurately represent a level of divergence that imposes an effective barrier to gene flow across bacterial species. Interruption of gene flow can occur at various sequence identities across lineages, generally from 90 to 98% genome identity. This likely explains why a ~95% genome sequence identity threshold has empirically been judged as a good approximation to define bacterial species. Our results support a universal mechanism where the availability of identical genomic DNA segments required to initiate homologous recombination is the primary determinant of gene flow and species boundaries in bacteria. We show that these barriers of gene flow remain porous since many distinct species maintain some level of gene flow, similar to introgression in sexual organisms. Conclusions Overall, bacterial evolution and speciation are likely shaped by similar forces driving the evolution of sexual organisms. Our findings support a model where the interruption of gene flow—although not necessarily the initial cause of speciation—leads to the establishment of permanent and irreversible species borders.
In this project, the Stanford and SLAC Teams have developed a Trusted, Private and Scalable platform for coordinating Coordination of Distributed Energy Resources (TrustDER). This is a layered system that ensures private, trusted and scalable coordination and monitoring of DERs. It accommodates a variety of resources, such as solar generation, gensets and loads, with a particular focus on battery systems-based resources, as they are a transformational technology experiencing fast growth in adoption by large critical facilities. The platform can be used as standalone or added to existing aggregation systems to enable trust, privacy and resilience. TrustDER consists of layers that address each of the shortcomings of the existing state of the art. Each layer in the platform can operate independently but provides information to the layers above it to enable a novel form of overall coordination architecture. The project consists of several tasks, with each task dedicated to the design of each layer. Task 2 Resource Virtualization defined a software abstraction layer for distributed energy resources (DERs). The goal of this abstraction was to simplify the implementation of algorithms utilizing cooperation of DERs resources in a variety of use cases. Task 3 is on Secure ID for Asset Authentication. Identity Management Systems (IDMS) are a foundational infrastructure for interactions between entities (organizations, users, devices, and services). Secure ID is blockchain-based a distributed identity management system allowing (1) identity provisioning, (2) authentication, (3) authorization, and (4) identity data sharing for IoT-enabled assets on the electricity grid. In this project, the SLAC team focused on designing and testing Keymaker, a protocol for authenticating device identity managed by Secure ID. Task 5 Private and Safe Integration is focused on the design and evaluation of a DER cooperation scheme which allows for the aggregation of DERs without impacting network reliability. The approach is designed based on realistic assumptions regarding data availability, communication infrastructure limitations, and privacy. Task 6 Scalable Distributed Privacy for Information explored how virtualized batteries could be managed privately. Specifically, it examined the case in which a principal provides a partitioned battery to multiple clients. Task 7 Use Cases was to ensure that this technology was applied in relevant situations and scenarios. Primarily, this means that virtualization needed to be employed in a manner that either improved flexibility, bolstered security or privacy, or decreased costs.
Amino acid sequence from tryptic peptides of three different bovine corneal keratan sulfate proteoglycan (KSPG) core proteins (designated 37A, 37B, and 25) showed similarities to the sequence of a chicken KSPG core protein lumican. Bovine lumican cDNA was isolated from a bovine corneal expression library by screening with chicken lumican cDNA. The bovine cDNA codes for a 342-amino acid protein, M(r) 38,712, containing amino acid sequences identified in the 37B KSPG core protein. The bovine lumican is 68% identical to chicken lumican, with an 83% identity excluding the N-terminal 40 amino acids. Location of 6 cysteine and 4 consensus N-glycosylation sites in the bovine sequence were identical to those in chicken lumican. Bovine lumican had about 50% identity to bovine fibromodulin and 20% identity to bovine decorin and biglycan. About two-thirds of the lumican protein consists of a series of 10 amino acid leucine-rich repeats that occur in regions of calculated high beta-hydrophobic moment, suggesting that the leucine-rich repeats contribute to beta-sheet formation in these proteins. Sequences obtained from 37A and 25 core proteins were absent in bovine lumican, thus predicting a unique primary structure and separate mRNA for each of the three bovine KSPG core proteins.
A robot serviced space facility includes multiple modules which are identical in physical structure, but selectively differing in function. and purpose. Each module includes multiple like attachment points which are identically placed on each module so as to permit interconnection with immediately adjacent modules. Connection is made through like outwardly extending flange assemblies having identical male and female configurations for interconnecting to and locking to a complementary side of another flange. Multiple rows of interconnected modules permit force, fluid, data and power transfer to be accomplished by redundant circuit paths. Redundant modules of critical subsystems are included. Redundancy of modules and of interconnections results in a space complex with any module being removable upon demand, either for module replacement or facility reconfiguration. without eliminating any vital functions of the complex. Module replacement and facility assembly or reconfiguration are accomplished by a computer controlled articulated walker type robotic manipulator arm assembly having two identical end-effectors in the form of male configurations which are identical to those on module flanges and which interconnect to female configurations on other flanges. The robotic arm assembly moves along a connected set or modules by successively disconnecting, moving and reconnecting alternate ends of itself to a succession of flanges in a walking type maneuver. To transport a module, the robot keeps the transported module attached to one of its end-effectors and uses another flange male configuration of the attached module as a substitute end-effector during walking.
Group A streptococcus (Strep A) surface M protein, an α-helical coiled-coil dimer, is a vaccine target and a major determinant of streptococcal virulence. The sequence-variable N-terminal region of the M protein defines the M type and also contains epitopes that promote opsonophagocytic killing of streptococci. Recent reports have reported considerable cross-reactivity among different M types, suggesting the prospect of identifying cross-protective epitopes that would constitute a broadly protective multivalent vaccine against Strep A isolates. In this work, we have used a combination of immunological assays, structural biology, and cheminformatics to construct a recombinant M protein–based vaccine that included six Strep A M peptides that were predicted to elicit antisera that would cross-react with an additional 15 nonvaccine M types of Strep A. Rabbit antisera against this recombinant vaccine cross-reacted with 10 of the 15 nonvaccine M peptides. Two of the five nonvaccine M peptides that did not cross-react shared high sequence identity (≥50%) with the vaccine peptides, implying that high sequence identity alone was insufficient for cross-reactivity among the M peptides. Additional structural analyses revealed that the sequence identity at corresponding polar helical-wheel heptad sites between vaccine and nonvaccine peptides accurately distinguishes cross-reactive from non–cross-reactive peptides. On the basis of these observations, we developed a scoring algorithm based on the sequence identity at polar heptad sites. When applied to all epidemiologically important M types, this algorithm should enable the selection of a minimal number of M peptide–based vaccine candidates that elicit broadly protective immunity against Strep A.
Abstract Single‐atom catalysts (SACs) are witnessing rapid development due to their high activity and selectivity toward diverse reactions. However, it remains a grand challenge in the general synthesis of SACs, particularly featuring an identical chemical microenvironment and on the same support. Herein, a universal synthetic protocol is developed to immobilize SACs in metal–organic frameworks (MOFs). Significantly, by means of SnO 2 as a mediator or adaptor, not only different single‐atom metal sites, such as Pt, Cu, and Ni, etc., can be installed, but also the MOF supports can be changed (for example, UiO‐66‐NH 2 , PCN‐222, and DUT‐67) to afford M 1 /SnO 2 /MOF architecture. Taking UiO‐66‐NH 2 as a representative, the Pt 1 /SnO 2 /MOF exhibits approximately five times higher activity toward photocatalytic H 2 production than the corresponding Pt nanoparticles (≈2.5 nm) stabilized by SnO 2 /UiO‐66‐NH 2 . Remarkably, despite featuring identical parameters in the chemical microenvironment and support in M 1 /SnO 2 /UiO‐66‐NH 2 , the Pt 1 catalyst possesses a hydrogen evolution rate of 2167 µmol g –1 h –1 , superior to the Cu 1 and Ni 1 counterparts, which is attributed to the differentiated hydrogen binding free energies, as supported by density‐functional theory (DFT) calculations. This is thought to be the first report on a universal approach toward the stabilization of SACs with identical chemical microenvironment on an identical support.
Previous analyses of asymptotic symmetries in QED have shown that the subleading soft photon theorem implies a Ward identity corresponding to a charge generating divergent large gauge transformations on the asymptotic states at null infinity. In this work, we demonstrate that the subleading soft photon theorem is equivalent to a more general Ward identity. The charge corresponding to this Ward identity can be decomposed into an electric piece and a magnetic piece. The electric piece generates the Ward identity that was previously studied, but the magnetic piece is novel, and implies the existence of an additional asymptotic “magnetic” symmetry in QED.
Reflectionless potentials play an important role in constructing exact solutions to classical dynamical systems (such as the Korteweg-de Vries equation), non-perturbative solutions of various large-N field theories (such as the Gross-Neveu model), and closely related solitonic solutions to the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations in the theory of superconductivity. These solutions rely on the inverse scattering method, which reduces these seemingly unrelated problems to identifying reflectionless potentials of an auxiliary one-dimensional quantum scattering problem. There are several ways of constructing these potentials, one of which is quantum mechanical supersymmetry (SUSY). In this paper, motivated by recent experimental platforms, we generalize this framework to develop a theory of lattice solitons. We first briefly review the classical inverse scattering method in the continuum limit, focusing on the Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) equation and SU(N) Gross-Neveu model in the large N limit. We then generalize this methodology to lattice versions of interacting field theories. Our analysis hinges on the use of trace identities, which are relations connecting the potential of an equation of motion to the scattering data. For a discrete Schrödinger operator, such trace identities had been known as far back as Toda; however, we derive a new set of identities for the discrete Dirac operator. We then use these identities in a lattice Gross-Neveu and chiral Gross-Neveu (Nambu-Jona-Lasinio) model to show that lattice solitons correspond to reflectionless potentials associated with the discrete scattering problem. These models are of significance as they are equivalent to a mean-field theory of a lattice superconductor. To explicitly construct these solitons, we generalize supersymmetric quantum mechanics to tight-binding models. We show that a matrix transformation exists that maps a tight-binding model to an isospectral one which shares the same structure and scattering properties. The corresponding soliton solutions have both modulated hopping and onsite potential, the former of which has no analogue in the continuum limit. We explicitly compute both topological and non-topological soliton solutions as well as bound state spectra in the aforementioned models.
A DC cylindrical magnetron sputter coater was commissioned and used to coat Nb 2.6 GHz superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) cavity with Nb 3 Sn. The sputter coater has two identical cylindrical magnetrons that can move, with a controlled speed, along the axis of the SRF cavity to coat the inside surface of the cavity. The design of the sputter coater is discussed, along with its performance. Initially, a sample holder that allows coating on flat substrates at positions similar to the equator and beam tubes of a 2.6 GHz SRF cavity was used to test conditions for fabricating Nb 3 Sn layers. Multilayers of Nb and Sn were sequentially sputtered on flat Nb and sapphire substrates mounted on the equivalent positions of the cavity's beam tubes and the equator using the two identical cylindrical magnetrons. Then, the Nb/Sn multilayers were annealed at 950 °C for 3 h. Here, the ~1.2 μm thick Nb 3 Sn film did not show any other Nb–Sn compounds and had a superconducting transition temperature of 17.61–17.76 K. The 2.6 GHz SRF cavity was coated using similar conditions as flat samples. Cryogenic RF testing of the Nb 3 Sn-coated cavity demonstrated a quality factor of 3.2 × 10 8 at an accelerating gradient of 5 MV/m at 4.4 K.