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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 217 records · Page 12
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Symmetric adenine methylation is an essential DNA modification in the early-diverging fungus Rhizopus microsporus

The discovery of N6-methyladenine (6mA) in eukaryotic genomes, typically found in prokaryotic DNA, has revolutionized epigenetics. Here, we show that symmetric 6mA is essential in the early diverging fungus Rhizopus microsporus, as the absence of the MT-A70 complex (MTA1c) responsible for this modification results in a lethal phenotype. 6mA is present in 70% of the genes, correlating with the presence of H3K4me3 and H2A.Z in open euchromatic regions. This modification is found predominantly in nucleosome linker regions, influencing the nucleosome positioning around the transcription start sites of highly expressed genes. Controlled downregulation of MTA1c reduces symmetric 6mA sites affecting nucleosome positioning and histone modifications, leading to altered gene expression, which is likely the cause of the severe phenotypic changes observed. Our study highlights the indispensable role of the DNA 6mA in a multicellular organism and delineates the mechanisms through which this epigenetic mark regulates gene expression in a eukaryotic genome.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2014

Voltage controlled modification of flux closure domains in planar magnetic structures for microwave applications

Voltage controlled modification of the magnetocrystalline anisotropy in a hybrid piezoelectric/ferromagnet device has been studied using Photoemission Electron Microscopy with X-ray magnetic circular dichroism as the contrast mechanism. The experimental results demonstrate that the large magnetostriction of the epitaxial Fe{sub 81}Ga{sub 19} layer enables significant modification of the domain pattern in laterally confined disc structures. In addition, micromagnetic simulations demonstrate that the strain induced modification of the magnetic anisotropy allows for voltage tuneability of the natural resonance of both the confined spin wave modes and the vortex motion. These results demonstrate the possibility for using voltage induced strain in low-power voltage tuneable magnetic microwave oscillators.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Enhanced surface modification engineering (H, F, Cl, Br, and NO{sub 2}) of CdS nanowires with and without surface dangling bonds

Semiconductor nanowires (NWs) can be applied in gas sensing and cell detection, but the sensing mechanism is not clearly understood. In this study, surface modification effect on the electronic properties of CdS NWs for different diameters with several species (H, F, Cl, Br, and NO{sub 2}) is investigated by first principles calculations. The surface dangling bonds and halogen elements are chosen to represent the environment of the surface. Halogen passivation drastically changes the band gaps due to the strong electronegativity and the energy level of halogen atoms. Density of states analysis indicates that valence band maximum (VBM) of halogen-passivated NWs is formed by the p states of halogen atoms, while VBM of H-passivated NWs is originated from Cd 4d and S 3p orbitals. To illustrate that surface modification can be applied in gas sensing, NO{sub 2}-absorbed NWs with different coverage are calculated. Low coverage of NO{sub 2} introduces a deep p-type dopant-like level, while high coverage introduces a shallow n-type dopant-like level into the band structure. The transformation is due to that at low coverage the adsorption is chemical while at high coverage is physical. These findings might promote the understanding of surface modification effect and the sensing mechanism of NWs as gas sensors.

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

Metabolite‐Driven Modifications: Protein Acylations Elucidate Substrate Metabolism in Syntrophic Bacteria

Lysine acylation is a rising post‐translational modification (PTM) family that includes acetylation and similar short‐chain acylations. Reversible acylation has emerged as an important regulatory mechanism coordinating metabolism in response to changes in nutrient availability and metabolic fluxes. Since the levels of lysine acylations correlate with the levels of corresponding acyl‐CoAs and syntrophic bacteria produce complex central metabolic intermediates during fatty acid and aromatic compounds degradation, we used mass spectrometry to simultaneously reveal and evaluate all the acyl‐modifications in the syntrophs Syntrophomonas wolfei and Syntrophus aciditrophicus. Detected modifications provided insights into substrate metabolism regulations in these organisms living at the thermodynamic limits of microbial growth. Support or Funding Information This work is funded by the US Department of Energy (UCLA Institute of Genomics and Proteomics, DE‐FC03‐02ER63421 to J. Loo) and the National Institutes of Health (R01GM085402 to J. Loo and R. Ogorzalek Loo).

Nguyen, Hong Hanh T.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Modification of the Jet Energy-Energy Correlator in Cold Nuclear Matter

We compute medium corrections to the energy-energy correlator (EEC) for jets in electron-nucleus collisions at leading order in the QCD coupling and the interaction of the jet with the medium. We derive an analytical expression for the modification of the EEC as a function of the opening angle and show that the modification is strongest at large angles within the jet cone. We obtain explicit results for the dependence of the modification on the jet energy, the scattering power of cold nuclear matter, and the path length within the medium. We extend our calculations to gluon jets in proton-nucleus collisions and compare our results with recent preliminary data for proton-lead collisions at the LHC. Here, we also discuss the role of comovers on the EEC in p + Pb collisions.

Hard scattering↗
DOE OSTI2016

Mechanistic insight into protein modification and sulfur mobilization activities of noncanonical E1 and associated ubiquitin-like proteins of Archaea

Here we provide the first detailed biochemical study of a noncanonical E1-like enzyme with broad specificity for cognate ubiquitin-like (Ubl) proteins that mediates Ubl protein modification and sulfur mobilization to form molybdopterin and thiolated tRNA. Isothermal titration calorimetry and in vivo analyses proved useful in discovering that environmental conditions, ATP binding and Ubl type controlled the mechanism of association of the Ubl protein with its cognate E1-like enzyme (SAMP and UbaA of the archaeon Haloferax volcanii, respectively). Further analysis revealed ATP hydrolysis triggered the formation of thioester and peptide bonds within the Ubl:E1-like complex. Importantly, the thioester was an apparent precursor to Ubl protein modification but not sulfur mobilization. Comparative modeling to MoeB/ThiF guided the discovery of key residues within the adenylation domain of UbaA that were needed to bind ATP as well as residues that were specifically needed to catalyze the downstream reactions of sulfur mobilization and/or Ubl protein modification. UbaA was also found to be Ubl-automodified at lysine residues required for early (ATP binding) and late (sulfur mobilization) stages of enzyme activity revealing multiple layers of auto-regulation. Cysteine residues, distinct from the canonical E1 ‘active site’ cysteine, were found important in UbaA function supporting a model that this non-canonical E1 is structurally flexible in its active site to allow Ubl~adenylate, Ubl~E1-like thioester and cysteine persulfide(s) intermediates to form.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Plasma generation by household microwave oven for surface modification and other emerging applications

A simple and inexpensive method to generate plasma using a kitchen microwave oven is described in this paper. The microwave-generated plasma is characterized by spectroscopic analysis and compared with the absorption spectra of a gas discharge tube. A Paschen-like curve is observed as the microwave plasma initiation time is plotted as a function of the pressure of the plasma chamber. We have also demonstrated that this microwave-generated air plasma can be used in a multitude of applications such as: (a) surface modification of a substrate to change its wettability; (b) surface modification to change electrical/optical properties of a substrate; and (c) enhancement of adhesive forces for improved bonding of polymeric microfluidic molds, such as bonding polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) chips to glass covers. These simple techniques of plasma generation and subsequent surface treatment and modification applications may bring new opportunities leading to new innovations not only in advanced labs, but also in undergraduate and even high school research labs.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2017

Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhi Lipopolysaccharide O-Antigen Modification Impact on Serum Resistance and Antibody Recognition

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi is a human-restricted Gram-negative bacterial pathogen responsible for causing an estimated 27 million cases of typhoid fever annually, leading to 217,000 deaths, and current vaccines do not offer full protection. The O-antigen side chain of the lipopolysaccharide is an immunodominant antigen, can define host-pathogen interactions, and is under consideration as a vaccine target for some Gram-negative species. The composition of the O-antigen can be modified by the activity of glycosyltransferase (gtr) operons acquired by horizontal gene transfer. Here we investigate the role of two gtr operons that we identified in the S. Typhi genome. Strains were engineered to express specific gtr operons. Full chemical analysis of the O-antigens of these strains identified gtr-dependent glucosylation and acetylation. The glucosylated form of the O-antigen mediated enhanced survival in human serum and decreased complement binding. A single nucleotide deviation from an epigenetic phase variation signature sequence rendered the expression of this glucosylating gtr operon uniform in the population. In contrast, the expression of the acetylating gtrC gene is controlled by epigenetic phase variation. Acetylation did not affect serum survival, but phase variation can be an immune evasion mechanism, and thus, this modification may contribute to persistence in a host. In murine immunization studies, both O-antigen modifications were generally immunodominant. Our results emphasize that natural O-antigen modifications should be taken into consideration when assessing responses to vaccines, especially O-antigen-based vaccines, and that the Salmonella gtr repertoire may confound the protective efficacy of broad-ranging Salmonella lipopolysaccharide conjugate vaccines.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2014

Microfluidic molecular assay platform for the detection of miRNAs, mRNAs, proteins, and post-translational modifications at single-cell resolution

In this study, cell signaling is a dynamic and complex process. A typical signaling pathway may begin with activation of cell surface receptors, leading to activation kinase cascade that culminates in induction of mRNA and non-coding miRNA production in the nucleus, followed by modulation of mRNA expression by miRNAs in the cytosol, and end with production of proteins in response to the signaling pathway. Signaling pathways involve proteins, miRNA, and mRNAs, along with various forms of transient post-translational modifications, and detecting each type of signaling molecule requires categorically different sample preparation methods such as Western blotting for proteins, PCR for nucleic acids, and flow cytometry for post-translational modifications. Since we know that cells in populations behave heterogeneously1, especially in the cases of stem cells, cancer, and hematopoiesis, there is need for a new technology that provides capability to detect and quantify multiple categories of signaling molecules in intact single cells to provide a comprehensive view of the cell’s physiological state. In this technical brief, we describe our microfluidic platform with a portfolio of customized molecular assays that can detect nucleic acids, proteins, and post-translational modifications in single intact cells with >95% reduction in reagent requirement in under 8 hours.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2015

Measurement of Low Mass Vector Mesons Production and Possible Modification in Heavy Ion Collisions at Forward Rapidity

The data collected over the past decade have demonstrated that the Relativistic Heavy Collider (RHIC) at BNL has created the Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP). A major objective of heavy ion physics nowadays is to study and quantify the fundamental properties of the QGP. One of the crucial probes of this matter is di-lepton measurement in the low mass region. Di-leptons are not affected by the strong interaction once produced; therefore, they can probe the whole evolution of the collision. The planned study will focus on the low mass vector mesons (p, ω, and Φ) through their di-lepton decay channel. The low mass vector mesons are especially good probes to study the properties of this matter created in heavy-ion collisions. Due to their short lifetimes, considerable fraction of them decays inside the hot and dense media. Knowledge of their production rates and spectral properties provides insights into the medium properties; they provide information about in-medium modifications of their spectral shape. The low mass vector mesons also allow understanding the nature of the chiral symmetry restoration in hot and/or dense matter. Generally, there are array of effects due to QGP which can contribute to the modification of the spectra and the true relative contribution is difficult to disentangle. Therefore, studying different colliding systems and wide range of observables at different kinematics will allow disentangling the modification effects and better understand the properties of QGP and the low mass vector mesons will provide very valuable information. In addition, this measurement offers a unique and critical look at QGP where we focus on the low mass vector mesons at forward rapidities which has not been done at RHIC.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Connecting LWRS Human Factor Engineering R&D to NUREG-0711 Elements and Modification Activities in Nuclear Power Plants

This Report documents the connection between DOE INL LWRS HFE R&D activities and the technical content of NUREG-0711 Results Summary Reports. Since the current and most recent LWRS HFE activities are associated with modernization and modification of nuclear power electric generating stations, this Report will limit its scope to these topics. NUREG-0711 Results Summary Reports content is shared with US nuclear generating stations by INL HFE staff through HFE Technical Reports to identify potential HEDs with planned upgrades. With such information, utilities have confidence that their upgraded HMIs, operating procedures, conduct of operations, and training with the upgraded systems will ensure their continued safe control of the nuclear plant. The utilities use the HFE Technical Reports as basis documents in their licensing processes used to modify the plant (LAR or 10CFR50.59). For plant modifications, LWRS HFE R&D activities commence as early as an agreement is reached between the utility and the LWRS Program staff. The multiple interfaces usually result in the two organizations meeting at INL, at the utility’s site, and at the vendor’s facility. Since there generally is a shortage of utility based HFE experience, INL HFE staff supports the HFE related utility modernization & modification (obsolescence) activities whenever requested.

10 CFR 50.59↗
DOE OSTI2020

CPAP Ventilators Needed for Rapid Response to COVID-19 by Modification of CPAP Equipment

Early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, potential ventilator shortages were a critical issue identified by national health care providers. Capacity modeling at the time suggested patient demand may exceed ventilator supply. Thus, the challenge became finding an urgent interim solution to meet health care needs. Our initial hypothesis was that CPAP technology could be modified to provide similar functionality to a ventilator, relieving demand and allowing physicians to decide which patients need high end machines, ultimately saving lives. In conjunction with medical experts and pulmonologists, we were able to identify three key thrusts associated with this research problem: (1) modification of CPAP technology to allow for 02 input that would be capable of providing ventilation; (2) development of an alarming function that would provide real-time audible alarms to alert medical personnel to critical conditions, which would be used inline with CPAP technology; and (3) a method of sterilizing expiratory air from such a system in order to protect medical personnel from biohazard, since CPAPs vent to the atmosphere. We were unable to realize results for thrust 1 (CPAP modification for 02); we identified potential safety issues associated with utilizing medical grade oxygen with a common CPAP device. In order to characterize and mitigate these issues, we would need to partner closely with a device manufacturer; such a partnership could not be achieved in the timeframe needed for this rapid response work. However, we determined that some medical grade BiPAP devices do not need this modification and that the significant progress on thrusts 2 and 3 would be sufficient to buy down risk of a massive ventilator shortage. Our team built a prototype alarm system that can be utilized with any assistive respiratory device to alert on all key conditions identified by medical personnel (high pressure, low pressure, apnea, loss of power, low battery). Finally, our team made significant progress in the rapid prototyping and demonstration of an inline UV air purifier device. The device is cost efficient and can be manufactured at scale with both commercially available and additively manufactured parts. Initial tests with SARS-CoV-2 analog bacteriophage MS2 show 99% efficacy at reducing bioburden. Following a successful demonstration of the prototype device with medical personnel, we were able to obtain follow-on (non-LDRD) funding to provide additional device characterization, validation, and production in order to respond to an immediate regional need.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2020

Workshop to Plan R&D Support of Fuel/Basket Modification for Direct Disposal of Future DPCs

By 2030 about half of all spent nuclear fuel (SNF) arising from the current fleet of commercial power plants will be in dual-purpose canisters (DPCs), which are designed for storage and transportation but not for disposal. As an alternative to complete repackaging of the fuel for disposal, considerable cost savings and lower worker dose could be realized by directly disposing of this SNF in DPCs. The principal technical consideration is criticality control in a geologic repository, because the DPCs are large and depend on neutron absorbing basket components for criticality control. Neutron absorbing materials are generally aluminum-based, and under disposal conditions can degrade after a few hundred years contact with ground water. Simple modifications to the SNF assemblies or the DPC baskets could help to achieve direct disposal, and this is one of the approaches being studied to address the possibility of disposal criticality (SNL 2020a). Five fuel/basket modification concepts have been proposed (SNL 2020b) and a virtual workshop was conducted to solicit review and feedback on these concepts. The proposed solutions are: 1) zone loading of DPCs to limit reactivity, 2) replacing absorber plates with advanced neutron absorbing (ANA) material, 3) adding disposal control rods to pressurized water reactor (PWR) assemblies, 4) rechanneling boiling water reactor (BWR) assemblies with ANA material, and 5) basket insert plates (chevron inserts) made from ANA material. The presentations from the workshop are provided in this report, and the workshop discussions are summarized. This information includes prioritization of the proposed fuel/basket modification solutions, and prioritization of the associated model development, validation testing, and quality assurance activities. Information documented in this report will help to steer research and development efforts at Sandia National Laboratories, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Idaho National Laboratory that support the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy, Spent Fuel and Waste Science and Technology program

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2022

PDC Modifications for Analysis of Gas-Cooled Reactors with Direct Helium Brayton Cycle

Capabilities of the Plant Dynamics Code (PDC) have been extended to allow steady-state and transient simulation of graphite-cooled reactors with direct helium Brayton cycle. On the cycle side, the most significant code modification is the addition of helium properties, in the format required by the code’s equations. Since the code was already formulated to handle more complex real gas properties, adding helium as working fluid that behaves like ideal gas was fairly straightforward. A reactor module was added to PDC to simulate a reactor cooled by the working fluid of the Brayton cycle. Two options are supported: channel type, typical for graphite gas-cooled reactors, and pin type, typical for light-water and liquid metal-cooled reactors. The reactor module is an extension of the electrical heater model and simulates heat deposition in the fuel and transfer of this heat from the fuel to the coolant through the matrix and tube materials. The new reactor module becomes the third option in PDC for modeling heat addition to the cycle, besides previously modeled heat addition heat exchanger and electrical heater. In addition to those changes, other minor code modifications and improvements were introduced during the work of expanding PDC to modeling of gas-cooled reactors. These modifications are summarized in the last chapter of this report.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Mining proteomic data to expose protein modifications in Methanosarcina mazei strain Gö1

Proteomic tools identify constituents of complex mixtures, often delivering long lists of identified proteins. The high-throughput methods excel at matching tandem mass spectrometry data to spectra predicted from sequence databases. Unassigned mass spectra are ignored, but could, in principle, provide valuable information on unanticipated modifications and improve protein annotations while consuming limited quantities of material. Strategies to “mine” information from these discards are presented, along with discussion of features that, when present, provide strong support for modifications. In this study we mined LC-MS/MS datasets of proteolytically-digested concanavalin A pull down fractions from Methanosarcina mazei Gö1 cell lysates. Analyses identified 154 proteins. Many of the observed proteins displayed post-translationally modified forms, including O -formylated and methyl-esterified segments that appear biologically relevant (i.e., not artifacts of sample handling). Interesting cleavages and modifications (e.g., S -cyanylation and trimethylation) were observed near catalytic sites of methanogenesis enzymes. Of 31 Methanosarcina protein N -termini recovered by concanavalin A binding or from a previous study, only M. mazei S -layer protein MM1976 and its M. acetivorans C2A orthologue, MA0829, underwent signal peptide excision. Experimental results contrast with predictions from algorithms SignalP 3.0 and Exprot, which were found to over-predict the presence of signal peptides. Proteins MM0002, MM0716, MM1364, and MM1976 were found to be glycosylated, and employing chromatography tailored specifically for glycopeptides will likely reveal more. This study supplements limited, existing experimental datasets of mature archaeal N -termini, including presence or absence of signal peptides, translation initiation sites, and other processing. Methanosarcina surface and membrane proteins are richly modified.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Structural insights into mRNA reading frame regulation by tRNA modification and slippery codon–anticodon pairing

Modifications in the tRNA anticodon loop, adjacent to the three-nucleotide anticodon, influence translation fidelity by stabilizing the tRNA to allow for accurate reading of the mRNA genetic code. One example is the N1-methylguanosine modification at guanine nucleotide 37 (m 1 G37) located in the anticodon loop andimmediately adjacent to the anticodon nucleotides 34, 35, 36. The absence of m 1 G37 in tRNA Pro causes +1 frameshifting on polynucleotide, slippery codons. Here, we report structures of the bacterial ribosome containing tRNA Pro bound to either cognate or slippery codons to determine how the m 1 G37 modification prevents mRNA frameshifting. The structures reveal that certain codon–anticodon contexts and the lack of m 1 G37 destabilize interactions of tRNA Pro with the P site of the ribosome, causing large conformational changes typically only seen during EF-G-mediated translocation of the mRNA-tRNA pairs. These studies provide molecular insights into how m 1 G37 stabilizes the interactions of tRNA Pro with the ribosome in the context of a slippery mRNA codon.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1972

Exploration of alloy surface and slurry modification to improve oxidation life of fused silicide coated niobium alloys

Edge and surface modifications of niobium alloys were investigated prior to coating with Si-20Cr-20Fe and slurry composition modification for performance in a 1370 C ambient pressure slow cycle test. The best coating obtained was Si-20Cr-20Mn with an average life of 63 cycles, compared to 40 for Si-20Cr-20Fe on FS-85 (100 percent improvement in weight parity life). Edge beading extended the lives of Si-20Cr-20Fe-coated Cb-752 and FS-85 to 57 and 41 cycles respectively (50 and 20 percent improvements in weight parity life respectively). W, Al2O3 and ZrO2(CaO) surface modifications altered coating crack frequency and microstructure and increased life somewhat.

Levine, S. R.↗