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All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

DOE OSTI2020

Metal Halide Perovskites in Quantum Dot Solar Cells: Progress and Prospects

“Go big or go home” could never be a truer statement, especially when it comes to energy. The world population is increasing, the energy use per person is growing more rapidly, and the total electricity use per person is growing even more quickly than that. To handle this demand, energy production must be increased, and it is vital for renewable sources to be used. Currently three quarters of a terawatt of power generated from photovoltaics (PVs) has been installed. At a somewhat optimistic average power-conversion efficiency of 18%, the distributed surface area of high purity optoelectronic grade semiconductor photovoltaic panels pointed at the sun is substantially larger than the area of the whole state of Rhode Island or nearly double the land mass of Luxembourg. While photovoltaic production continues to ramp to immense proportions, perovskite semiconductors are poised to greatly complement existing technology. On the other end of the size spectrum, the study of semiconductor nanocrystals or quantum dots (QDs) has led to advanced structures and deeper understanding within halide perovskite semiconductors. In this article, we show how the development of nanoscale metal halide perovskite semiconductors have gained prominence surpassing all other QD materials in terms of efficiency, and are becoming a platform for further improving technology to solve big energy challenges.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2020

Investigating the interconnectedness of active transportation and public transit usage as a primer for Mobility-as-a-Service adoption and deployment

With the advent of Mobility-as-a-Service packages to reduce car usage and (by extension) greenhouse gas emissions, it is crucial that researchers and practitioners consider mutual determinants and outcomes that link the adoption of multiple alternative modes. This study therefore investigates the joint usage of active travel (walking, cycling, bike-sharing) and public transit (bus, rail) modes with respect to personal and situational contexts. Online survey data (n = 826) were collected across six Midwestern U.S. states using Amazon MTurk. Respondents indicated their average weekly usage of eight travel modes across three trip purposes so that multimodality could be assessed. Several psychological constructs were extracted via (a) the stages of change framework, used to indicate willingness to adopt new behavior, and (b) confirmatory factor analysis conducted on Likert scales rooted in theories of community, identity, norms, personality, and well-being. A multiple-indicators multiple-causes structural equation model is then employed to investigate the process of adopting a modality style that incorporates active and transit modes. The model confirms that compatible physical and social contexts, as well as navigational skills and openness to learning, are key primers of multimodalism. However, a path juncture stemming from neighborhood support for mobility innovation illustrates a potential polarity in outcomes between individuals and communities. In addition, the stage of active mobility adoption is linked to identity and norm activation, offering further guidance on what influences readiness for change. The seamless integration of mobility services is critical to matching the convenience and comfort of the private vehicle; understanding potential pathways to sustainable mobility, though, requires analyses and interventions that are driven by well-being outcomes and grounded in rigorous psychological frameworks. Here, the research findings offer practical guidance for identifying intervention opportunities to be linked with MaaS enrollment while demonstrating the need to illuminate how mobility might relate to social cohesion, identity expression, and various sources of satisfaction.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2022

America’s Cutting Edge CNC machining and metrology training

This paper describes the workforce development activities supported by America’s Cutting Edge (ACE), a national initiative for machine tool technology development and advancement. ACE is supported by the Department of Defense Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS) program from the Office of Industrial Policy. Both the online and in-person components of the computer numerically controlled (CNC) machining and metrology training programs are summarized and participation information is provided.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Face mask integrated with flexible and wearable manganite oxide respiration sensor

Face masks are key personal protective equipment for reducing exposure to viruses and other environmental hazards such as air pollution. Integrating flexible and wearable sensors into face masks can provide valuable insights into personal and public health. The advantages that a breath-monitoring face mask requires, including multi-functional sensing ability and continuous, long-term dynamic breathing process monitoring, have been underdeveloped to date. Here, we design an effective human breath monitoring face mask based on a flexible La 0.7 Sr 0.3 MnO 3 (LSMO)/Mica respiration sensor. The sensor’s capabilities and systematic measurements are investigated under two application scenes, namely clinical monitoring mode and daily monitoring mode, to monitor, recognise, and analyse different human breath status, i.e., cough, normal breath, and deep breath. This sensing system exhibits super-stability and multi-modal capabilities in continuous and long-time monitoring of the human breath. We determine that during monitoring human breath, thermal diffusion in LSMO is responsible for the change of resistance in flexible LSMO/Mica sensor. Both simulated and experimental results demonstrate good discernibility of the flexible LSMO/Mica sensor operating at different breath status. Our work opens a route for the design of novel flexible and wearable electronic devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2020

Extended use of face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic - Thermal conditioning and spray-on surface disinfection

The current COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in globally constrained supplies for face masks and personal protective equipment (PPE). Production capacity is limited in many countries and the future course of the pandemic will likely continue with shortages for high quality masks and PPE in the foreseeable future. Therefore, expectations are that mask reuse, extended wear and similar approaches will enhance the availability of personal protective measures. Repeated thermal disinfection could be an important option and likely easier implemented in some situations, at least on the small scale, than UV illumination, irradiation or hydrogen peroxide vapor exposure. In this paper, an overview on thermal responses and ongoing filtration performance of multiple face mask types is provided. Most masks have adequate material properties to survive a few cycles (i.e. 30 min disinfection steps) of thermal exposure in the 75°C regime. Some are more easily affected, as seen by the fusing of plastic liner or warping, given that preferred conditioning temperatures are near the softening point for some of the plastics and fibers used in these masks. Hence adequate temperature control is equally important. As guidance, disinfectants sprayed via dilute solutions maintain a surface presence over extended time at 25 and 37°C. Some spray-on alcohol-based solutions containing disinfectants were gently applied to the top surface of masks. Neither moderate thermal aging (less than 24 h at 80 and 95°C) nor gentle application of surface disinfectant sprays resulted in measurable loss of mask filter performance. Subject to bio-medical concurrence (additional checks for virus kill efficiency) and the use of low risk non-toxic disinfectants, such strategies, either individually or combined, by offering additional anti-viral properties or short term refreshing, may complement reuse options of professional masks or the now ubiquitous custom-made face masks with their often unknown filtration effectiveness.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2025

Siting and sizing of public–private charging stations impacts on household and electric vehicle fleets

To facilitate the provision of electric vehicle charging stations (EVCS) in urban areas, this study investigates the benefits of co-locating fleet-owned chargers with public charging stations to enable construction incentives and cord-sharing cost savings. Shared EVCS can serve charging demand from both user types: private (household) EV owners and those managing fleet vehicles – like shared and fully automated EV (SAEV) fleets. Using POLARIS to simulate all person-travel across the 6-county Austin, Texas region, new EVCS were sited and sized with DC fast-charging (DCFC) plugs to lower operating and construction costs while providing public + private (PP) service across an 81-square-mile core geofence (where 200 SAEVs were active) over 24-hour days. When co-location is permitted, 115 DCFC cords were added to the 23 existing (publicly available) stations to enable SAEVs and household EVs (HHEVs) charging access, within the geofence. Each 250-mile-range SAEV was simulated to travel an average of 330 miles per day, serve over 92 person-trips, and recharge 2.7 times a day (for 2.4 h per session). The new DCFC plugs were primarily added to public EVCS at shopping centers and schools, and in residential settings along freeways. The average plug served 4.8 EVs per day. Most co-located PP EVCS permitted immediate (no-wait) charging, except for 2 stations along freeways that averaged 8 min of wait time to begin charging. In conclusion, the co-location strategy lowered fleet owners’ initial EVCS construction costs by 12 % (thanks to cord-sharing to avoid cord duplication), while reducing SAEV wait times to just 3.1 min (versus 10.7 min if SAEV managers had to build and operate their own EVCS).

EV charging modeling↗

DOE OSTI2020

Modeling charging infrastructure impact on the electric vehicle market in China

The plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) is deemed as a critical technological revolution, and the governments are imposing various vehicle policies to promote its development. Meanwhile, the market success of PEVs depends on many aspects. The study reported herein integrates one’s use of charging infrastructure at home, public place and workplace into the market dynamics analysis tool, New Energy and Oil Consumption Credits (NEOCC) model, to systematically assess the charging infrastructure (home parking ratio, public charging opportunity, and charging costs) impact on PEV ownership costs and analyze how the PEV market shares may be affected by the attributes of the charging infrastructure. Compared to the charging infrastructure, the impact of battery costs is incontrovertibly decisive on PEV market shares, the charging infrastructure is still non-negligible in the PEV market dynamics. The simulation results find that the public charging infrastructure has more effectiveness on promoting the PEV sales in the PEV emerging market than it does in the PEV mature market. However, the improvement of charging infrastructure does not necessarily lead to a larger PEV market if the charging infrastructure incentives do not coordinate well with other PEV policies. Besides, the increase of public charging opportunities has limited motivations on the growth of public PEV fleets, which are highly correlated to the number of public fast charging stations or outlets. It also finds that more home parking spaces can stimulate more sales of personal plug-in hybrid electric vehicles instead of personal battery electric vehicles.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2020

Cancer genomics predicts disease relapse and therapeutic response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy of hormone sensitive breast cancers

Several studies provide insight into the landscape of breast cancer genomics with the genomic characterization of tumors offering exceptional opportunities in defining therapies tailored to the patient’s specific need. However, translating genomic data into personalized treatment regimens has been hampered partly due to uncertainties in deviating from guideline based clinical protocols. Here we report a genomic approach to predict favorable outcome to treatment responses thus enabling personalized medicine in the selection of specific treatment regimens. The genomic data were divided into a training set of N = 835 cases and a validation set consisting of 1315 hormone sensitive, 634 triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) and 1365 breast cancer patients with information on neoadjuvant chemotherapy responses. Patients were selected by the following criteria: estrogen receptor (ER) status, lymph node invasion, recurrence free survival. The k-means classification algorithm delineated clusters with low- and high- expression of genes related to recurrence of disease; a multivariate Cox’s proportional hazard model defined recurrence risk for disease. Classifier genes were validated by Immunohistochemistry (IHC) using tissue microarray sections containing both normal and cancerous tissues and by evaluating findings deposited in the human protein atlas repository. Based on the leave-on-out cross validation procedure of 4 independent data sets we identified 51-genes associated with disease relapse and selected 10, i.e. TOP2A, AURKA, CKS2, CCNB2, CDK1 SLC19A1, E2F8, E2F1, PRC1, KIF11 for in depth validation. Expression of the mechanistically linked disease regulated genes significantly correlated with recurrence free survival among ER-positive and triple negative breast cancer patients and was independent of age, tumor size, histological grade and node status. Importantly, the classifier genes predicted pathological complete responses to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (P < 0.001) with high expression of these genes being associated with an improved therapeutic response toward two different anthracycline-taxane regimens; thus, highlighting the prospective for precision medicine. Our study demonstrates the potential of classifier genes to predict risk for disease relapse and treatment response to chemotherapies. The classifier genes enable rational selection of patients who benefit best from a given chemotherapy thus providing the best possible care. The findings encourage independent clinical validation.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2023

Medication abortion via digital health in the United States: a systematic scoping review

Digital health, including telemedicine, has increased access to abortion care. The convenience, flexibility of appointment times, and ensured privacy to abortion users may make abortion services via telemedicine preferable. This scoping review systematically mapped studies conducted on abortion services via telemedicine, including their effectiveness and acceptability for abortion users and providers. All published papers included abortion services via telemedicine in the United States were considered. Articles were searched in PubMed, CINAHL, and Google Scholar databases in September 2022. The findings were synthesized narratively, and the PRISMA-ScR guidelines were used to report this study. Out of 757 retrieved articles, 33 articles were selected based on the inclusion criteria. These studies were published between 2011 and 2022, with 24 published in the last 3 years. The study found that telemedicine increased access to abortion care in the United States, especially for people in remote areas or those worried about stigma from in-person visits. The effectiveness of abortion services via telemedicine was comparable to in-clinic visits, with 6% or fewer abortions requiring surgical intervention. Both care providers and abortion seekers expressed positive perceptions of telemedicine-based abortion services. However, abortion users reported mixed emotions, with some preferring in-person visits. The most common reasons for choosing telemedicine included the distance to the abortion clinic, convenience, privacy, cost, flexibility of appointment times, and state laws imposing waiting periods or restrictive policies. Telemedicine offered a preferable option for abortion seekers and providers. The feasibility of accessing abortion services via telemedicine in low-resource settings needs further investigation.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2024

Computational multiphysics modeling of radioactive aerosol deposition in diverse human respiratory tract geometries

The evaluation of aerosol exposure relies on generic mathematical models that assume uniform particle deposition profiles over the human respiratory tract and do not account for subject-specific characteristics. Here we introduce a hybrid-automated computational workflow that generates personalized particle deposition profiles in 3D reconstructed human airways from computed tomography scans using Computational Fluid and Particle Dynamics simulations. This is the first large-scale study to consider realistic airways variability, where 380 lower and 40 upper human respiratory tract 3D geometries are reconstructed and parameterized. The data is clustered into nine groups using random forest regression. Computational fluid and particle dynamics simulations are conducted on these representative geometries using a realistic heavy-breathing respiratory cycle and radioactive iodine-131 as a source term. Monte Carlo radiation transport simulations are performed to obtain detailed energy deposition maps. Our findings emphasize the importance of personalized studies, as minor respiratory tract variations notably influence deposition patterns rather than global parameters of the lower airways, observing more than 30% variance in the mass deposition fraction.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

DOE OSTI2020

Energy storage emerging: A perspective from the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research

Energy storage is an integral part of modern society. A contemporary example is the lithium (Li)-ion battery, which enabled the launch of the personal electronics revolution in 1991 and the first commercial electric vehicles in 2010. Most recently, Li-ion batteries have expanded into the electricity grid to firm variable renewable generation, increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of transmission and distribution. Important applications continue to emerge including decarbonization of heavy-duty vehicles, rail, maritime shipping, and aviation and the growth of renewable electricity and storage on the grid. This perspective compares energy storage needs and priorities in 2010 with those now and those emerging over the next few decades. The diversity of demands for energy storage requires a diversity of purpose-built batteries designed to meet disparate applications. Advances in the frontier of battery research to achieve transformative performance spanning energy and power density, capacity, charge/discharge times, cost, lifetime, and safety are highlighted, along with strategic research refinements made by the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research (JCESR) and the broader community to accommodate the changing storage needs and priorities. Innovative experimental tools with higher spatial and temporal resolution, in situ and operando characterization, first-principles simulation, high throughput computation, machine learning, and artificial intelligence work collectively to reveal the origins of the electrochemical phenomena that enable new means of energy storage. This knowledge allows a constructionist approach to materials, chemistries, and architectures, where each atom or molecule plays a prescribed role in realizing batteries with unique performance profiles suitable for emergent demands.

Trahey, Lynn↗

DOE OSTI2025

The evolution of analytical techniques for multiplex analysis of protein biomarkers

Introduction: The landscape of biomarker development has evolved with advanced analytical technologies, particularly affinity- and mass spectrometry-based techniques. These advancements have deepened our understanding of disease mechanisms, enabling the development of precise diagnostic tools and personalized medicine. Protein biomarkers, which play pivotal roles in biological processes, have become invaluable in diagnosing and monitoring diseases, aided by their presence in various biological samples and the availability of established detection methods. Areas covered: This review covers the role of protein biomarkers in clinical practice, the development and dimensionality of protein biomarkers, advancements in detection technologies, a comparison of these technologies, and future directions in biomarker discovery and disease mechanism elucidation. Expert opinion: Advances in biomarker technologies have the potential to transform diagnostics and personalized treatment but face challenges such as high costs and technical complexity. Enhancing reproducibility and integrating multi-omics approaches may offer better insights. In conclusion, the field should evolve toward high-throughput, automated methods, continuously adapting research, and clinical practices.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2025

Reconstructing Hanford worker external doses from photons for epidemiology

The accurate reconstruction of external photon doses is essential for credible radiation epidemiology. This article presents the methodology used to derive dose estimates for 37 012 Hanford Site workers included in the Million Person Study. The approach employs historical dose records from the Hanford Radiation Exposure database and a previous epidemiology study. Bias correction factors specific to dosimeter type and period of use were applied and missing annual doses were estimated using a hierarchical nearby method to estimate deep dose equivalent for each worker. For early years with limited detection sensitivity, missed doses were quantified based on expected time-period-specific, low-dose statistical distributions. The revised dose estimates resulted in lower median and mean career doses than unadjusted data, while increasing the number of person-years with nonzero dose. Sensitivity analyses assessed the influence of bias in dosimetry measurements, missed doses and gap years on dose estimates. Differences in cumulative dose estimates between unadjusted and revised annual estimates are most prominent in the early operational years due to the highest bias during that time period.

dose reconstruction↗

DOE OSTI2026

Synthesizing land use and demographic change in Southeast Asia’s smaller urbanized areas from 2000–2015

The majority of the human population now reside in urban areas today. The United Nations estimates that nearly half of all urban dwellers currently live in cities smaller than 500 000 persons and the majority of future urban growth will take place in Asia and Africa, likely in these smaller urban areas, not mega cities. Thus, understanding the factors that influence urban demographic trajectories in small urban areas is critical to address sustainable and equitable policy initiatives related to food security, changing climate hazard exposure, and economic opportunities. Here we focus on Southeast Asia—a region historically characterized by lower urban population proportions, yet with a rapidly shifting dynamic demographic—to examine correlates of demographic change among smaller cities. We combine two open-source satellite-informed datasets: GHS urban center database (2015) and age-sex gridded data from WorldPop to calculate socio-demographic characteristics to model drivers of change in annualized urban population growth from 2000–2015 for 505 urbanized places. We find a general pattern of decreasing dependency ratios as city-size increases for most urban areas in Southeast Asia. Higher rates of growth and more variation is observed for smaller cities—those with fewer than 300 000 persons, the lowest population limit for UN data on urbanization. When examining covariates of urban population growth, we find significant statistical associations of population change in smaller urbanized areas with climatic, economic, and land cover/land use variables, but with country-specific variations. Characterizing a continuum of urban population development in the context of changing environmental, economic and climate conditions has been an important sustainable development and equity issue for decades, but newer analysis of city-level drivers allows for systematic inquiry thus moving beyond total population counts for policy-relevant insight.

Southeast Asia synthesis↗

DOE OSTI2023

The tubulin structure, a quarter of a century later

This retrospective on the 25th anniversary of the publication of the first structure of tubulin is shaped by my own personal experiences rather than being a strict and complete historical account of the event. It is a reflection on how working in science felt many years ago, on the struggles and the joys of reaching for the high-hanging fruit, and, ultimately, on how relevant or not our personal scientific contributions are to the broader scientific community. Writing it brought back memories of my unique and sadly lost postdoctoral advisor Ken Downing, who dreamt of this structure and brought it to fruition against all odds.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2023

Younger facial looks are associate with a lower likelihood of several age-related morbidities in the middle-aged to elderly

Abstract Background Looking older for one’s chronological age is associated with a higher mortality rate. Yet it remains unclear how perceived facial age relates to morbidity and the degree to which facial ageing reflects systemic ageing of the human body. Objectives To investigate the association between ΔPA and age-related morbidities of different organ systems, where ΔPA represents the difference between perceived age (PA) and chronological age. Methods We performed a cross-sectional analysis on data from the Rotterdam Study, a population-based cohort study in the Netherlands. High-resolution facial photographs of 2679 men and women aged 51.5–87.8 years of European descent were used to assess PA. PA was estimated and scored in 5-year categories using these photographs by a panel of men and women who were blinded for chronological age and medical history. A linear mixed model was used to generate the mean PAs. The difference between the mean PA and chronological age was calculated (ΔPA), where a higher (positive) ΔPA means that the person looks younger for their age and a lower (negative) ΔPA that the person looks older. ΔPA was tested as a continuous variable for association with ageing-related morbidities including cardiovascular, pulmonary, ophthalmological, neurocognitive, renal, skeletal and auditory morbidities in separate regression analyses, adjusted for age and sex (model 1) and additionally for body mass index, smoking and sun exposure (model 2). Results We observed 5-year higher ΔPA (i.e. looking younger by 5 years for one’s age) to be associated with less osteoporosis [odds ratio (OR) 0.76, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.62–0.93], less chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (OR 0.85, 95% CI 0.77–0.95), less age-related hearing loss (model 2; B = −0.76, 95% CI −1.35 to −0.17) and fewer cataracts (OR 0.84, 95% CI 0.73–0.97), but with better global cognitive functioning (g-factor; model 2; B = 0.07, 95% CI 0.04–0.10). Conclusions PA is associated with multiple morbidities and better cognitive function, suggesting that systemic ageing and cognitive ageing are, to an extent, externally visible in the human face.

Mekić, Selma↗

DOE OSTI2020

Modern Senicide in the Face of a Pandemic: An Examination of Public Discourse and Sentiment About Older Adults and COVID-19 Using Machine Learning

Objectives This study examined public discourse and sentiment regarding older adults and COVID-19 on social media and assessed the extent of ageism in public discourse. Methods Twitter data (N = 82,893) related to both older adults and COVID-19 and dated from January 23 to May 20, 2020, were analyzed. We used a combination of data science methods (including supervised machine learning, topic modeling, and sentiment analysis), qualitative thematic analysis, and conventional statistics. Results The most common category in the coded tweets was “personal opinions” (66.2%), followed by “informative” (24.7%), “jokes/ridicule” (4.8%), and “personal experiences” (4.3%). The daily average of ageist content was 18%, with the highest of 52.8% on March 11, 2020. Specifically, more than 1 in 10 (11.5%) tweets implied that the life of older adults is less valuable or downplayed the pandemic because it mostly harms older adults. A small proportion (4.6%) explicitly supported the idea of just isolating older adults. Almost three-quarters (72.9%) within “jokes/ridicule” targeted older adults, half of which were “death jokes.” Also, 14 themes were extracted, such as perceptions of lockdown and risk. A bivariate Granger causality test suggested that informative tweets regarding at-risk populations increased the prevalence of tweets that downplayed the pandemic. Discussion Ageist content in the context of COVID-19 was prevalent on Twitter. Information about COVID-19 on Twitter influenced public perceptions of risk and acceptable ways of controlling the pandemic. Finaly, public education on the risk of severe illness is needed to correct misperceptions.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2021

Viral RNA and Infectious Influenza Virus on Mobile Phones of Patients With Influenza in Hong Kong and the United States

Abstract Mobile phones are among the most highly touched personal objects. As part of a broader study on the contribution of fomites to influenza transmission, between 2017 and 2019, we swabbed mobile phones from 138 patients with influenza in 2 locations. Influenza viral RNA detection rates were 23% (23 of 99 phones) and 36% (14 of 39) in Hong Kong and Maryland, respectively. In Hong Kong, infectious influenza virus was recovered from 3 of 23 mobile phones which had influenza viral RNA detected. Mobile phone influenza contamination was positively associated with upper respiratory tract viral load and negatively associated with age. Cleaning personal objects of patients with influenza should be recommended, and individuals should avoid sharing objects with these patients.

Xiao, Jingyi↗