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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 559 records · Page 31
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2010

A spinning mirror for fast angular scans of EBW emission for magnetic pitch profile measurements

A tilted spinning mirror rapidly steers the line of sight of the electron Bernstein wave (EBW) emission radiometer at the Mega-Amp Spherical Tokamak (MAST). In order to resist high mechanical stresses at rotation speeds of up to 12 000 rpm and to avoid eddy current induced magnetic braking, the mirror consists of a glass-reinforced nylon substrate of a special self-balanced design, coated with a reflecting layer. By completing an angular scan every 2.5-10 ms, it allows one to characterize with good time resolution the Bernstein-extraordinary-ordinary mode-conversion efficiency as a function of the view angles. Angular maps of conversion efficiency are directly related to the magnetic pitch angle at the cutoff layer for the ordinary mode. Hence, measurements at various frequencies provide the safety factor profile at the plasma edge. Initial measurements and indications of the feasibility of the diagnostic are presented. Moreover, angular scans indicate the best launch conditions for EBW heating.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2013

Method of time resolved refractive index measurements of x-ray laser heated solids

With the advent of new x-ray light-sources worldwide, the creation of dense, uniformly heated plasma states arising from intense x-ray irradiation of solids has been made possible. In the early stages of x-ray solid heating, before significant hydrodynamic motion occurs, the matter exists in a highly non-equilibrium state. A method based on wavefront sensing is proposed to probe some of the fundamental properties of these states. The deflection and absorption of a high harmonic probe beam propagated through the plasma can be measured with a wavefront sensor, and allow for the determination of the complex refractive index (RI) of the plasma, giving a 2D map of the optical properties as function of time in a pump-probe arrangement. A solid heating model has been used to estimate the expected temperatures of x-ray heated thin foils, and these temperatures are used in three separate models to estimate the changes in the refractive index. The calculations show the changes induced on an extreme ultra-violet (XUV) probe beam by a solid density thin foil plasma are significant, in terms of deflection angle and absorption, to be measured by already existing XUV Hartmann wavefront sensors. The method is applicable to a wide range of photon energies in the XUV (10 s to several 100 s of eV) and plasma parameters, and can add much needed experimental data to the fundamental properties of such dense plasma states.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Possibility of controlling the chemical pattern of He and Ar “guided streamers” by means of N{sub 2} or O{sub 2} additives

Plasma chemistry at atmospheric pressure and low temperature has met an increased interest due to the effective production of reactive species (mainly reactive nitrogen species and reactive oxygen species) which are demanded in many applications like in biomedicine. Τhe generation of such emissive reactive species is herein studied. A single parameter, i.e., the gas composition, is tuned and abundant chemical species are obtained in a quite controllable manner. The system refers to a small dielectric barrier discharge based reactor fed with He–N{sub 2}/O{sub 2} or Ar–N{sub 2}/O{sub 2} gases, which provides plasma in the form of “guided streamers.” The plasma is sustained by positive high voltage pulses, and the emissive transitions versus the gas composition is determined by UV-VIS optical emission spectroscopy. The relative intensities of emissive species are recorded in the ambient air where the streamers propagate. The evolution of dominant species as a function of the gas composition is mapped, and optimal conditions in terms of species production are clearly revealed. The results show that additives do not necessarily enhance the density of all species, implying the need for plasma chemistry optimization in respect to every application. The study is extended inside the reactor, supporting the above statements. Finally, the rotational and vibrational distributions of critical probe molecules are recorded, testing the dependence of the gas temperature and energy transfer, respectively, on the gas composition.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

2D dose distribution images of a hybrid low field MRI-γ detector

The proposed hybrid system is a combination of a low field MRI and dosimetric gel as a γ detector. The readout system is based on the polymerization process induced by the gel radiation. A gel dose map is obtained which represents the functional part of hybrid image alongside with the anatomical MRI one. Both images should be taken while the patient with a radiopharmaceutical is located inside the MRI system with a gel detector matrix. A relevant aspect of this proposal is that the dosimetric gel has never been used to acquire medical images. The results presented show the interaction of the {sup 99m}Tc source with the dosimetric gel simulated in Geant4. The purpose was to obtain the planar γ 2D-image. The different source configurations are studied to explore the ability of the gel as radiation detector through the following parameters; resolution, shape definition and radio-pharmaceutical concentration.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2024

The development of Gibbs's dyadic and implications for the gradient of a vector field

In this paper, we review the history of the dyadic as developed by Gibbs. This mathematical construct appeared in the second part of Gibbs's pamphlet on vector analysis (published in 1884), and it represented the first known development of a Cartesian theory of tensors. Gibbs made extensive use of the dyadic to express his theory of linear vector functions, that is, functions that acted on vectors and mapped them to new vectors. The dyadic proved to be a capable vehicle in Gibbs's hands, and his theory for dyadics (which we would now call second-order Cartesian tensors) was relatively advanced. The theory detailed notions such as the decomposition of vectors and conditions under which a tensor would have an inverse. While Gibbs's theory for linear operators expressed by dyadics was robust, it did not seem to garner the attention that the more conventional vector analysis (published in the first half of his pamphlet in 1881) did. Perhaps in part because of the general unfamiliarity with the dyadic, two distinct and conflicting definitions of the gradient of a vector field have arisen in the literature. The details of these differences in notation, possible reasons for the difference, and a potential resolution are proposed.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2010

THE RELATION BETWEEN GAS AND DUST IN THE TAURUS MOLECULAR CLOUD

We report a study of the relation between dust and gas over a 100 deg{sup 2} area in the Taurus molecular cloud. We compare the H{sub 2} column density derived from dust extinction with the CO column density derived from the {sup 12}CO and {sup 13}CO J = 1 {yields} 0 lines. We derive the visual extinction from reddening determined from 2MASS data. The comparison is done at an angular size of 200'' corresponding to 0.14 pc at a distance of 140 pc. We find that the relation between visual extinction A{sub V} and N(CO) is linear between A{sub V} {approx_equal} 3 and 10 mag in the region associated with the B213-L1495 filament. In other regions, the linear relation is flattened for A{sub V{approx}}> 4 mag. We find that the presence of temperature gradients in the molecular gas affects the determination of N(CO) by {approx}30%-70% with the largest difference occurring at large column densities. Adding a correction for this effect and accounting for the observed relation between the column density of CO and CO{sub 2} ices and A{sub V}, we find a linear relationship between the column of carbon monoxide and dust for observed visual extinctions up to the maximum value in our data {approx_equal}23 mag. We have used these data to study a sample of dense cores in Taurus. Fitting an analytical column density profile to these cores we derive an average volume density of about 1.4 x 10{sup 4} cm{sup -3} and a CO depletion age of about 4.2 x 10{sup 5} yr. At visual extinctions smaller than {approx}3 mag, we find that the CO fractional abundance is reduced by up to two orders of magnitude. The data show a large scatter suggesting a range of physical conditions of the gas. We estimate the H{sub 2} mass of Taurus to be about 1.5 x 10{sup 4} M{sub sun}, independently derived from the A{sub V} and N(CO) maps. We derive a CO integrated intensity to H{sub 2} conversion factor of about 2.1 x 10{sup 20} cm{sup -2} (K km s{sup -1}){sup -1}, which applies even in the region where the [CO]/[H{sub 2}] ratio is reduced by up to two orders of magnitude. The distribution of column densities in our Taurus maps resembles a log-normal function but shows tails at large and low column densities. The length scale at which the high column density tail starts to be noticeable is about 0.4 pc.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

COLLISIONS BETWEEN GRAVITY-DOMINATED BODIES. I. OUTCOME REGIMES AND SCALING LAWS

Collisions are the core agent of planet formation. In this work, we derive an analytic description of the dynamical outcome for any collision between gravity-dominated bodies. We conduct high-resolution simulations of collisions between planetesimals; the results are used to isolate the effects of different impact parameters on collision outcome. During growth from planetesimals to planets, collision outcomes span multiple regimes: cratering, merging, disruption, super-catastrophic disruption, and hit-and-run events. We derive equations (scaling laws) to demarcate the transition between collision regimes and to describe the size and velocity distributions of the post-collision bodies. The scaling laws are used to calculate maps of collision outcomes as a function of mass ratio, impact angle, and impact velocity, and we discuss the implications of the probability of each collision regime during planet formation. Collision outcomes are described in terms of the impact conditions and the catastrophic disruption criteria, Q*{sub RD}-the specific energy required to disperse half the total colliding mass. All planet formation and collisional evolution studies have assumed that catastrophic disruption follows pure energy scaling; however, we find that catastrophic disruption follows nearly pure momentum scaling. As a result, Q*{sub RD} is strongly dependent on the impact velocity and projectile-to-target mass ratio in addition to the total mass and impact angle. To account for the impact angle, we derive the interacting mass fraction of the projectile; the outcome of a collision is dependent on the kinetic energy of the interacting mass rather than the kinetic energy of the total mass. We also introduce a new material parameter, c*, that defines the catastrophic disruption criteria between equal-mass bodies in units of the specific gravitational binding energy. For a diverse range of planetesimal compositions and internal structures, c* has a value of 5 {+-} 2; whereas for strengthless planets, we find c* = 1.9 {+-} 0.3. We refer to the catastrophic disruption criteria for equal-mass bodies as the principal disruption curve, which is used as the reference value in the calculation of Q*{sub RD} for any collision scenario. The analytic collision model presented in this work will significantly improve the physics of collisions in numerical simulations of planet formation and collisional evolution.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2010

THE ATACAMA COSMOLOGY TELESCOPE (ACT): BEAM PROFILES AND FIRST SZ CLUSTER MAPS

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) is currently observing the cosmic microwave background with arcminute resolution at 148 GHz, 218 GHz, and 277 GHz. In this paper, we present ACT's first results. Data have been analyzed using a maximum-likelihood map-making method which uses B-splines to model and remove the atmospheric signal. It has been used to make high-precision beam maps from which we determine the experiment's window functions. This beam information directly impacts all subsequent analyses of the data. We also used the method to map a sample of galaxy clusters via the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect and show five clusters previously detected with X-ray or SZ observations. We provide integrated Compton-y measurements for each cluster. Of particular interest is our detection of the z = 0.44 component of A3128 and our current non-detection of the low-redshift part, providing strong evidence that the further cluster is more massive as suggested by X-ray measurements. This is a compelling example of the redshift-independent mass selection of the SZ effect.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Multifrequency spectrum analysis using fully digital G Mode-Kelvin probe force microscopy

Since its inception over two decades ago, Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) has become the standard technique for characterizing electrostatic, electrochemical and electronic properties at the nanoscale. In this work, we present a purely digital, software-based approach to KPFM utilizing big data acquisition and analysis methods. General Mode (G-Mode) KPFM, works by capturing the entire photodetector data stream, typically at the sampling rate limit, followed by subsequent de-noising, analysis and compression of the cantilever response. We demonstrate that the G-Mode approach allows simultaneous multi-harmonic detection, combined with on-the-fly transfer function correction required for quantitative CPD mapping. The KPFM approach outlined in this work significantly simplifies the technique by avoiding cumbersome instrumentation optimization steps (i.e. lock in parameters, feedback gains etc.), while also retaining the flexibility to be implemented on any atomic force microscopy platform. We demonstrate the added advantages of G-Mode KPFM by allowing simultaneous mapping of CPD and capacitance gradient (C') channels as well as increased flexibility in data exploration across frequency, time, space, and noise domains. As a result, G-Mode KPFM is particularly suitable for characterizing voltage sensitive materials or for operation in conductive electrolytes, and will be useful for probing electrodynamics in photovoltaics, liquids and ionic conductors.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Nature versus nurture: distinguishing effects from stellar processing and chemical evolution on carbon and nitrogen in red giant stars

ABSTRACT The surface [C/N] ratios of evolved giants are strongly affected by the first dredge-up (FDU) of nuclear-processed material from stellar cores. C and N also have distinct nucleosynthetic origins and serve as diagnostics of mixing and mass-loss. We use subgiants to find strong trends in the birth [C/N] with [Fe/H], which differ between the low-α and high-α populations. We demonstrate that these birth trends have a strong impact on the surface abundances after the FDU. This effect is neglected in current stellar models, which use solar-scaled C and N. We map out the FDU as a function of evolutionary state, mass, and composition using a large and precisely measured asteroseismic data set in first-ascent red giant branch (RGB) and core He-burning, or red clump (RC), stars. We describe the domains where [C/N] is a useful mass diagnostic and find that the RC complements the RGB and extends the range of validity to higher mass. We find evidence for extra mixing on the RGB below [Fe/H] = −0.4, matching literature results, for high-α giants, but there is no clear evidence of mixing in the low-α giants. The predicted signal of mass-loss is weak and difficult to detect in our sample. We discuss implications for stellar physics and stellar population applications.

Roberts, John D. (ORCID:0000000228545796)↗
DOE OSTI2016

Galaxy clustering with photometric surveys using PDF redshift information

Here, photometric surveys produce large-area maps of the galaxy distribution, but with less accurate redshift information than is obtained from spectroscopic methods. Modern photometric redshift (photo-z) algorithms use galaxy magnitudes, or colors, that are obtained through multi-band imaging to produce a probability density function (PDF) for each galaxy in the map. We used simulated data to study the effect of using different photo-z estimators to assign galaxies to redshift bins in order to compare their effects on angular clustering and galaxy bias measurements. We found that if we use the entire PDF, rather than a single-point (mean or mode) estimate, the deviations are less biased, especially when using narrow redshift bins. When the redshift bin widths are $\Delta z=0.1$, the use of the entire PDF reduces the typical measurement bias from 5%, when using single point estimates, to 3%.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Thermal evolution of antiferromagnetic correlations and tetrahedral bond angles in superconducting FeTe 1-x Se x

It has recently been demonstrated that dynamical magnetic correlations measured by neutron scattering in iron chalcogenides can be described with models of short-range correlations characterized by particular choices of four-spin plaquettes, where the appropriate choice changes as the parent material is doped towards superconductivity. Here we apply such models to describe measured maps of magnetic scattering as a function of two-dimensional wave vectors obtained for optimally superconducting crystals of FeTe 1–x Se x . We show that the characteristic antiferromagnetic wave vector evolves from that of the bicollinear structure found in underdoped chalcogenides (at high temperature) to that associated with the stripe structure of antiferromagnetic iron arsenides (at low temperature); these can both be described with the same local plaquette, but with different interplaquette correlations. While the magnitude of the low-energy magnetic spectral weight is substantial at all temperatures, it actually weakens somewhat at low temperature, where the charge carriers become more itinerant. The observed change in spin correlations is correlated with the dramatic drop in the electronic scattering rate and the growth of the bulk nematic response upon cooling. Lastly, we also present powder neutron diffraction results for lattice parameters in FeTe 1–x Se x indicating that the tetrahedral bond angle tends to increase towards the ideal value upon cooling, in agreement with the increased screening of the crystal field by more itinerant electrons and the correspondingly smaller splitting of the Fe 3d orbitals.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2016

Magnus-induced dynamics of driven skyrmions on a quasi-one-dimensional periodic substrate

Here we numerically examine driven skyrmions interacting with a periodic quasi-one-dimensional substrate where the driving force is applied either parallel or perpendicular to the substrate periodicity direction. For perpendicular driving, the particles in a purely overdamped system simply slide along the substrate minima; however, for skyrmions where the Magnus force is relevant, we find that a rich variety of dynamics can arise. In the single skyrmion limit, the skyrmion motion is locked along the driving or longitudinal direction for low drives, while at higher drives a transition occurs to a state in which the skyrmion moves both transverse and longitudinal to the driving direction. Within the longitudinally locked phase we find a pronounced speedup effect that occurs when the Magnus force aligns with the external driving force, while at the transition to transverse and longitudinal motion, the skyrmion velocity drops, producing negative differential conductivity. For collectively interacting skyrmion assemblies, the speedup effect is still present and we observe a number of distinct dynamical phases, including a sliding smectic phase, a disordered or moving liquid phase, a moving hexatic phase, and a moving crystal phase. The transitions between the dynamic phases produce distinct features in the structure of the skyrmion lattice and in the velocity-force curves. Lastly, we map these different phases as a function of the ratio of the Magnus term to the dissipative term, the substrate strength, the commensurability ratio, and the magnitude of the driving force.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

WE-AB-BRA-02: Development of Biomechanical Models to Describe Dose-Volume Response to Liver Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) Patients

Purpose: Previous studies have shown that radiotherapy treatment for liver metastases causes marked liver hypertrophy in areas receiving low dose and atrophy/fibrosis in areas receiving high dose. The purpose of this work is to develop and evaluate a biomechanical model-based dose-response model to describe these liver responses to SBRT. Methods: In this retrospective study, a biomechanical model-based deformable registration algorithm, Morfeus, was expanded to include dose-based boundary conditions. Liver and tumor volumes were contoured on the planning images and CT/MR images three months post-RT and converted to finite element models. A thermal expansion-based relationship correlating the delivered dose and volume response was generated from 22 patients previously treated. This coefficient, combined with the planned dose, was applied as an additional boundary condition to describe the volumetric response of the liver of an additional cohort of metastatic liver patients treated with SBRT. The accuracy of the model was evaluated based on overall volumetric liver comparisons and the target registration error (TRE) using the average deviations in positions of identified vascular bifurcations on each set of registered images, with a target accuracy of the 2.5mm isotropic dose grid (vector dimension 4.3mm). Results: The thermal expansion coefficient models the volumetric change of the liver to within 3%. The accuracy of Morfeus with dose-expansion boundary conditions a TRE of 5.7±2.8mm compared to 11.2±3.7mm using rigid registration and 8.9±0.28mm using Morfeus with only spatial boundary conditions. Conclusion: A biomechanical model has been developed to describe the volumetric and spatial response of the liver to SBRT. This work will enable the improvement of correlating functional imaging with delivered dose, the mapping of the delivered dose from one treatment onto the planning images for a subsequent treatment, and will further provide information to assist with the biological characterization of patients’ response to radiation.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

Breast dose in mammography is about 30% lower when realistic heterogeneous glandular distributions are considered

Purpose: Current dosimetry methods in mammography assume that the breast is comprised of a homogeneous mixture of glandular and adipose tissues. Three-dimensional (3D) dedicated breast CT (bCT) data sets were used previously to assess the complex anatomical structure within the breast, characterizing the statistical distribution of glandular tissue in the breast. The purpose of this work was to investigate the effect of bCT-derived heterogeneous glandular distributions on dosimetry in mammography. Methods: bCT-derived breast diameters, volumes, and 3D fibroglandular distributions were used to design realistic compressed breast models comprised of heterogeneous distributions of glandular tissue. The bCT-derived glandular distributions were fit to biGaussian functions and used as probability density maps to assign the density distributions within compressed breast models. The MCNPX 2.6.0 Monte Carlo code was used to estimate monoenergetic normalized mean glandular dose “DgN(E)” values in mammography geometry. The DgN(E) values were then weighted by typical mammography x-ray spectra to determine polyenergetic DgN (pDgN) coefficients for heterogeneous (pDgN{sub hetero}) and homogeneous (pDgN{sub homo}) cases. The dependence of estimated pDgN values on phantom size, volumetric glandular fraction (VGF), x-ray technique factors, and location of the heterogeneous glandular distributions was investigated. Results: The pDgN{sub hetero} coefficients were on average 35.3% (SD, 4.1) and 24.2% (SD, 3.0) lower than the pDgN{sub homo} coefficients for the Mo–Mo and W–Rh x-ray spectra, respectively, across all phantom sizes and VGFs when the glandular distributions were centered within the breast phantom in the coronal plane. At constant breast size, increasing VGF from 7.3% to 19.1% lead to a reduction in pDgN{sub hetero} relative to pDgN{sub homo} of 23.6%–27.4% for a W–Rh spectrum. Displacement of the glandular distribution, at a distance equal to 10% of the compressed breast width in the superior and inferior directions, resulted in a 37.3% and a −26.6% change in the pDgN{sub hetero} coefficient, respectively, relative to the centered distribution for the Mo–Mo spectrum. Lateral displacement of the glandular distribution, at a distance equal to 10% of the compressed breast width, resulted in a 1.5% change in the pDgN{sub hetero} coefficient relative to the centered distribution for the W–Rh spectrum. Conclusions: Introducing bCT-derived heterogeneous glandular distributions into mammography phantom design resulted in decreased glandular dose relative to the widely used homogeneous assumption. A homogeneous distribution overestimates the amount of glandular tissue near the entrant surface of the breast, where dose deposition is exponentially higher. While these findings are based on clinically measured distributions of glandular tissue using a large cohort of women, future work is required to improve the classification of glandular distributions based on breast size and overall glandular fraction.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

SU-F-J-194: Development of Dose-Based Image Guided Proton Therapy Workflow

Purpose: To implement image-guided proton therapy (IGPT) based on daily proton dose distribution. Methods: Unlike x-ray therapy, simple alignment based on anatomy cannot ensure proper dose coverage in proton therapy. Anatomy changes along the beam path may lead to underdosing the target, or overdosing the organ-at-risk (OAR). With an in-room mobile computed tomography (CT) system, we are developing a dose-based IGPT software tool that allows patient positioning and treatment adaption based on daily dose distributions. During an IGPT treatment, daily CT images are acquired in treatment position. After initial positioning based on rigid image registration, proton dose distribution is calculated on daily CT images. The target and OARs are automatically delineated via deformable image registration. Dose distributions are evaluated to decide if repositioning or plan adaptation is necessary in order to achieve proper coverage of the target and sparing of OARs. Besides online dose-based image guidance, the software tool can also map daily treatment doses to the treatment planning CT images for offline adaptive treatment. Results: An in-room helical CT system is commissioned for IGPT purposes. It produces accurate CT numbers that allow proton dose calculation. GPU-based deformable image registration algorithms are developed and evaluated for automatic ROI-delineation and dose mapping. The online and offline IGPT functionalities are evaluated with daily CT images of the proton patients. Conclusion: The online and offline IGPT software tool may improve the safety and quality of proton treatment by allowing dose-based IGPT and adaptive proton treatments. Research is partially supported by Mevion Medical Systems.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

β-(1,3)-Glucan Unmasking in Some Candida albicans Mutants Correlates with Increases in Cell Wall Surface Roughness and Decreases in Cell Wall Elasticity

Candida albicans is among the most common human fungal pathogens, causing a broad range of infections, including life-threatening systemic infections. The cell wall of C. albicans is the interface between the fungus and the innate immune system. The cell wall is composed of an outer layer enriched in mannosylated glycoproteins (mannan) and an inner layer enriched in β-(1,3)-glucan and chitin. Detection of C. albicans by Dectin-1, a C-type signaling lectin specific for β-(1,3)-glucan, is important for the innate immune system to recognize systemic fungal infections. Increased exposure of β-(1,3)-glucan to the immune system occurs when the mannan layer is altered or removed in a process called unmasking. Nanoscale changes to the cell wall during unmasking were explored in this paper in live cells with atomic force microscopy (AFM). Two mutants, the cho1Δ/Δ and kre5Δ/Δ mutants, were selected as representatives that exhibit modest and strong unmasking, respectively. Comparisons of the cho1Δ/Δ and kre5Δ/Δ mutants to the wild type reveal morphological changes in their cell walls that correlate with decreases in cell wall elasticity. In addition, AFM tips functionalized with Dectin-1 revealed that the forces of binding of Dectin-1 to all of the strains were similar, but the frequency of binding was highest for the kre5Δ/Δ mutant, decreased for the cho1Δ/Δ mutant, and rare for the wild type. These data show that nanoscale changes in surface topology are correlated with increased Dectin-1 adhesion and decreased cell wall elasticity. Finally, AFM, using tips functionalized with immunologically relevant molecules, can map epitopes of the cell wall and increase our understanding of pathogen recognition by the immune system.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

mSphere of Influence: Comprehensive Genetic Analysis

Jason M. Peters works in the fields of antibiotic resistance and biofuel production. In this mSphere of Influence article, he reflects on how the paper “A global genetic interaction network maps a wiring diagram of cellular function” by Costanzo et al. (Science 353:aaf1420, 2016, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaf1420 ) has impacted his work by highlighting the power of gene networks to uncover new biology.

Peters, Jason M.↗