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At least 1,009 records · Page 56

Novel Species of Non-Spore-Forming Bacteria

While cataloging cultivatable microbes from the airborne biological diversity of the atmosphere of the Regenerative Enclosed life-support Module Simulator (REMS) system at Marshall Space Flight Center, two strains that belong to one novel bacterial species were isolated. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing and the unique morphology and the taxonomic characteristics of these strains, it is shown that they belong to the family Intrasporangiaceae, related to the genus Tetrasphaera, with phylogenetic distances from any validly described species of the genus Tetrasphaera ranging from 96.71 to 97.76 percent. The fatty acid profile supported the affiliation of these novel strains to the genus Tetrasphaera except for the presence of higher concentrations of octadecenoic acid (C18:0) and cis-9-octadecenoic acid (C18:1), which discriminates these strains from other valid species. In addition, DNA-DNA hybridization studies indicate that these strains belong to a novel species that could be readily distinguished from its nearest neighbor, Tetrasphaera japonica AMC 5116T, with less than 20 percent DNA relatedness. Physiological and biochemical tests show few phenotypic dissimilarities, but genotypic analysis allowed the differentiation of these gelatin-liquefying strains from previously reported strains. The name Tetrasphaera remsis sp. Nov. is proposed with the type strain 3-M5-R-4(sup T) (=ATCC BAA-1496(sup T)=CIP 109413(sup T). The cells are Gram-positive, nonmotile, cocci, in tetrad arrangement and clusters. Spore formation is not observed. No species of Tetrashpaera has ever been isolated from airborne samples. Previous discoveries have come from soil and activated sludge samples. As other species of this genus have demonstrated enhanced biological phosphorus removal activity, further tests are required to determine if this newly discovered species would have bioremediation applications.

Briegel, Ariane↗

CO2 Flux Estimation Errors Associated with Moist Atmospheric Processes

Vertical transport by moist sub-grid scale processes such as deep convection is a well-known source of uncertainty in CO2 source/sink inversion. However, a dynamical link between vertical transport, satellite based retrievals of column mole fractions of CO2, and source/sink inversion has not yet been established. By using the same offline transport model with meteorological fields from slightly different data assimilation systems, we examine sensitivity of frontal CO2 transport and retrieved fluxes to different parameterizations of sub-grid vertical transport. We find that frontal transport feeds off background vertical CO2 gradients, which are modulated by sub-grid vertical transport. The implication for source/sink estimation is two-fold. First, CO2 variations contained in moist poleward moving air masses are systematically different from variations in dry equatorward moving air. Moist poleward transport is hidden from orbital sensors on satellites, causing a sampling bias, which leads directly to small but systematic flux retrieval errors in northern mid-latitudes. Second, differences in the representation of moist sub-grid vertical transport in GEOS-4 and GEOS-5 meteorological fields cause differences in vertical gradients of CO2, which leads to systematic differences in moist poleward and dry equatorward CO2 transport and therefore the fraction of CO2 variations hidden in moist air from satellites. As a result, sampling biases are amplified and regional scale flux errors enhanced, most notably in Europe (0.43+/-0.35 PgC /yr). These results, cast from the perspective of moist frontal transport processes, support previous arguments that the vertical gradient of CO2 is a major source of uncertainty in source/sink inversion.

moist atmospheric processes↗

Computationally Efficient Motion Planning Algorithms for Agile Autonomous Vehicles in Cluttered Environments

Fast, real-time motion planning of an agile, autonomous vehicle in a cluttered environment, with many geometrically-fixed obstacles, is a very complex problem, especially because of the vehicle dynamics constraints and resource constrained computational capabilities onboard the vehicle. In this paper, we present computationally-efficient versions of our novel motion planning algorithm called the Spherical Expansion and Sequential Convex Programming (SE–SCP) algorithm. The SE–SCP algorithm first uses a spherical-expansion-based randomized sampling algorithm to explore the workspace. Oncea path is found from the start position to the goal position, the algorithm computes a locally optimal trajectory, within its homotopy class for a desired cost function, by solving a sequence of convex optimization problems. Thus, the SE–SCP algorithm is anytime locally optimal and the trajectory is globally optimal if the number of samples tends to infinity. In this paper, we further enhance the computational efficiency of the SE–SCP algorithm using uni-directional and bi-directional rewiring techniques. We also present a detailed proof of the local optimality characteristics of the new SE–SCP algorithms for aspecial case of vehicle dynamics. Simulation examples involving quadrotor and spacecraft help demonstrate the effectiveness of our new algorithms.

Bandyopadhyay, Saptarshi↗

Influences of Solar Irradiation and Aerosol Surface Area on Nitrous Acid Production in Western U.S. Wildfire Smoke

Biomass burning has been identified as a primary emission source for a host of gas and aerosol phase compounds which can damage environmental and human health. During FIREX-AQ collaborators from UNH, NASA Langley Aerosol Research Group Experiment (LARGE), and Brown University conducted measurements out of NASA Langley’s mobile laboratory during July and August of 2019. Nitrous acid (HONO) and nitric acid (HNO3) concentrations were measured at nominal 5-minute resolution using a dual mist chamber-ion chromatograph system resulting in approximately 1,200 total samples from five separate fires in the western US. Enhancement ratios between PM2.5 and carbon monoxide were used to discriminate between young and aged smoke plumes. Average HONO concentrations were significantly higher (P << 0.01) in young daytime compared to nighttime smoke while no statistical differences (P > 0.05) were observed between young and aged smoke during day or night. In daytime smoke from the Williams Flats fire (75 km SE of Spokane, WA on the Columbia River) UV-A irradiation was highly correlated with HONO to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) ratios; indicating that heterogenous NO2 to HONO conversion more than compensated for rapid photolytic loss of HONO. Black carbon (BC) may serve as a stable proxy for total available aerosol surface area in biomass burning plumes when total aerosol size distributions are unavailable. During the day HONO/NO2 is weakly correlated to BC when BC abundance exceeds 1 ug/m3 but at lower BC concentrations the relationship breaks down. At night this relationship was stronger, partly due to consistently high BC concentrations. These observations suggest that heterogenous conversion of NO2 to HONO on aerosol is a significant source of HONO in dense smoke plumes. In more diffuse smoke conversion on other surfaces (soil, foliage) becomes more important.

J. H. Kaspari↗

Transcriptomics-based Machine Learning Analysis Predicts Space-Exposed Murine Livers

Limited sample sizes, high data dimensionality, and sensitivity to technical and biological variability of next generation sequencing (NGS), has typically limited machine learning (ML) in space studies and further study of radiation effects. However, pooling smaller studies while addressing intra- and inter-study variabilities allows for ML predictive modeling. Here, integration methods were applied to whole transcriptome shotgun sequencing (RNAseq) data from 6 mouse liver GeneLab datasets (GLDS) with a total of 113 spaceflight and ground-control samples to determine top features relevant to spaceflight including the effect of radiation exposure. Data was normalized within each study, then merged and scaled across all datasets. Data dimensionality was reduced using a minimum redundancy maximum relevance (MRMR) methodology. The top MRMR features were used to predict spaceflight vs. ground-control samples using a Random Forest (RF) classifier with 5-fold cross validation (CV). The ML-based gene sets were further compared against differential gene expression results from individual GLDS. CV training using the top 100 MRMR genes show averages of 86% accuracy and 0.95 AUC value on the validation set over 5 folds (Figure 1A). Baseline set analysis on differentially expressed genes (DEGs) identified using padj ≤ 0.05 show 811 or 68 DEGs overlapping between at least 2 or 3 studies, respectively (Figure 1B). Over-representation analysis showed overlapping biological processes related to fatty acid and lipid metabolism. Set analysis between the MRMR features and the DEGs showed 60 or 8 genes overlapping with at least 1 or 2 studies, respectively. MRMR feature selection and ensemble ML methods (e.g. RF) improve performance relative to a Naïve Bayes classifier when NGS data sets are analyzed. A challenge of applying ML methods across heterogeneous NGS data is accounting for signal:noise ratio. Here, signal validation across studies was shown by intersecting sets between top MRMR genes and DEGs from RNASeq analysis. Non-intersecting sets introduce opportunity to explore spaceflight relevant genes and implementing ML methods across existing NGS datasets may overcome sample size limitations. ML coupled with existing analytical methods enhances understanding of disease by revealing common underlying pathways across datasets.

Machine Learning↗

Heating and Sampling Efficiency Evaluation for the Nephele Venus Cloud Sampling Mission Concept

Nephele is a descent probe concept with a unique combination of entry (3D-CC+HEEET), sampling (flow-through passive impactors), and optics (laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, or LIBS, and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, or SERS), technologies with two key innovations. The first is the integration of the aerosol sampling inlet into the aeroshell body, allowing the possibility of sampling during passive descent without separation. The second is the use of the aerosol capture surface as an optical analysis substrate, allowing fast-cadence aerosol analysis via a dual optical spectrometer instead of mass spectrometry. Although this concept shares some features with other efforts such as Cupid’s Arrow (single-body sample capture system), DAVINCI and Venera-D (use of an optical spectrometer), Nephele is unique in its physical integration of the sonde body, aerosol and gas sampler, and analysis instrumentation. This innovation is designed to eliminate the need for a controlled descent to achieve a detailed atmospheric aerosol transect, which offers in situ planetary science in a small spacecraft envelope. Aeroshell designs with inlets for free-falling sondes are well-understood, though not yet assessed for aerosol capture efficiency. A HEEET aeroshell with a specialized nose inlet material comprised of Carbon-Carbon is proposed for this mission concept.

Venus↗

Efficient GPU-Accelerated MultiSource Global Fit Pipeline for LISA Data Analysis

The large-scale analysis task of deciphering gravitational-wave signals in the LISA data stream will be difficult, requiring a large amount of computational resources and extensive development of computational methods. Its high dimensionality, multiple model types, and complicated noise profile require a global fit to all parameters and input models simultaneously. In this work, we detail our global fit algorithm, called “Erebor,” designed to accomplish this challenging task. It is capable of analyzing current state-of-the-art datasets and then growing into the future as more pieces of the pipeline are completed and added. We describe our pipeline strategy, the algorithmic setup, and the results from our analysis of the LDC2A Sangria dataset, which contains massive black hole binaries, compact galactic binaries, and a parametrized noise spectrum whose parameters are unknown to the user. The Erebor algorithm includes three unique and very useful contributions: GPU acceleration for enhanced computational efficiency; ensemble Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling with multiple MCMC walkers per temperature for better mixing and parallelized sample creation; and special online updates to reversible-jump (or transdimensional) sampling distributions to ensure sampler mixing and accurate initial estimates for detectable sources in the data.We recover posterior distributions for all 15 (6) of the injected massive black hole binaries (MBHB) in the LDC2A training (hidden) dataset. We catalog ∼12000 galactic binaries (∼8000 as high confidence detections) for both the training and hidden datasets. All of the sources and their posterior distributions are provided in publicly available catalogs.

LISA↗

Fidelity and enhanced sensitivity of differential transcription profiles following linear amplification of nanogram amounts of endothelial mRNA

Although mRNA amplification is necessary for microarray analyses from limited amounts of cells and tissues, the accuracy of transcription profiles following amplification has not been well characterized. We tested the fidelity of differential gene expression following linear amplification by T7-mediated transcription in a well-established in vitro model of cytokine [tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha)]-stimulated human endothelial cells using filter arrays of 13,824 human cDNAs. Transcriptional profiles generated from amplified antisense RNA (aRNA) (from 100 ng total RNA, approximately 1 ng mRNA) were compared with profiles generated from unamplified RNA originating from the same homogeneous pool. Amplification accurately identified TNFalpha-induced differential expression in 94% of the genes detected using unamplified samples. Furthermore, an additional 1,150 genes were identified as putatively differentially expressed using amplified RNA which remained undetected using unamplified RNA. Of genes sampled from this set, 67% were validated by quantitative real-time PCR as truly differentially expressed. Thus, in addition to demonstrating fidelity in gene expression relative to unamplified samples, linear amplification results in improved sensitivity of detection and enhances the discovery potential of high-throughput screening by microarrays.

Evaluation Studies↗

A statistical analysis of the effects of urease pre-treatment on the measurement of the urinary metabolome by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

Urease pre-treatment of urine has been utilized since the early 1960s to remove high levels of urea from samples prior to further processing and analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Aside from the obvious depletion or elimination of urea, the effect, if any, of urease pre-treatment on the urinary metabolome has not been studied in detail. Here, we report the results of three separate but related experiments that were designed to assess possible indirect effects of urease pre-treatment on the urinary metabolome as measured by GC-MS. In total, 235 GC-MS analyses were performed and over 106 identified and 200 unidentified metabolites were quantified across the three experiments. The results showed that data from urease pre-treated samples 1) had the same or lower coefficients of variance among reproducibly detected metabolites, 2) more accurately reflected quantitative differences and the expected ratios among different urine volumes, and 3) increased the number of metabolite identifications. Altogether, we observed no negative consequences of urease pre-treatment. In contrast, urease pretreatment enhanced the ability to distinguish between volume-based and biological sample types compared to no treatment. Taken together, these results show that urease pretreatment of urine offers multiple beneficial effects that outweigh any artifacts that may be introduced to the data in urinary metabolomics analyses.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Uncertainties in Coastal Ocean Color Products: Impacts of Spatial Sampling

With increasing demands for ocean color (OC) products with improved accuracy and well characterized, per-retrieval uncertainty budgets, it is vital to decompose overall estimated errors into their primary components. Amongst various contributing elements (e.g., instrument calibration, atmospheric correction, inversion algorithms) in the uncertainty of an OC observation, less attention has been paid to uncertainties associated with spatial sampling. In this paper, we simulate MODIS (aboard both Aqua and Terra) and VIIRS OC products using 30 m resolution OC products derived from the Operational Land Imager (OLI) aboard Landsat-8, to examine impacts of spatial sampling on both cross-sensor product intercomparisons and in-situ validations of R(sub rs) products in coastal waters. Various OLI OC products representing different productivity levels and in-water spatial features were scanned for one full orbital-repeat cycle of each ocean color satellite. While some view-angle dependent differences in simulated Aqua-MODIS and VIIRS were observed, the average uncertainties (absolute) in product intercomparisons (due to differences in spatial sampling) at regional scales are found to be 1.8%, 1.9%, 2.4%, 4.3%, 2.7%, 1.8%, and 4% for the R(sub rs)(443), R(sub rs)(482), R(sub rs)(561), R(sub rs)(655), Chla, K(sub d)(482), and b(sub bp)(655) products, respectively. It is also found that, depending on in-water spatial variability and the sensor's footprint size, the errors for an in-situ validation station in coastal areas can reach as high as +/- 18%. We conclude that a) expected biases induced by the spatial sampling in product intercomparisons are mitigated when products are averaged over at least 7 km × 7 km areas, b) VIIRS observations, with improved consistency in cross-track spatial sampling, yield more precise calibration/validation statistics than that of MODIS, and c) use of a single pixel centered on in-situ coastal stations provides an optimal sampling size for validation efforts. These findings will have implications for enhancing our understanding of uncertainties in ocean color retrievals and for planning of future ocean color missions and the associated calibration/validation exercises.

Coastal ocean color↗

Enhancement of Magnetization and Tailoring of Blocking Temperatures of Nano-Ni–Zn Ferrite Powder Synthesized Using Microwave-assisted Combustion Method

Single-phase nano-Ni–Zn ferrite samples in the range of 6 to 75 nm were synthesized using microwave-assisted combustion method. Enhancement of saturation magnetization (M{sub s}) was observed in comparison with previously reported results. Minor variation of (M{sub s}) due to composition change can be explained on the basis of strengthening of A–B exchange interaction due to replacement of nonmagnetic Zn ions by Ni ions. Low coercivity (H{sub c}) and retentivity (M{sub r}) indicate low loss in the samples. SQUID analysis showed that the blocking temperature (T{sub B}) of the samples can be tailored in the present work.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Thermal Flux Maximization from a DD Neutron Generator

The University of Sharjah recently acquired a model DD-109.4M neutron generator from Adelphi Technology. The generator is moderated and has three neutron ports which are capable of providing fast and thermal neutrons. The neutron ports are plugged with polyethylene layers of different thickness in order to control the neutron flux at different regions in the port. Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) is an important analysis technique to determine the amounts of isotopes in a sample at different concentrations. For many isotopes the ability to precisely determine their concentrations is enhanced by utilizing thermal neutrons in the activation process; where the capture cross section is greatest. It is thus important to subject the sample to the maximum thermal flux in order to minimize the time required to activate the sample and consequently extend the lifetime of the neutron generator. A detailed MCNP model of the neutron generator has been developed for the purpose of determining the moderator thickness required to maximize the thermal neutron flux in the neutron port. The maximization of the neutron flux must therefore take into account both the forward and backscattered neutrons reaching the sample. Also provided in this work is a mapping of the thermal flux at different moderator thicknesses in order to study the variation of the flux over the area of the sample. The developed model will be used as the basis for optimizing experiments and predicting their results. A study was performed to determine the moderator thickness needed to maximize the thermal neutron flux that can be obtained from a DD neutron generator. This has a significant role in the efficient utilization of the neutron generator. The maximum thermal neutron flux was found at approximately a 3.2 cm moderator thickness. The thermal neutron flux is resulting from both the directly moderated neutrons and the backscattered neutrons from the surrounding polyethylene. The results obtained in this work will be verified experimentally by irradiating samples at different moderator thickness and performing a neutron activation analysis for these samples. (authors)

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗

Effect of Gd and Zr co-substitution on multiferroic properties of BiFeO{sub 3}

Single phase Bi{sub 1−x}Gd{sub x}Fe{sub 1−y}Zr{sub y}O{sub 3} (x=0.06;y=0, x= 0.10, y=0 and x=0.10,y= 0.03) nanoparticles were prepared to study the combined effect of Gd and Zr substitution on structural, magnetic and optical properties of BiFeO3. Rietveld refinement of X-ray diffraction patterns predicted that sample with x=0.06, y=0 was indexed to rhombohedral structure while samples with x=0.10, y=0 and x=0.10, y=0.03 were crystallized in multiphase (rhombohedral + orthorhombic). Magnetic properties were significantly enhanced with increasing concentration of Gd ions, however, magnetization reduced slightly with addition of 3% Zr ions in the system. Electron spin Resonance analysis indicated that breaking of spin cycloid is the main reason for enhancement of magnetization. Optical properties were investigated and direct band gap was found for all the samples.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Advanced Curation Activities at NASA: Preparing to Receive, Process, and Distribute Samples Returned from Future Missions

The Astromaterials Acquisition and Curation Office (henceforth referred to herein as NASA Curation Office) at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) is responsible for curating all of NASA's extraterrestrial samples. Under the governing document, NASA Policy Directive (NPD) 7100.10F JSC is charged with curation of all extraterrestrial material under NASA control, including future NASA missions. The Directive goes on to define Curation as including documentation, preservation, preparation, and distribution of samples for research, education, and public outreach. Here we briefly describe NASA's astromaterials collections and our ongoing efforts related to enhancing the utility of our current collections as well as our efforts to prepare for future sample return missions. We collectively refer to these efforts as advanced curation.

McCubbin, Francis M.↗

A photon-phreak digs the LDEF happening

Radioactivities of the LDEF onboard experiments induced by gamma emitting rays in both intentional samples and spacecraft parts were examined. The long time greatly enhanced the ability to detect some of the longer lived nuclides, including: 2.6 yr Na-22 in Al and Fe; 5.3 yr Co-60 in Co, Ni, and In; 2.9 yr Rh-102 in In; and 38 yr Bi-207 in Pb. These radionuclides, along with such other as 33 yr Ar-42 in Ti, Fe, or Ni and 47 yr Ti-44 in the same elements, would be appropriate monitors of the high energy space radiation field on long round-trip voyages in the solar system. Additional candidate radionuclides are also discussed. Radiometric analysis of the LDEF samples was a substantial effort among a dedicated group of experts in low level counting, and highlights several important aspects of the procedures needed to achieve success in this kind of endeavor. Target elements should be chosen to differentiate between neutron and proton induced reactions, whenever this is feasible. Reactions should be chosen with a wide range of energy thresholds, to enable calculation of both intensity and energy spectra of the particle fluxes.

Smith, Alan R.↗

Effect of ultrasound treatment on the morpho-structural and luminescent characteristics of cerium doped yttrium silicate phosphors

Highlights: • Y{sub 2}SiO{sub 5}:Ce is prepared by gel combustion in ultrasound conditions (US). • Morpho-structural characteristics are revealed based on FTIR, SEM, XRD, BET. • Incorporation of Ce{sup 3+} in X1/X2 type centers depends on preparative conditions. • US treatment increases the luminescent performances up to 151%. - Abstract: Cerium activated yttrium silicate (Y{sub 2}SiO{sub 5}:Ce) phosphors were prepared by gel-combustion, using yttrium–cerium nitrate as oxidizer, aspartic acid as fuel and TEOS as source of silicon. Two modalities for samples preparation were approached namely: the classical gel-combustion and sonication gel-combustion. The ultrasound treatment during the gelling stage has a positive effect on the structural and luminescent characteristics of the final product. Therefore, a well crystallized single X2–Y{sub 2}SiO{sub 5} phase phosphor was obtained at 1200 °C. Based on FT-IR and XRD investigations, conversion of X1 to X2–Y{sub 2}SiO{sub 5} phases is observed as the firing temperature is varied (1100 °C, 1200 °C, 1300 °C 1400 °C). The ultrasound treatment leads to smaller particle size and enhances the luminescent performances up to 151% in comparison with samples prepared by classical way.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Micro-CT scouting for transmission electron microscopy of human tissue specimens

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) provides sub-nanometre-scale details in volumetric samples. Samples such as pathology tissue specimens are often stained with a metal element to enhance contrast, which makes them opaque to optical microscopes. As a result, it can be a lengthy procedure to find the region of interest inside a sample through sectioning. Here, we describe micro-CT scouting for TEM that allows noninvasive identification of regions of interest within a block sample to guide the sectioning step. In a tissue pathology study, a bench-top micro-CT scanner with 10 m resolution was used to determine the location of patches of the mucous membrane in osmium-stained human nasal scraping samples. Furthermore, once the regions of interest were located, the sample block was sectioned to expose that location, followed by ultra-thin sectioning and TEM to inspect the internal structure of the cilia of the membrane epithelial cells with nanometre resolution. This method substantially reduced the time and labour of the search process from typically 20 sections for light microscopy to three sections with no added sample preparation. Lay description Electron microscopy provides very high levels of detail in a small area, and thus the question of where to look in an opaque sample, such as a stained tissue specimen, needs to be answered by sectioning the sample in small steps and examining the sections under a light microscope, until the region of interest is found. The search process can be lengthy and labor intensive, especially for a study involving a large number of samples. Small areas of interest can be missed in the process if not enough regions are examined. We also describe a method to directly locate the region of interest within a whole sample using micro-CT imaging, bypassing the need of blindly sectioning. Micro-CT enables locating the region within 3D space; this information provides a guide for sectioning the sample to expose that precise location for high resolution electron microscopy imaging. In a human tissue specimen study, this method considerably reduced the time and labor of the search process.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Contrast enhanced spectroscopic optical coherence tomography

A method of forming an image of a sample includes performing SOCT on a sample. The sample may include a contrast agent, which may include an absorbing agent and/or a scattering agent. A method of forming an image of tissue may include selecting a contrast agent, delivering the contrast agent to the tissue, acquiring SOCT data from the tissue, and converting the SOCT data into an image. The contributions to the SOCT data of an absorbing agent and a scattering agent in a sample may be quantified separately.

Boppart, Stephen A.↗