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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 1,045 records · Page 58
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Characterization of Classical Sheep Scrapie in White-tailed Deer after Experimental Oronasal Exposure

Abstract Background Classic scrapie is a prion disease of sheep and goats that is associated with accumulation of abnormal prion protein (PrPSc) in the central nervous and lymphoid tissues. Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is the prion disease of cervids. This study was conducted to determine the susceptibility of white-tailed deer (WTD) to the classic scrapie agent. Methods We inoculated WTD (n = 5) by means of a concurrent oral/intranasal exposure with the classic scrapie agent from sheep or oronasally with the classic scrapie agent from goats (n = 6). Results All deer exposed to the agent of classic scrapie from sheep accumulated PrPSc. PrPSc was detected in lymphoid tissues at preclinical time points, and necropsies in deer 28 months after inoculation showed clinical signs, spongiform lesions, and widespread PrPSc in neural and lymphoid tissues. Western blots on samples from the brainstem, cerebellum, and lymph nodes of scrapie-infected WTD have a molecular profile similar to CWD and distinct from samples from the cerebral cortex, retina, or the original classic scrapie inoculum. There was no evidence of PrPSc in any of the WTD inoculated with classic scrapie prions from goats. Conclusions WTD are susceptible to the agent of classic scrapie from sheep, and differentiation from CWD may be difficult.

Immunology↗
DOE OSTI2020

White dwarf pollution by hydrated planetary remnants: hydrogen and metals in WD J204713.76–125908.9

ABSTRACT WD J204713.76–125908.9 is a new addition to the small class of white dwarfs with helium-dominated photospheres that exhibit strong Balmer absorption lines and atmospheric metal pollution. The exceptional abundances of hydrogen observed in these stars may be the result of accretion of water-rich rocky bodies. We obtained far-ultraviolet and optical spectroscopy of WD J204713.76–125908.9 using the Cosmic Origin Spectrograph on-board the Hubble Space Telescope and X-shooter on the Very Large Telescope, and identify photospheric absorption lines of nine metals: C, O, Mg, Si, P, S, Ca, Fe, and Ni. The abundance ratios are consistent with the steady-state accretion of exo-planetesimal debris rich in the volatile elements carbon and oxygen, and the transitional element sulphur, by factors of 17, 2, and 4, respectively, compared to the bulk Earth. The parent body has a composition akin to Solar system carbonaceous chondrites, and the inferred minimum mass, 1.6 × 1020 g, is comparable to an asteroid 23 km in radius. We model the composition of the disrupted parent body, finding from our simulations a median water mass fraction of 8 per cent.

Hoskin, Matthew J.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Dark matter haloes of massive elliptical galaxies at z ∼ 0.2 are well described by the Navarro–Frenk–White profile

ABSTRACT We investigate the internal structure of elliptical galaxies at z ∼ 0.2 from a joint lensing–dynamics analysis. We model Hubble Space Telescope images of a sample of 23 galaxy–galaxy lenses selected from the Sloan Lens ACS (SLACS) survey. Whereas the original SLACS analysis estimated the logarithmic slopes by combining the kinematics with the imaging data, we estimate the logarithmic slopes only from the imaging data. We find that the distribution of the lensing-only logarithmic slopes has a median 2.08c ± 0.03 and intrinsic scatter 0.13 ± 0.02, consistent with the original SLACS analysis. We combine the lensing constraints with the stellar kinematics and weak lensing measurements, and constrain the amount of adiabatic contraction in the dark matter (DM) haloes. We find that the DM haloes are well described by a standard Navarro–Frenk–White halo with no contraction on average for both of a constant stellar mass-to-light ratio (M/L) model and a stellar M/L gradient model. For the M/L gradient model, we find that most galaxies are consistent with no M/L gradient. Comparison of our inferred stellar masses with those obtained from the stellar population synthesis method supports a heavy initial mass function (IMF) such as the Salpeter IMF. We discuss our results in the context of previous observations and simulations, and argue that our result is consistent with a scenario in which active galactic nucleus feedback counteracts the baryonic-cooling-driven contraction in the DM haloes.

Shajib, Anowar J.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Multimessenger emission from the accretion-induced collapse of white dwarfs

ABSTRACT We present fully general relativistic 3D numerical simulations of accretion-induced collapse (AIC) of white dwarfs (WDs). We evolve three different WD models (non-rotating, rotating at 80 per cent and 99 per cent of the Keplerian mass shedding limit) that collapse due to electron capture. For each of these models, we provide a detailed analysis of their gravitational waves (GWs), neutrinos, and electromagnetic counterpart and discuss their detectability. Our results suggest that fast rotating AICs could be detectable up to a distance of 8 Mpc with third-generation GW observatories, and up to 1 Mpc with LIGO. AIC progenitors are expected to have large angular momentum due to their accretion history, which is a determining factor for their stronger GW emission compared to core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe). Regarding neutrino emission, we found no significant difference between AICs and CCSNe. In the electromagnetic spectrum, we find that AICs are two orders of magnitude fainter than type Ia supernovae. Our work places AICs as realistic targets for future multimessenger searches with third generation ground-based GW detectors.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗
DOE OSTI2018

Evidence for GeV cosmic rays from white dwarfs in the local cosmic ray spectra and in the gamma-ray emissivity of the inner Galaxy

Here, recent observations found that electrons are accelerated to ~10 GeV and emit synchrotron hard X-rays in two magnetic white dwarfs (WDs), also known as cataclysmic variables (CVs). In nova outbursts of WDs, multi-GeV gamma-rays were detected, implying that protons are accelerated to 100 GeV or higher. In recent optical surveys, the WD density is found to be higher near the Sun than in the Galactic disk by a factor ~2.5. The cosmic rays (CRs) produced by local CVs and novae will accumulate in the local bubble for 10 6 –10 7 yr. On these findings, we search for CRs from historic CVs and novae in the observed CR spectra. We model the CR spectra at the heliopause as sums of Galactic and local components based on observational data as much as possible. The initial Galactic CR electron and proton spectra are deduced from the gamma-ray emissivity, the local electron spectrum from the hard X-ray spectra at the CVs, and the local proton spectrum from gamma-ray spectra at novae. These spectral shapes are then expressed in a simple set of polynomial functions of CR energy and regressively fitted until the high-energy (>100 GeV) CR spectra near Earth and the Voyager-1 spectra at the heliopause are reproduced. We then extend the modeling to nuclear CR spectra and find that one spectral shape fits all local nuclear CRs, and that the apparent hardening of the nuclear CR spectra is caused by the roll-down of local nuclear spectra around 100–200 GeV. All local CR spectra populate a limited energy band below 100–200 GeV and enhance gamma-ray emissivity below ~10 GeV. Such an enhancement is observed in the inner Galaxy, suggesting the CR fluxes from CVs and novae are substantially higher there.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Gamma-ray signatures of 𝑟-process radioactivity from the collapse of magnetized white dwarfs

We predict the gamma-ray line emission from 𝑟-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta of the accretion-induced collapse (AIC) of a magnetized, rapidly rotating white dwarf. Using ejecta from a two-dimensional general-relativistic neutrino-magnetohydrodynamic simulation, further evolved with a radiation-hydrodynamics code coupled to an in situ nuclear reaction network, we construct angle-dependent gamma-ray spectra in the 0.01–10 MeV band via composition-dependent ray tracing through the ejecta. The emission between ∼1 and 10 d is dominated by 132 I (𝑡 1/2 = 2.3 h), continuously replenished by the decay of its parent 132 Te (𝑡 1/2 = 3.2 d), with additional contributions from 131 I, 133 Xe, and 132 Te . At 𝑡 ≳ 20 d, 56 Co (from 56 Ni decay) becomes the primary emitter. The simultaneous presence of 𝑟 process and iron-peak gamma-ray lines is distinctive of AIC ejecta and absent in binary neutron star mergers, where iron-peak nuclei are generally not synthesized. Comparing with the 3⁢𝜎 continuum sensitivities of planned MeV gamma-ray telescopes (COSI, AMEGO-X, e-ASTROGAM, GRAMS, GammaTPC), we find the brightest 𝑟-process lines detectable to ∼10 Mpc by GammaTPC and GRAMS, with the signal approaching their sensitivity threshold at 30 Mpc. As a result, the 𝑟-process spectral features survive time integration over ∼30 d exposures, demonstrating robustness against the long observation times required by gamma-ray detectors.

Nuclear reactions↗
DOE OSTI2020

Nuclear and dark matter heating in massive white dwarf stars

Recently, Cheng et al. identified a number of massive white dwarfs (WD) that appear to have an additional heat source providing a luminosity near ≈ 10 -3 L⊙ for multiple Gyr [S. Cheng, J.D. Cummings, and B. Ménard, Astrophys. J. 886, 100 (2019)]. In this paper we explore heating from electron capture and pycnonuclear reactions. In this work we also explore heating from dark matter annihilation. WD stars appear to be too small to capture enough dark matter for this to be important. Finally, if dark matter condenses to very high densities inside a WD this could ignite nuclear reactions. We calculate the enhanced central density of a WD in the gravitational potential of a very dense dark matter core. While this might start a supernova, it seems unlikely to provide modest heating for a long time. We conclude that electron capture, pycnonuclear, and dark matter reactions are unlikely to provide significant heating in the massive WD that Cheng considers.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Search for axions from magnetic white dwarfs with Chandra x-ray observations

Low-mass axionlike particles could be produced in abundance within the cores of hot, compact magnetic white dwarf (MWD) stars from electron bremsstrahlung and converted to detectable x-rays in the strong magnetic fields surrounding these systems. In this work, we constrain the existence of such axions from two dedicated Chandra x-ray observations of ∼ 40 ks each in the energy range ∼ 1–10 keV toward the MWDs WD 1859 +148 and PG 0945 + 246. We find no evidence for axions, which constrains the axion-electron times axion-photon coupling to |𝑔 𝑎⁢𝛾⁢𝛾 ⁡𝑔 𝑎⁢𝑒⁢𝑒 | ≲ 1.54 ×10 −25 (3.54 × 10 −25 ) GeV −1 for PG 0945 + 246 (WD 1859 +148) at 95% confidence for axion masses 𝑚 𝑎 ≲ 10 −6 eV. Here, we find an excess of low-energy x-rays between 1 and 3 keV for WD 1859 + 148 but determine that the spectral morphology is too soft to arise from axions; instead, the soft x-rays may arise from nonthermal emission in the MWD magnetosphere.

Axions↗
DOE OSTI2021

Actinide Crystallization and Fission Reactions in Cooling White Dwarf Stars

The first solids that form as a cooling white dwarf (WD) starts to crystallize are expected to be greatly enriched in actinides. This is because the melting points of WD matter scale as Z5/3 and actinides have the largest charge Z. We estimate that the solids may be so enriched in actinides that they could support a fission chain reaction. This reaction could ignite carbon burning and lead to the explosion of an isolated WD in a thermonuclear supernova (SN Ia). Our mechanism could potentially explain SN Ia with sub-Chandrasekhar ejecta masses and short delay times.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

The active site of hen egg-white lysozyme: flexibility and chemical bonding

Chemical bonding at the active site of lysozyme is analyzed on the basis of a multipole model employing transferable multipole parameters from a database. Large B factors at low temperatures reflect frozen-in disorder, but therefore prevent a meaningful free refinement of multipole parameters. Chemical bonding at the active site of hen egg-white lysozyme (HEWL) is analyzed on the basis of Bader’s quantum theory of atoms in molecules [QTAIM; Bader (1994 ▶), Atoms in Molecules: A Quantum Theory. Oxford University Press] applied to electron-density maps derived from a multipole model. The observation is made that the atomic displacement parameters (ADPs) of HEWL at a temperature of 100 K are larger than ADPs in crystals of small biological molecules at 298 K. This feature shows that the ADPs in the cold crystals of HEWL reflect frozen-in disorder rather than thermal vibrations of the atoms. Directly generalizing the results of multipole studies on small-molecule crystals, the important consequence for electron-density analysis of protein crystals is that multipole parameters cannot be independently varied in a meaningful way in structure refinements. Instead, a multipole model for HEWL has been developed by refinement of atomic coordinates and ADPs against the X-ray diffraction data of Wang and coworkers [Wang et al. (2007), Acta Cryst. D63, 1254–1268], while multipole parameters were fixed to the values for transferable multipole parameters from the ELMAM2 database [Domagala et al. (2012), Acta Cryst. A68, 337–351] . Static and dynamic electron densities based on this multipole model are presented. Analysis of their topological properties according to the QTAIM shows that the covalent bonds possess similar properties to the covalent bonds of small molecules. Hydrogen bonds of intermediate strength are identified for the Glu35 and Asp52 residues, which are considered to be essential parts of the active site of HEWL. Furthermore, a series of weak C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds are identified by means of the existence of bond critical points (BCPs) in the multipole electron density. It is proposed that these weak interactions might be important for defining the tertiary structure and activity of HEWL. The deprotonated state of Glu35 prevents a distinction between the Phillips and Koshland mechanisms.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

The binding of platinum hexahalides (Cl, Br and I) to hen egg-white lysozyme and the chemical transformation of the PtI{sub 6} octahedral complex to a PtI{sub 3} moiety bound to His15

The platinum hexahalides have an octahedral arrangement of six halogen atoms bound to a Pt centre, thus having an octahedral shape that could prove to be useful in interpreting poor electron-density maps. In a detailed characterization, PtI{sub 6} chemically transformed to a square-planar PtI{sub 3} complex bound to the N{sup δ} atom of His15 of HEWL was also observed, which was not observed for PtBr{sub 6} or PtCl{sub 6}. This study examines the binding and chemical stability of the platinum hexahalides K{sub 2}PtCl{sub 6}, K{sub 2}PtBr{sub 6} and K{sub 2}PtI{sub 6} when soaked into pre-grown hen egg-white lysozyme (HEWL) crystals as the protein host. Direct comparison of the iodo complex with the chloro and bromo complexes shows that the iodo complex is partly chemically transformed to a square-planar PtI{sub 3} complex bound to the N{sup δ} atom of His15, a chemical behaviour that is not exhibited by the chloro or bromo complexes. Each complex does, however, bind to HEWL in its octahedral form either at one site (PtI{sub 6}) or at two sites (PtBr{sub 6} and PtCl{sub 6}). As heavy-atom derivatives of a protein, the octahedral shape of the hexahalides could be helpful in cases of difficult-to-interpret electron-density maps as they would be recognisable ‘objects’.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2020

Effects of cold stress on metabolic regulation in the overwintering larvae of the Chinese white pine beetle, Dendroctonus armandi

Abstract The Chinese white pine beetle, Dendroctonus armandi Tsai & Li (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Scolytinae), is considered the most destructive forest pest in the Qinling and Bashan Mountains of China. In recent years, winter temperature has dropped in these regions, and extremely low temperatures are hard to survive for insects. Cold hardiness becomes a crucial strategy because temperature change often leads to fluctuations in insect abundance, and the metabolism rate is a key index of resistance to cold in overwintering insects. Therefore, we investigated the relationship between the change in respiratory rate and the activity of metabolism‐related mitochondrial enzymes in D. armandi larvae under cold conditions. We found that the respiratory rate decreased, and it was matched with the activity of glutamate dehydrogenase, aconitase, and lipase during overwintering. Among the various test times under cold conditions, the respiratory rate also decreased with decreasing temperature and increased under very low temperatures. At all cold stress periods, glutamate dehydrogenase and lipase showed increased activity at higher temperatures and decreased activity under lower temperatures, but the activity of NAD‐malic enzyme, NADP‐malic enzyme, mitochondrial isocitrate dehydrogenase, and aconitase were contrary. Under all low temperatures, the activity of enzymes – except for NADP‐malic enzyme, glutamate dehydrogenase, and lipase – increased in short‐term cold stress and decreased in long‐term cold stress at 4, 0, −4, −6, −8, and −10 °C. However, at −2 °C, the activity of enzymes showed a decreasing trend in short‐term treatments and an increasing trend in long‐term treatments, except for mitochondrial isocitrate dehydrogenase. The results not only improve our understanding of the metabolic mechanism of cold adaptation in D. armandi , but also provide an important experimental basis for further study and biological pest control.

Fu, Danyang↗
DOE OSTI2014

Forecasting changes in water quality in rivers associated with growing biofuels in the Arkansas-White-Red river drainage, USA

We study that the mid-section of the Arkansas-White-Red (AWR) river basin near the 100 th parallel is particularly promising for sustainable biomass production using cellulosic perennial crops and residues. Along this longitudinal band, precipitation becomes limiting to competing crops that require irrigation from an increasingly depleted groundwater aquifer. In addition, the deep-rooted perennial, switchgrass, produces modest-to-high yields in this region with minimal inputs and could compete against alternative crops and land uses at relatively low cost. Previous studies have also suggested that switchgrass and other perennial feedstocks offer environmentally benign alternatives to corn and corn stover. However, water quality implications remain a significant concern for conversion of marginal lands to bioenergy production because excess nutrients produced by agriculture for food or for energy contribute to eutrophication in the dead-zone in the Gulf of Mexico. This study addresses water quality implications for the AWR river basin. We used the SWAT model to compare water quality in rivers draining a baseline, pre-cellulosic-bioenergy and post-cellulosic-bioenergy landscapes for 2022 and 2030. Simulated water quality responses varied across the region, but with a net tendency toward decreased amounts of nutrient and sediment, particularly in subbasins with large areas of bioenergy crops in 2030 future scenarios. We conclude that water quality is one aspect of sustainability for which cellulosic bioenergy production in this region holds promise.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Selective area epitaxy of monolithic white-light InGaN/GaN quantum well microstripes with dual color emission

Monolithic color synthesis is demonstrated using InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (QWs) grown on GaN microstripes formed by selective area epitaxy on SiO{sub 2} mask patterns. The striped microfacet structure is composed of (0001) and (11-22) planes, attributed to favorable surface polarity and surface energy. InGaN/GaN QWs on different microfacets contain spatially inhomogeneous compositions owing to the diffusion of adatoms among the facets. This unique property allows the microfacet QWs to emit blue light from the (11-22) plane and yellow light from the top (0001) plane, the mixing of which leads to the perception of white light emission.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2013

TOPOS: A new topometric patient positioning and tracking system for radiation therapy based on structured white light

Purpose: A patient positioning system for radiation therapy based on structured white light and using off-the-shelf hardware components for flexibility and cost-effectiveness has been developed in house. Increased accuracy, patient comfort, abandonment of any skin marks, accelerated workflow, objective reading/recording, better usability and robust sensor design, compared to other positioning approaches, were the main goals of this work. Another aim was the application of a 6 degrees of freedom tracking system working without dose deposition. Methods: Two optical sensors are the main parts of the TOPOS Registered-Sign system (Topometrical Positioning, cyberTECHNOLOGIES, Germany). The components: cameras, projectors, and computers are commercial off-the-shelf products, allowing for low production costs. The black/white cameras of the prototype are capable of taking up to 240 frames per second (resolution: 640 Multiplication-Sign 488 pixels). The projector has a resolution of 1024 Multiplication-Sign 768 and a refresh rate of 120 Hz. The patient's body surface is measured continuously and registered to a reference surface, providing a transformation to superimpose the patient's surface to the reference (planning CT) surface as best as possible. The execution of the calculated transformation provides the correct patient position before the treatment starts. Due to the high-speed acquisition of the surfaces, a surveillance of the patient's (respiration) motion during treatment is also accomplished. The accuracy of the system was determined using a male mannequin. Two treatment sites were evaluated: one simulating a head and neck treatment and the other simulating a thoracic wall treatment. The mannequin was moved to predefined positions, and shift vectors given by the surface registration were evaluated. Additionally manual positioning using a color-coding system was evaluated. Results: Two prototypes have been developed, each allowing a continuous high density scan of a 500 Multiplication-Sign 500 Multiplication-Sign 400 mm{sup 3} (L Multiplication-Sign W Multiplication-Sign D) large volume with a refresh rate of 10 Hz (extendible to 20 Hz for a single sensor system). Surface and position correction display, as well as respiratory motion, is shown in real-time (delay < 200 ms) using present graphical hardware acceleration. For an intuitive view of the patient's misalignment, a fast surface registration algorithm has been developed and tested and a real-time color-coding technique is proposed and verified that allows the user to easily verify the position of the patient. Using first the surface registration and then the color coding the best results were obtained: for the head and neck case, the mean difference between the actual zero position and the final match was 0.1 {+-} 0.4, -0.2 {+-} 0.7, and -0.1 {+-} 0.3 mm in vertical, longitudinal, and lateral direction. For the thoracic case, the mean differences were 0.3 {+-} 0.5, -0.6 {+-} 1.9, 0.0 {+-} 0.4 mm. Conclusions: The presented system copes with the increasing demand for more accurate patient positioning due to more precise irradiation technologies and minimizes the preparation times for correct patient alignment, therefore optimizing the treatment workflow. Moreover, TOPOS is a versatile and cost effective image guided radiation therapy device. It allows an objective rating of the patient's position before and during the irradiation and could also be used for respiratory gating or tracking.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2015

TU-CD-BRB-05: Radiation Damage Signature of White Matter Fiber Bundles Using Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI)

Purpose: To develop an automated and scalable approach and identify temporal, spatial and dosimetric patterns of radiation damage of white matter (WM) fibers following partial brain irradiation. Methods: An automated and scalable approach was developed to extract DTI features of 22 major WM fibers from 33 patients with low-grade/benign tumors treated by radiation therapy (RT). DTI scans of the patients were performed pre-RT, 3- and 6-week during RT, and 1, 6 and 18 months after RT. The automated tractography analysis was applied to 198 datasets as: (1) intra-subject registration of longitudinal DTI, (2) spatial normalization of individual-patient DTI to the Johns Hopkins WM Atlas, (3) automatic fiber tracking regulated by the WM Atlas, and (4) segmentation of WM into 22 major tract profiles. Longitudinal percentage changes in fractional anisotropy (FA), and mean, axial and radial diffusivity (MD/AD/RD) of each tract from pre-RT were quantified and correlated to 95%, 90% and 80% percentiles of doses and mean doses received by the tract. Heatmaps were used to identify clusters of significant correlation and reveal temporal, spatial and dosimetric signatures of WM damage. A multivariate linear regression was further carried out to determine influence of clinical factors. Results: Of 22 tracts, AD/MD changes in 12 tracts had significant correlation with doses, especially at 6 and 18 months post-RT, indicating progressive radiation damage after RT. Most interestingly, the DTI-index changes in the elongated tracts were associated with received maximum doses, suggesting a serial-structure behavior; while short association fibers were affected by mean doses, indicating a parallel-structure response. Conclusion: Using an automated DTI-tractography analysis of whole brain WM fibers, we reveal complex radiation damage patterns of WM fibers. Damage in WM fibers that play an important role in the neural network could be associated with late neurocognitive function declines after brain irradiation. NIH NS064973.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

Draft Genome Sequence of the White-Rot Fungus Obba rivulosa 3A-2

ABSTRACT We report here the first genome sequence of the white-rot fungus Obba rivulosa (Polyporales, Basidiomycota), a polypore known for its lignin-decomposing ability. The genome is based on the homokaryon 3A-2 originating in Finland. The genome is typical in size and carbohydrate active enzyme (CAZy) content for wood-decomposing basidiomycetes.

Miettinen, Otto↗