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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 1,207 records · Page 67
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2018

Impaired photosynthesis and increased leaf construction costs may induce floral stress during episodes of global warming over macroevolutionary timescales

Global warming events have coincided with turnover of plant species at intervals in Earth history. As mean global temperatures rise, the number, frequency and duration of heat-waves will increase. Ginkgo biloba was grown under controlled climatic conditions at two different day/night temperature regimes (25/20 °C and 35/30 °C) to investigate the impact of heat stress. Photosynthetic CO 2 -uptake and electron transport were reduced at the higher temperature, while rates of respiration were greater; suggesting that the carbon balance of the leaves was adversely affected. Stomatal conductance and the potential for evaporative cooling of the leaves was reduced at the higher temperature. Furthermore, the capacity of the leaves to dissipate excess energy was also reduced at 35/30 °C, indicating that photo-protective mechanisms were no longer functioning effectively. Leaf economics were adversely affected by heat stress, exhibiting an increase in leaf mass per area and leaf construction costs. This may be consistent with the selective pressures experienced by fossil Ginkgoales during intervals of global warming such as the Triassic - Jurassic boundary or Early Eocene Climatic Optimum. The physiological and morphological responses of the $G$. biloba leaves were closely interrelated; these relationships may be used to infer the leaf economics and photosynthetic/stress physiology of fossil plants.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2018

Electrostatic Origins of CO 2 -Increased Hydrophilicity in Carbonate Reservoirs

Injecting CO 2 into oil reservoirs appears to be cost-effective and environmentally friendly due to decreasing the use of chemicals and cutting back on the greenhouse gas emission released. However, there is a pressing need for new algorithms to characterize oil/brine/rock system wettability, thus better predict and manage CO 2 geological storage and enhanced oil recovery in oil reservoirs. We coupled surface complexation/CO 2 and calcite dissolution model, and accurately predicted measured oil-on-calcite contact angles in NaCl and CaCl 2 solutions with and without CO 2 . Contact angles decreased in carbonated water indicating increased hydrophilicity under carbonation. Lowered salinity increased hydrophilicity as did Ca 2+ . Hydrophilicity correlates with independently calculated oil-calcite electrostatic bridging. The link between the two may be used to better implement CO 2 EOR in fields.

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗
DOE OSTI2021

The flavonoid procyanidin C1 has senotherapeutic activity and increases lifespan in mice

Ageing-associated functional decline of organs and increased risk for age-related chronic pathologies is driven in part by the accumulation of senescent cells, which develop the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). Here we show that procyanidin C1 (PCC1), a polyphenolic component of grape seed extract (GSE), increases the healthspan and lifespan of mice through its action on senescent cells. By screening a library of natural products, we find that GSE, and PCC1 as one of its active components, have specific effects on senescent cells. At low concentrations, PCC1 appears to inhibit SASP formation, whereas it selectively kills senescent cells at higher concentrations, possibly by promoting production of reactive oxygen species and mitochondrial dysfunction. In rodent models, PCC1 depletes senescent cells in a treatment-damaged tumour microenvironment and enhances therapeutic efficacy when co-administered with chemotherapy. Intermittent administration of PCC1 to either irradiated, senescent cell-implanted or naturally aged old mice alleviates physical dysfunction and prolongs survival. We identify PCC1 as a natural senotherapeutic agent with in vivo activity and high potential for further development as a clinical intervention to delay, alleviate or prevent age-related pathologies.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Anthropogenic sulfate aerosol pollution in South and East Asia induces increased summer precipitation over arid Central Asia

Precipitation has increased across the arid Central Asia region over recent decades. However, the underlying mechanisms of this trend are poorly understood. Here, we analyze multi-model simulations from the Precipitation Driver and Response Model Intercomparison Project (PDRMIP) to investigate potential drivers of the observed precipitation trend. We find that anthropogenic sulfate aerosols over remote polluted regions in South and East Asia lead to increased summer precipitation, especially convective and extreme precipitation, in arid Central Asia. Elevated concentrations of sulfate aerosols over remote polluted Asia cause an equatorward shift of the Asian Westerly Jet Stream through a fast response to cooling of the local atmosphere at mid-latitudes. This shift favours moisture supply from low-latitudes and moisture flux convergence over arid Central Asia, which is confirmed by a moisture budget analysis. High levels of absorbing black carbon lead to opposing changes in the Asian Westerly Jet Stream and reduced local precipitation, which can mask the impact of sulfate aerosols. This teleconnection between arid Central Asia precipitation and anthropogenic aerosols in remote Asian polluted regions highlights long-range impacts of anthropogenic aerosols on atmospheric circulations and the hydrological cycle.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Steady global surface warming from 1973 to 2022 but increased warming rate after 1990

The change in global mean surface temperature is a crucial and broadly used indicator of the evolution of climate change. Any decadal scale changes in warming rate are however obfuscated by internal variability. Here we show that the surface temperature increase through the recent La Nina influenced years (2022) is consistent with the 50-year trend of 0.18 °C/decade. We use an Earth System Model based tool to filter out modulations to the warming rate by sea-surface temperature patterns and find consistent warming rates in four major global temperature data series. However, we also find clear indications, in all observational series, of a step-up in warming rate since around 1990. CMIP6 models generally do not capture this observed combination of long-term warming rate and recent increase.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Climate induced microbiome alterations increase cadmium bioavailability in agricultural soils with pH below 7

Climate change and metals independently stress soil microbiomes, but their combined effects remain unresolved. Here we show that future climate affects soil cadmium through altered soil microbiome and nutrient cycles, with soil pH as critical factor. In soils with pH<7 and during summer temperatures, future climate increased porewater cadmium, shifting total and potentially active taxonomic microbiome structures. Microbial ammonium oxidation released protons liberating cadmium through cation exchange from mineral surfaces. When porewater cadmium levels became toxic to non-cadmium-tolerant bacteria, microbial activity, and nutrient cycling decreased, reducing carbon and nitrogen emissions. In contrast, pH>7 soil show no climate impacts on cadmium mobilization, though imprints on microbiome structure were apparent. Subsequent nutrient cycling increased under future climate, stimulating soil respiration and nitrous oxide release. These findings underscore complex interactions between climate change and soil contaminants affecting the soil microbiome and its activity and highlights potential impacts on crop production, groundwater quality, and climate feedback.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2011

Modelling predicts that heat stress, not drought, will increase vulnerability of wheat in Europe

New crop cultivars will be required for a changing climate characterised by increased summer drought and heat stress in Europe. However, the uncertainty in climate predictions poses a challenge to crop scientists and breeders who have limited time and resources and must select the most appropriate traits for improvement. Modelling is a powerful tool to quantify future threats to crops and hence identify targets for improvement. We have used a wheat simulation model combined with local-scale climate scenarios to predict impacts of heat stress and drought on winter wheat in Europe. Despite the lower summer precipitation projected for 2050s across Europe, relative yield losses from drought is predicted to be smaller in the future, because wheat will mature earlier avoiding severe drought. By contrast, the risk of heat stress around flowering will increase, potentially resulting in substantial yield losses for heat sensitive cultivars commonly grown in northern Europe.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2014

Earthworms increase plant production: a meta-analysis

To meet the challenge of feeding a growing world population with minimal environmental impact, we need comprehensive and quantitative knowledge of ecological factors affecting crop production. Earthworms are among the most important soil dwelling invertebrates. Their activity affects both biotic and abiotic soil properties, in turn affecting plant growth. Yet, studies on the effect of earthworm presence on crop yields have not been quantitatively synthesized. Here we show, using meta-analysis, that on average earthworm presence in agroecosystems leads to a 25% increase in crop yield and a 23% increase in aboveground biomass. The magnitude of these effects depends on presence of crop residue, earthworm density and type and rate of fertilization. The positive effects of earthworms become larger when more residue is returned to the soil, but disappear when soil nitrogen availability is high. This suggests that earthworms stimulate plant growth predominantly through releasing nitrogen locked away in residue and soil organic matter. Our results therefore imply that earthworms are of crucial importance to decrease the yield gap of farmers who can’t -or won’t- use nitrogen fertilizer.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

Ligand binding to an allergenic lipid transfer protein enhances conformational flexibility resulting in an increase in susceptibility to gastroduodenal proteolysis

Non-specific lipid transfer proteins (LTPs) are a family of lipid-binding molecules that are widely distributed across flowering plant species, many of which have been identified as allergens. They are highly resistant to simulated gastroduodenal proteolysis, a property that may play a role in determining their allergenicity and it has been suggested that lipid binding may further increase stability to proteolysis. It is demonstrated that LTPs from wheat and peach bind a range of lipids in a variety of conditions, including those found in the gastroduodenal tract. Both LTPs are initially cleaved during gastroduodenal proteolysis at three major sites between residues 39–40, 56–57 and 79–80, with wheat LTP being more resistant to cleavage than its peach ortholog. The susceptibility of wheat LTP to proteolyic cleavage increases significantly upon lipid binding. This enhanced digestibility is likely to be due to the displacement of Tyr79 and surrounding residues from the internal hydrophobic cavity upon ligand binding to the solvent exposed exterior of the LTP, facilitating proteolysis. As a result, such knowledge contributes to our understanding as to how resistance to digestion can be used in allergenicity risk assessment of novel food proteins, including GMOs.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2017

Ion irradiation induced structural modifications and increase in elastic modulus of silica based thin films

Ion irradiation is an alternative to heat treatment for transforming organic-inorganic thin films to a ceramic state. One major shortcoming in previous studies of ion-irradiated films is the assumption that constituent phases in ion-irradiated and heat-treated films are identical and that the ion irradiation effect is limited to changes in composition. Here, we investigate the effects of ion irradiation on both the composition and structure of constituent phases and use the results to explain the measured elastic modulus of the films. Our results indicated that the microstructure of the irradiated films consisted of carbon clusters within a silica matrix. It was found that carbon was present in a non-graphitic sp 2 -bonded configuration. It was also observed that ion irradiation caused a decrease in the Si-O-Si bond angle of silica, similar to the effects of applied pressure. A phase transformation from tetrahedrally bonded to octahedrally bonded silica was also observed. The results indicated the incorporation of carbon within the silica network. Finally, a combination of the decrease in Si-O-Si bond angle and an increase in the carbon incorporation within the silica network was found to be responsible for the increase in the elastic modulus of the films.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Electrochemical reduction of an Ag 2 VO 2 PO 4 particle: dramatic increase of local electronic conductivity

Previously, we reported that electrodes containing silver vanadium phosphate (Ag 2 VO 2 PO 4 ) powder exhibit a 15 000 fold increase in conductivity after discharge, concurrent with the formation of silver metal. In this study, in order to disentangle the complex nature of electrodes composed of electroactive powders, an electrochemical reduction of individual particles of Ag 2 VO 2 PO 4 was conducted, to more directly probe the intrinsic materials properties of Ag 2 VO 2 PO 4 . Specifically, individual particle conductivity data from a nanoprobe system combined with SEM and optical imaging results revealed that the depth of discharge within an Ag 2 VO 2 PO 4 particle is closely linked to the conductivity increase. Of note, the formation of silver metal may affect both inter- and intraparticle conductivity of the Ag 2 VO 2 PO 4 material.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

Constraining the masses of high-redshift clusters with weak lensing: Revised shape calibration testing for the impact of stronger shears and increased blending

Weak lensing measurements suffer from well-known shear estimation biases, which can be partially corrected for with the use of image simulations. Here we present an analysis of simulated images that mimic Hubble Space Telescope/Advance Camera for Surveys observations of high-redshift galaxy clusters, including cluster specific issues such as non-weak shear and increased blending. Our synthetic galaxies have been generated to have similar observed properties as the background-selected source samples studied in the real images. First, we used simulations with galaxies placed on a grid to determine a revised signal-to-noise-dependent (S/N KSB ) correction for multiplicative shear measurement bias, and to quantify the sensitivity of our KSB+ bias calibration to mismatches of galaxy or PSF properties between the real data and the simulations. Next, we studied the impact of increased blending and light contamination from cluster and foreground galaxies, finding it to be negligible for high-redshift (z > 0.7) clusters, whereas shear measurements can be affected at the ~1% level for lower redshift clusters given their brighter member galaxies. Finally, we studied the impact of fainter neighbours and selection bias using a set of simulated images that mimic the positions and magnitudes of galaxies in Cosmic Assembly Near-IR Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey (CANDELS) data, thereby including realistic clustering. While the initial SExtractor object detection causes a multiplicative shear selection bias of –0.028 ± 0.002, this is reduced to –0.016 ± 0.002 by further cuts applied in our pipeline. Given the limited depth of the CANDELS data, we compared our CANDELS-based estimate for the impact of faint neighbours on the multiplicative shear measurement bias to a grid-based analysis, to which we added clustered galaxies to even fainter magnitudes based on Hubble Ultra Deep Field data, yielding a refined estimate of ~ –0.013. Our sensitivity analysis suggests that our pipeline is calibrated to an accuracy of ~0.015 once all corrections are applied, which is fully sufficient for current and near-future weak lensing studies of high-redshift clusters. As an application, we used it for a refined analysis of three highly relaxed clusters from the South Pole Telescope Sunyaev-Zeldovich survey, where we now included measurements down to the cluster core (r > 200 kpc) as enabled by our work. Compared to previously employed scales (r > 500 kpc), this tightens the cluster mass constraints by a factor 1.38 on average.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2010

Increase in the Tb{sup 3+} green emission in SiO{sub 2}-LaF{sub 3} nano-glass-ceramics by codoping with Dy{sup 3+} ions

95SiO{sub 2}-5LaF{sub 3} sol-gel derived nano-glass-ceramics single doped with 0.1Dy{sup 3+} or 0.1Tb{sup 3+} mol % and codoped with 0.1Dy{sup 3+} and xTb{sup 3+} (x=0.1,0.3) mol % were successfully obtained. XRD and HRTEM measurements confirm the precipitation of LaF{sub 3} nanocrystals during the ceramming process, with mean size ranging from 10 to 20 nm and increasing with the thermal treatment temperature. About 75% of lanthanide ions are partitioned into LaF{sub 3} nanocrystals, as calculated from luminescence decays. The effect of increasing the Tb{sup 3+} concentration and also of codoping with Dy{sup 3+} in the Tb{sup 3+} green emission from the {sup 5}D{sub 4} level have been studied. The energy transfer mechanisms between Tb{sup 3+} ions and also between Tb{sup 3+}-Dy{sup 3+} ions, which favor the green emission, have been analyzed.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2011

Increase of Acting Pressure by Adjusted Tool Geometry in Laser Shock Forming

In laser shock forming TEA-CO2{sub 2}-laser induced shock waves are used to form metal foils, such as aluminum or copper. The process utilizes an initiated plasma shock wave on the target surface, which leads to a forming of the foil. Several pulses can be applied at one point in order to achieve a high forming degree without increasing the energy density beyond the ablation limit. During the process, pressure peaks in the range of several MPa can be achieved. In this article, it will be demonstrated that the acting shock wave pressure can be increased and the forming behavior can be modified by an adjustment of tool geometry, which limits the non-directional propagation of the shock wave. Shock wave pressure measurements as well as forming results with different tool geometries show that the acting pressure, and therefore the forming behavior, can be modified by an adjustment of the tool.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2011

Increased laser-accelerated proton energies via direct laser-light-pressure acceleration of electrons in microcone targets

We present experimental results showing a laser-accelerated proton beam maximum energy cutoff of 67.5 MeV, with more than 5 x 10{sup 6} protons per MeV at that energy, using flat-top hollow microcone targets. This result was obtained with a modest laser energy of {approx}80 J, on the high-contrast Trident laser at Los Alamos National Laboratory. From 2D particle-in-cell simulations, we attribute the source of these enhanced proton energies to direct laser-light-pressure acceleration of electrons along the inner cone wall surface, where the laser light wave accelerates electrons just outside the surface critical density, in a potential well created by a shift of the electrostatic field maximum with respect to that of the magnetic field maximum. Simulations show that for an increasing acceleration length, the continuous loading of electrons into the accelerating phase of the laser field yields an increase in high-energy electrons.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2011

Increased photoluminescence of strain-reduced, high-Sn composition Ge{sub 1-x}Sn{sub x} alloys grown by molecular beam epitaxy

We synthesized up to Ge{sub 0.914}Sn{sub 0.086} alloys on (100) GaAs/In{sub y}Ga{sub 1-y}As buffer layers using molecular beam epitaxy. The buffer layers enable engineered control of strain in the Ge{sub 1-x}Sn{sub x} layers to reduce strain-related defects and precipitation. Samples grown under similar conditions show a monotonic increase in the integrated photoluminescence (PL) intensity as the Sn composition is increased, indicating changes in the bandstructure favorable for optoelectronics. We account for bandgap changes from strain and composition to determine a direct bandgap bowing parameter of b = 2.1 {+-} 0.1. According to our models, these are the first Ge{sub 1-x}Sn{sub x} samples that are both direct-bandgap and exhibit PL.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2012

Metal-assisted electroless fabrication of nanoporous p-GaN for increasing the light extraction efficiency of light emitting diodes

We report metal-assisted electroless fabrication of nanoporous p-GaN to improve the light extraction efficiency of GaN-based light emitting diodes (LEDs). Although it has long been believed that p-GaN cannot be etched at room temperature, in this study we find that Ag nanocrystals (NCs) on the p-GaN surface enable effective etching of p-GaN in a mixture of HF and K{sub 2}S{sub 2}O{sub 8} under ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. It is further shown that the roughened GaN/air interface enables strong scattering of photons emitted from the multiple quantum wells (MQWs). The light output power measurements indicate that the nanoporous LEDs obtained after 10 min etching show a 32.7% enhancement in light-output relative to the conventional LEDs at an injection current of 20 mA without significant increase of the operating voltage. In contrast, the samples etched for 20 min show performance degradation when compared with those etched for 10 min, this is attributed to the current crowding effect and increased surface recombination rate.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2012

Bright upconversion luminescence and increased Tc in CaBi{sub 2}Ta{sub 2}O{sub 9}:Er high temperature piezoelectric ceramics

Er{sup 3+} doped CaBi{sub 2}Ta{sub 2}O{sub 9} (CBT) bismuth layered-structure high temperature piezoelectric ceramics were synthesized by the traditional solid state method. The upconversion (UC) emission properties of Er{sup 3+} doped CBT ceramics were investigated as a function of Er{sup 3+} concentration and incident pump power. A bright green upconverted emission was obtained under excitation 980 nm at room temperature. The observed strong green and weak red emission bands corresponded to the transitions from {sup 4}S{sub 3/2} and {sup 4}F{sub 9/2} to {sup 4}I{sub 15/2}, respectively. The dependence of UC emission intensity on pumping power indicated that a three-photon process was involved in UC emissions. Studies of dielectric with temperature have also been carried out. Introduction of Er increased the Curie temperature of CBT, thus, making this ceramic suitable for sensor applications at higher temperatures. Because of its strong up-converted emission and increased Tc, the multifunctional high temperature piezoelectric ceramic may be useful in high temperature sensor, fluorescence thermometry, and optical-electro integration applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗