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At least 1,279 records · Page 71

Silencing of Kangai 1 C-terminal interacting tetraspanin suppresses progression of cholangiocarcinoma

Highlights: • KITENIN is expressed in murine and human cholangiocarcinoma (CC). • Knockdown of KITENIN reduced proliferation, migration, invasion and colony formation in CC cells. • Silencing of KITENIN inhibited the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition markers. • Targeting of KITENIN might function as a new therapeutic strategy against CC. Cholangiocarcinoma (CC) is the second most common primary hepatic malignancy. CC treatment options are very limited especially for patients with distant metastasis. Kangai 1 C-terminal interacting tetraspanin (KITENIN) is highly expressed in numerous cancers, but the role of KITENIN in CC remains unknown. Here, we have investigated for the first time the function of KITENIN in human CC cell lines (TFK-1, SZ-1), tissues and a CC mouse model (Alb-Cre/LSL-KRAS{sup G12D}/p53{sup L/L}). KITENIN was expressed in 92.2% of human CC tissues, in murine CC samples and also in human CC cell lines. Knockdown of KITENIN by small interfering RNA (siRNA) effectively reduced proliferation, migration, invasion and colony formation in both intra- and extra-hepatic CC cells. The expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers like N-cadherin, Vimentin, Snail and Slug were suppressed in KITENIN knockdown CC cells. Our results indicate that KITENIN is crucial for cholangiocarcinogenesis and it might become a potential therapeutic target for human CC treatment.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Stability of organometal perovskites with organic overlayers

The air-stability of vapour-phase-deposited methylammonium lead triiodide (CH{sub 3}NH{sub 3}PbI{sub 3}) perovskite thin films has been studied using X-ray diffraction. It is found that the perovskite structure without organic coating decomposes completely within a short period of time (∼two days) upon exposure to ambient environment. The degradation of the perovskite structure is drastically reduced when the perovskite films are capped with thin N,N′-Di(1-naphthyl)-N,N′-diphenyl-(1,1′-biphenyl)-4,4′-diamine (NPB) films. We discovered that the amount of lead iodide (PbI{sub 2}), a product of the degradation, grows as a function of time in a sigmoidal manner. Further mathematical modeling analysis shows that the perovskite degradation follows the Avrami equation, a kinetics theory developed for quantifying phase transformations in solid-state materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Near-surface ice on Mercury and the Moon: A topographic thermal model

A thermal model that can be easily adapted to craters of arbitrary shape is developed and applied to high-latitude impact craters on Mercury and the Moon, Chao Meng Fu crater at -87.5 deg L on Mercury, an unnamed bowl-shaped crater at 86.7 deg L on Mercury, and Peary crater at 88.6 deg L on the Moon. For an assumed input topography and grid of surface elements, the model computes for each element the irradiation from direct insolation and reflected and emitted radiation from other elements, taking into account shadowing by walls of the crater, partial obscuration of the solar disk near the poles and the diurnal, orbital, and seasonal cycles. Temperatures are computed over the surface grid as functions of depth and time from the surface to a specified depth and over the pertinent astronomical cycles, including the effects of direct and indirect surface irradiation, infrared radiation, heat conduction, and interior heating. Vapor fluxes and ice recession times are computed as functions of ice depth over the surface grid. Temperatures profiles, vapor fluxes, and ice recession times were computed for flat surfaces not associated with craters near the poles of Mercury and the Moon. It was found that water ice could have existed throughout geologic time within the maximum radar detection depth of recent observation of Mercury (J. K. Harmon and M. A. Slade, 1992, Science 258, 640-643) poleward of approximately 87 - 88 deg L on Mercury and poleward of approximately 73 deg L on the Moon. For Chao Meng Fu crater it was found that approximately 40% of the crater floor is permanently shadowed from direct solar insolation, while the remainder of the crater floor is periodically illuminated by a partially obscured Sun. Temperatures at the upper levels of the south wall can slightly exceed 550 K. Surface temperatures in the permanently shadowed region of the crater floor are under approximately 130 K, which could have allowed water ice to exist throughout geologic time within the radar detection depth of recent observation of Mercury. For small bowl-shaped crater on Mercury, it was found that most of the crater is permanently shadowed from direct solar radiation, except for a narrow semicircular band bordering the north rim. However, temperatures in the permanently shadowed region periodically reach a maximum near approximately 315 K due to efficient heating of the small crater by thermal emission and reflection from the small sunlit region, which periodically reaches temperatures exceeding 630 K. Water ice could not have existed throughout geologic time anywhere in this crater within the radar detection depth. For Peary crater on the Moon, the entire crater floor is permanently shadowed from direct solar insolation with maximum temperature under 120 K. The upper level of the north wall periodically reaches a maximum temperature near 310 K. The low temperatures on the crater floor would have allowed water ice to exist near the surface throughout geologic time, provided that the Moon's obliquity was always as low as it is at present.

Salvail, James R.↗

What Happens to bone health during and after spaceflight?

Weightless conditions of space flight accelerate bone loss. There are no reports to date that address whether the bone that is lost during spaceflight could ever be recovered. Spaceinduced bone loss in astronauts is evaluated at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) by measurement of bone mineral density (BMD) by Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans. Astronauts are routinely scanned preflight and at various time points postflight (greater than or equal to Return+2 days). Two sets of BMD data were used to model spaceflight-induced loss and skeletal recovery in crewmembers following long-duration spaceflight missions (4-6 months). Group I was from astronauts (n=7) who were systematically scanned at multiple time points during the postflight period as part of a research protocol to investigate skeletal recovery. Group II came from a total of 49 sets of preflight and postflight data obtained by different protocols. These data were from 39 different crewmembers some of whom served on multiple flights. Changes in BMD (between pre- and postflight BMD) were plotted as a function of time (days-after-landing); plotted data were fitted to an exponential equation which enabled estimations of i) BMD change at day 0 after landing and ii) the number of days by which 50% of the lost bone is recovered (half-life). These fits were performed for BMD of the lumbar spine, trochanter, pelvis, femoral neck and calcaneus. There was consistency between the models for BMD recovery. Based upon the exponential model of BMD restoration, recovery following long-duration missions appears to be substantially complete in crewmembers within 36 months following return to Earth.

Sibonga, Jean D.↗

Computing the Thermodynamic State of a Cryogenic Fluid

The Cryogenic Tank Analysis Program (CTAP) predicts the time-varying thermodynamic state of a cryogenic fluid in a tank or a Dewar flask. CTAP is designed to be compatible with EASY5x, which is a commercial software package that can be used to simulate a variety of processes and equipment systems. The mathematical model implemented in CTAP is a first-order differential equation for the pressure as a function of time.

Willen, G. Scott↗

Unsteady Adjoint Approach for Design Optimization of Flapping Airfoils

This paper describes the work for optimizing the propulsive efficiency of flapping airfoils, i.e., improving the thrust under constraining aerodynamic work during the flapping flights by changing their shape and trajectory of motion with the unsteady discrete adjoint approach. For unsteady problems, it is essential to properly resolving time scales of motion under consideration and it must be compatible with the objective sought after. We include both the instantaneous and time-averaged (periodic) formulations in this study. For the design optimization with shape parameters or motion parameters, the time-averaged objective function is found to be more useful, while the instantaneous one is more suitable for flow control. The instantaneous objective function is operationally straightforward. On the other hand, the time-averaged objective function requires additional steps in the adjoint approach; the unsteady discrete adjoint equations for a periodic flow must be reformulated and the corresponding system of equations solved iteratively. We compare the design results from shape and trajectory optimizations and investigate the physical relevance of design variables to the flapping motion at on- and off-design conditions.

Lee, Byung Joon↗

Solid earth as a recycling systems and the lateral growth of Precambrian North America

If plotted on mass vs time diagrams, geologic entities (for example, continental and oceanic crust, sediments, and mineral resources) display an exponential (power law) relationship, with entity per unit time increasing toward the present. This relationship is consistent with the concept of recycling and can be simulated mathematically. The approach is based on the plate tectonic theory and considers area-age or mass-age distributions of crystalline basement and sediments for major global tectonic realms. Each tectonic realm is characterized by a specific lifespan, which is an inverse function of its recycling rate. The estimated average half-area of half-mass ages are given. The corresponding parameters for continental crust are 690 Ma for K/Ar, and approximately 1200 Ma for Rb/St and U-Th/Pb dating pairs. Tectonic diversity preserved in the geologic record is therefore a function of time, with oceanic tectonic realms, because of their rapid recycling, underrepresented in the rocks older than approximately 300 Ma. The Sm/Nd isotopic systematic of sediments suggest that, for a near steady-state post-Archean sedimentary mass, recycling is approximately 90 + or - 5 percent cannibalistic. This yields an estimated upper limit on crust-mantle exchange via sediment subduction of approximately 1.1 + or - 0.5 x 10 g a(sup -1) considerably less than demanded by isotopic constraints. The discrepancy may indicate the existence of additional loci, such as orogenic belts, for significant crust-mantle interaction.

Veizer, Jan↗

Atomic understanding of structural deformations upon ablation of graphene

We investigate the atomic rearrangement in graphene under femtosecond pulse illumination with reactive molecular dynamics simulations and compare with ultra-fast laser ablation experiments. To model the impact of the laser pulse irradiation, heat is locally applied to a selected area of the graphene layer and the resulting structural deformation is simulated as a function of time, providing a detailed understanding of the bond breaking process under laser illumination and subsequent re-equilibration afterAQ3 the pulse is turned off. Analysis of the atomic dynamics indicates that the types of defects formed depend on the pulse energy and exposure duration. By varying the exposed area, we determine that the shape of the ablated area is not only a function of the pulse energy, but also of the beam spot size and pulse repetition. Furthermore, we apply a machine learning approach to extrapolate our simulated data to experimental length scales and reproduce the trends in ablated area as a function of temperature. Furthermore, our study provides a first step towards understanding the design parameters for graphene nano-patterning.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

Implementation of Adaptive Digital Controllers on Programmable Logic Devices

Much has been made of the capabilities of FPGA's (Field Programmable Gate Arrays) in the hardware implementation of fast digital signal processing. Such capability also makes an FPGA a suitable platform for the digital implementation of closed loop controllers. Other researchers have implemented a variety of closed-loop digital controllers on FPGA's. Some of these controllers include the widely used proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller, state space controllers, neural network and fuzzy logic based controllers. There are myriad advantages to utilizing an FPGA for discrete-time control functions which include the capability for reconfiguration when SRAM-based FPGA's are employed, fast parallel implementation of multiple control loops and implementations that can meet space level radiation tolerance requirements in a compact form-factor. Generally, a software implementation on a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) or microcontroller is used to implement digital controllers. At Marshall Space Flight Center, the Control Electronics Group has been studying adaptive discrete-time control of motor driven actuator systems using digital signal processor (DSP) devices. While small form factor, commercial DSP devices are now available with event capture, data conversion, pulse width modulated (PWM) outputs and communication peripherals, these devices are not currently available in designs and packages which meet space level radiation requirements. In general, very few DSP devices are produced that are designed to meet any level of radiation tolerance or hardness. The goal of this effort is to create a fully digital, flight ready controller design that utilizes an FPGA for implementation of signal conditioning for control feedback signals, generation of commands to the controlled system, and hardware insertion of adaptive control algorithm approaches. An alternative is required for compact implementation of such functionality to withstand the harsh environment encountered on spacecraft. Radiation tolerant FPGA's are a feasible option for reaching this goal.

Gwaltney, David A.↗

Projection-operator methods for classical transport in magnetized plasmas. Part 2. Nonlinear response and the Burnett equations [Projection-operator methods for classical transport in magnetized plasmas. Part 1. Nonlinear response and the Burnett equations]

The time-independent projection-operator formalism for the derivation of Burnett equations is extended and considered in the context of multispecies and magnetized plasmas. The procedure provides specific formulas for transport coefficients in terms of two-time correlation functions involving both two and three phase-space points. It is shown how to calculate those correlation functions in the limit of weak coupling. The results are used to demonstrate, with the aid of a particular non-trivial example, that the Chapman–Enskog methodology employed by Catto & Simakov (CS) (Phys. Plasmas, vol. 11, 2004, pp. 90–102) to calculate the contributions to the parallel viscosity driven by temperature gradients is consistent with formulas previously derived from the two-time formalism by Brey (J. Chem. Phys., vol. 79, 1983, pp. 4585–4598). Here, the work serves to unify previous work on plasma kinetic theory with formalism usually applied to turbulence. Additional contributions include discussions of (i) Braginskii-order interspecies momentum exchange from the point of view of two-time correlations; and (ii) a simple stochastic model, unrelated to many-body theory, that exhibits Burnett effects. Insights from that model emphasize the role of non-Gaussian statistics in the evaluation of Burnett transport coefficients, including the effects calculated by CS that stem from the nonlinear collision operator. Together, Parts 1 and 2 of this series provide an introduction to projection-operator methods that should be broadly useful in theoretical plasma physics.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Velocity space evolution of a minority energetic electron population undergoing the anomalous Doppler instability

The kinetic evolution in velocity space of a minority suprathermal electron population that is undergoing the anomalous Doppler instability (ADI) is investigated using the results from fully nonlinear numerical simulations that self-consistently evolve particles and fields in a plasma. Electron trajectories in phase space during different stages of the ADI are captured, and are analysed in relation to the characteristics of the excited electric fields and of the overall distribution of particles. For some electrons, trapping and mirroring effects are observed during the saturation phase. A relationship between the second order moments of the perpendicular electron distribution function and time is established, and is used to investigate the range of applicability of analytical approximations drawn from classical theory, that involve a quasilinear wave-driven diffusion operator.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Simulating Billion-Task Parallel Programs

In simulating large parallel systems, bottom-up approaches exercise detailed hardware models with effects from simplified software models or traces, whereas top-down approaches evaluate the timing and functionality of detailed software models over coarse hardware models. Here, we focus on the top-down approach and significantly advance the scale of the simulated parallel programs. Via the direct execution technique combined with parallel discrete event simulation, we stretch the limits of the top-down approach by simulating message passing interface (MPI) programs with millions of tasks. Using a timing-validated benchmark application, a proof-of-concept scaling level is achieved to over 0.22 billion virtual MPI processes on 216,000 cores of a Cray XT5 supercomputer, representing one of the largest direct execution simulations to date, combined with a multiplexing ratio of 1024 simulated tasks per real task.

Perumalla, Kalyan S↗

Quantum dot polarisation converter in an optomechanical cavity

We propose a scheme of a quantum photon polarisation converter, which is based on controlled electron – photon – phonon transitions in a hybrid semiconductor nanostructure. This structure consists of a GaAs/InAs quantum dot (QD) that has a parallelepiped shape and contains a single electron, and an optomechanical microcavity (MC) based on a photonic crystal (PC) that supports two orthogonally polarised photonic modes and one mechanical (phonon) mode. Within the framework of the microscopic theory, the QD and MC performance characteristics are found. Populations of states of the system as functions of time and its parameters are calculated. The principal possibility of photon polarisation conversion using transitions in a five-level resonance scheme for coherent (single-photon) and steady-state (subphoton) regimes is shown. The MC optical and mechanical spectra are simulated, and the PC structure parameters are selected to ensure the efficient operation of the converter. (paper)

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Pulsed-focusing recirculating linacs for muon acceleration

Since the muon has a short lifetime, fast acceleration is essential for high-energy applications such as muon colliders, Higgs factories, or neutrino factories. The best one can do is to make a linear accelerator with the highest possible accelerating gradient to make the accelerating time as short as possible. However, the cost of such a single linear accelerator is prohibitively large due to expensive power sources, cavities, tunnels, and related infrastructure. As was demonstrated in the Thomas Jefferson Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab) Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF), an elegant solution to reduce cost is to use magnetic return arcs to recirculate the beam through the accelerating RF cavities many times, where they gain energy on each pass. In such a Recirculating Linear Accelerator (RLA), the magnetic focusing strength diminishes as the beam energy increases in a conventional linac that has constant strength quadrupoles. After some number of passes the focusing strength is insufficient to keep the beam from going unstable and being lost. In this project, the use of fast pulsed quadrupoles in the linac sections was considered for stronger focusing as a function of time to allow more successive passes of a muon beam in a recirculating linear accelerator. In one simulation, it was shown that the number of passes could be increased from 8 to 12 using pulsed magnet designs that have been developed and tested. This could reduce the cost of linac sections of a muon RLA by 8/12, where more improvement is still possible. The expense of a greater number of passes and corresponding number of return arcs was also addressed in this project by exploring the use of ramped or FFAG-style magnets in the return arcs. A better solution, invented in this project, is to use combined-function dipole-quadrupole magnets to simultaneously transport two beams of different energies through one magnet string to reduce costs of return arcs by almost a factor of two. A patent application was filed for this invention and a detailed report published in Physical Review Special Topics. A scaled model using an electron beam was developed and proposed to test the concept of a dog bone RLA with combined-function return arcs. The efforts supported by this grant were reported in a series of contributions to particle accelerator conferences that are reproduced in the appendices and summarized in the body of this report.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Importance sampling large deviations in nonequilibrium steady states. I

Large deviation functions hold information on the stability and response of systems driven into nonequilibrium steady states and in such a way are similar to free energies for systems at equilibrium. As with equilibrium free energies, evaluating large deviation functions numerically for all but the simplest systems is difficult because by construction they depend on exponentially rare events. In this first paper of a series, we assess different trajectory-based sampling methods capable of computing large deviation functions of time integrated observables within nonequilibrium steady states. We highlight some convergence criteria and best practices using a number of different models, including a biased Brownian walker, a driven lattice gas, and a model of self-assembly. We show how two popular methods for sampling trajectory ensembles, transition path sampling and diffusion Monte Carlo, suffer from exponentially diverging correlations in trajectory space as a function of the bias parameter when estimating large deviation functions. Improving the efficiencies of these algorithms requires introducing guiding functions for the trajectories.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

Test of nuclear decay rate variation due to an antineutrino flux

Unexplained variations of the decay rate parameter for weak interaction decays such as β ± decay, electron capture, as well as strong interaction α decay have been reported. Because these variations have been presented by a number of groups, at various locations, using various types of detectors, different isotopes, and over extended periods of time, some researchers have interpreted the source of these variations as not from ambient environmental factors such as temperature, pressure, and humidity but via an unexplained fundamental interaction. The state of decay rate parameter variations experiments is reviewed, and the reported results are placed into a common comparable context by defining a phenomenological cross section. After that we make decay parameter measurements as a function of time at the level of 10 -5 in the presences of an antineutrino flux with an on-off cycle time of ≈ 30 days. This level of precision requires a detailed understanding of both systematic and statistical errors; otherwise, systematic errors in the measurement may mimic the decay events of fundamental interactions. The experiment searched for variation of the $^{54}_{25}$Mn, e - capture decay rate parameter and $^{137}_{55}$Cs, β - decay rate parameter both to a level of precision of 1 part in ≈10 5 by comparing the difference between the decay rate in the presence of an antineutrino flux ≈ 3 x 10 12 $\bar{ν}$ cm -2 s -1 and no flux measurements. The experiment was located 6.53 m from the reactor core of the High Flux Isotope Reactor at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Two weak interaction decays, one via electron capture and the other via β - decay, were selected because the final state and the time reverse state each contain a neutrino and antineutrino, covering arguments that the antineutrino flux may interact differently or not at all in one of the cases. The $\gamma$ spectra from both decays were collected and analyzed independently. The measured variation in the decay rate parameters are found to be δλ/λ =(0.034 ± 1.38) x10 -5 for $^{54}_{25}$Mn and δλ/λ =(0.67±1.56) x10 -5 for $^{137}_{55}$Cs. These results are consistent with no measurable decay rate parameter variation due to an antineutrino flux, yielding a 68% confidence level upper limit sensitivity for $^{54}_{25}$Mn δλ/λ ≤ 1.31 x 10 -5 or σ ≤ 1.29 x10 -25 cm 2 in cross section and for $^{137}_{55}$Cs δλ/λ ≤ 2.23 x 10 -5 or σ ≤ 5.69 x10 -27 cm 2 . The cross-section upper limit obtained in these null or no observable effect measurements are ≈ 10 4 times more sensitive than past experiments reporting positive results in 54 Mn and 137 Cs. . .

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Quantum Fluctuations and Gross-Pitaevskii Theory

Using the linearized version of the time dependent Gross–Pitaevskii equation, we calculate the dynamic response of a Bose–Einstein condensed gas to periodic density and particle perturbations. The zero temperature limit of the fluctuation—dissipation theorem is used to evaluate the corresponding quantum fluctuations induced by the elementary excitations in the ground state. In uniform conditions the predictions of Bogoliubov theory, including the infrared divergency of the particle distribution function and the quantum depletion of the condensate, are exactly reproduced by Gross–Pitaevskii theory. Results are also given for the crossed particle-density response function and the extension of the formalism to nonuniform systems is discussed. The generalization of the Gross–Pitaevskii equation to include beyond mean field effects is finally considered and an explicit result for the chemical potential is found, in agreement with the prediction of Lee–Huang–Yang theory.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Ionospheric calibration for single frequency altimeter measurements

This report investigates the potential of using Global Positioning System (GPS) data and a model of the ionosphere to supply a measure of the sub-satellite Total Electron Current (TEC) of the required accuracy (10 TECU rms) for the purpose of calibrating single frequency radar altimeter measurements. Since climatological (monthly mean) models are known to be in error by as much as 50 percent, this work focused on the Parameterized Real-Time Ionospheric Specification Model (PRISM) which has the capability to improve model accuracy by ingesting (adjusting to) in situ ionospheric measurements. A set of globally distributed TEC measurements were generated using GPS data and were used as input to improve the accuracy of the PRISM model. The adjusted PRISM TEC values were compared to TOPEX dual frequency TEC measurements (which are considered truth) for a number of TOPEX sub-satellite tracks. The adjusted PRISM values generally compared to the TOPEX measurements within the 10 TECU accuracy requirements when the sub-satellite track passed within 300 to 400 km of the GPS TEC data or when the track passed through a night time ionosphere. However, when the sub-satellite points were greater than 300 to 400 km away from the GPS TEC data or when a local noon ionosphere was sampled, the adjusted PRISM values generally differed by greater than 10 TECU rms with data excursions from the TOPEX TEC measurements of as much as 40 TECU (an 8 cm path delay error at K band). Therefore, it can be concluded from this analysis that an unrealistically large number of GPS stations would be needed to predict sub-satellite TEC at the 10 TECU level in the day time ionosphere using a model such as PRISM. However, a technique currently being studied at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) may provide a means of supplying adequate TEC data to meet the 10 TECU ionospheric correction accuracy when using a realistic number of ionospheric stations. This method involves using global GPS TEC data to estimate a global grid of vertical ionospheric TEC as a function of time (i.e. every one half hour) in a sun-fixed longitude frame. Working in a sun-fixed longitude frame, one is not limited by the spatial decorrelation distance of the ionosphere, but instead is limited more by the temporal correlations of the ionosphere in the sun-fixed frame which are a smaller effect. It is the opinion of the authors that using the global sun-fixed TEC grid data, in particular, ingesting it into PRISM, offers the best possibility of meeting the 10 TECU ionospheric correction accuracy requirement, and should be the subject of further study.

Schreiner, William S.↗