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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 163 records · Page 9

Fungal mat growth and leaf colonization at the TRACE warming experiment, Mar - Aug 2024, Luquillo, Puerto Rico

This data package contains processed measurements on the growth of litter mat-forming fungi and the time to leaf colonization at the Tropical Responses to Altered Climate Experiment (TRACE). Located near the Sabana Field Research Station in Luquillo, Puerto Rico, the TRACE site is located in a mature, closed-canopy tropical rainforest within the Luquillo Experimental Forest (LEF). These data quantify fungal mat growth and the time to leaf colonization of fungi species Gymnopus johnstonii and Marasmius crinis-equi. The experiment was conducted in ambient (control) and experimentally warmed plots (4°C above ambient) during spring and summer periods to assess how litter mat-forming fungi respond to a range of environmental conditions of tropical wet forests. The data files include tables of relative fungal mat growth rates, time to leaf colonization, averages of soil temperature (°C), and number of dry days before leaf attachment. The data are stored in comma-separated values (CSV) format and viewable with any text editor, spreadsheet, or statistical software (e.g., R, Python, Excel). Associated metadata describe plot identifiers, measurement descriptions, and processing steps.

Agaric fungi↗

Tree damage and mortality measurements across seven ForestGEO plots in the tropics between Oct 2016 and Mar 2023

Annual records (raw data) on tree survival and structural completeness of 36,524 trees (2,467 species) collected across 29 censuses in seven tropical forests distributed across the Neotropics (Amacayacu, Colombia; Barro Colorado Island (BCI), Panamá; Yasuní, Ecuador) and Asia (Fushan, Taiwan; Huai Kha Khaeng (HKK), Thailand; Khao Chong (KC), Thailand; Pasoh, Malaysia). This dataset was used to compare aboveground biomass loss via damage to living trees relative to total AGB loss (mortality + damage). Variable definitions: site: name of the ForestGEO plot stemID.ams: Unique ID for the stem in the annual mortality surveys (ams) treeID.ams: Unique ID for the tree in the ams date.full.census: date of the previous full census of the plot, format: YYYY-MM-DD dbh.full.census: diameter at the breast height (dbh in mm) measured during the previous full census of the plot home: height of measurement of dbh (in m) meanWD: species-level wood density (g cm-3) date.ams: date of the ams, format: YYYY-MM-DD status: survival status of the tree (A: alive; D: dead; NF: not found; "?": unknown) H_considering_damage: living length of the main axis in meters; provides an estimate of the amount of remaining living tissues along the main axis of the stem (e.g., the height of breakage or the height discounting wood decay) b: the remaining proportion of branch volume within the living length (b∈[0,1]). weights.ind: frequency of the [size class x species] bins within the forest plot relative to their frequency in the sample. Necessary to extrapolate estimates to the whole plot.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Gamma-Ray Mirrors (Quarterly Progress Report Q2 FY20 Jan-Mar 2020)

During the second quarter of FY20, the optic design, or Phase II Task 2 of the project, continued. Our investigation of two full revolution shell designs has shown that the radius of the optic would be small to maintain throws to reasonable limits. These efforts are informing our alternative segmented optics design in Q3. We have also started investigating the Kirkpatrick-Baez Optic as a backup option.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Nuclear Spectroscopy for the Exploration of Mars and Beyond

Nuclear spectroscopy will continue to play a critical role in planetary exploration in the next decade, including searching for habitable environments and biosignatures, identifying ideal targets for in-situ resource utilization, and continuing its track record in understanding planetary evolution. Nuclear spectroscopy is the only technique that provides bulk geochemical abundance at depth, at a range of spatial scales depending on platform.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Mixed Waste Landfill Annual Long-Term Monitoring & Maintenance Report (Apr 2015-Mar 2016)

Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) is a multi-purpose engineering and science laboratory owned by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)/National Nuclear Security Administration. SNL is managed and operated by Sandia Corporation (Sandia), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation. Sandia National Laboratories, New Mexico (SNL/NM) is located within the boundaries of Kirtland Air Force Base (KAFB), southeast of the City of Albuquerque in Bernalillo County, New Mexico. The Mixed Waste Landfill (MWL) is located 4 miles south of SNL/NM central facilities and 5 miles southeast of Albuquerque International Sunport, in the north-central portion of Technical Area (TA)-III. The MWL disposal area comprises 2.6 acres. During operations, the MWL accepted containerized and other low-level radioactive waste and minor amounts of mixed waste from SNL/NM research facilities and off-site DOE and U.S. Department of Defense generators from March 1959 to December 1988. More specific information regarding the MWL inventory and past disposal practices is presented in the MWL Phase 2 RCRA Facility Investigation Report (Peace et al. September 2002) and the extensive MWL Administrative Record.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

NCERC News (Jan-Mar 2021) [Slides]

The National Criticality Experiments Research Center (NCERC) provides updates on experiments done as part of the HYPATIA and MUSIC campaigns as well as CAAS-3S criticality alarm testing, criticality safety classes, warehouse inventory, and KRUSTY disassembly.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Today on Mars [Slides]

This presentation includes pictures and information on the NASA Perseverance Rover, its onboard instruments and the Ingenuity Helicopter.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Today on Mars [Slides]

The Perseverance Rover landed in Jezero Crater, an ancient lake bed.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Increased Interpretability for Model-Driven Deception: MARS LDRD Project

Machine learning has been proposed as a solution to several cybersecurity solutions and one of the most promising applications is for digital twins for intrusion detection and driving deceptive defense. However, machine learning techniques often result in a black-box function that is difficult for end users to interpret which for deception limits their ability to effectively define decoys. In this report, an approach to validate the equations learned are accurate is provided and demonstrated. Following, begins the process of addressing this issue for a model-driven deception technology that produces equations representing the physical process controlled by operation technology devices. This research was performed by applying subject matter expert context to machine learned models.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Immediate effects of acute Mars mission equivalent doses of SEP and GCR radiation on the murine gastrointestinal system-protective effects of curcumin-loaded nanolipoprotein particles (cNLPs)

Introduction: Missions beyond low Earth orbit (LEO) will expose astronauts to ionizing radiation (IR) in the form of solar energetic particles (SEP) and galactic cosmic rays (GCR) including high atomic number and energy (HZE) nuclei. The gastrointestinal (GI) system is documented to be highly radiosensitive with even relatively low dose IR exposures capable of inducing mucosal lesions and disrupting epithelial barrier function. IR is also an established risk factor for colorectal cancer (CRC) with several studies examining long-term GI effects of SEP/GCR exposure using tumor-prone APC mouse models. Studies of acute short-term effects of modeled space radiation exposures in wildtype mouse models are more limited and necessary to better define charged particle- induced GI pathologies and test novel medical countermeasures (MCMs) to promote astronaut safety. Methods: In this study, we performed ground-based studies where male and female C57BL/6J mice were exposed to γ-rays, 50 MeV protons, or 1 GeV/n Fe-56 ions at the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL) with histology and immunohistochemistry endpoints measured in the first 24 h post-irradiation to define immediate SEP/GCR-induced GI alterations. Results: Our data show that unlike matched γ-ray controls, acute exposures to protons and iron ions disrupts intestinal function and induces mucosal lesions, vascular congestion, epithelial barrier breakdown, and marked enlargement of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue. We also measured kinetics of DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair using gamma-H2AX- specific antibodies and apoptosis via TUNEL labeling, noting the induction and disappearance of extranuclear cytoplasmic DNA marked by gamma-H2AX only in the charged particle-irradiated samples. We show that 18 h pre-treatment with curcumin-loaded nanolipoprotein particles (cNLPs) delivered via IV injection reduces DSB-associated foci levels and apoptosis and restore crypt villi lengths. Discussion: These data improve our understanding of physiological alterations in the GI tract immediately following exposures to modeled space radiations and demonstrates effectiveness of a promising space radiation MCM.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗