Oak Ridge National Laboratory

About: Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a facility organization based out in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Neutron & Ion. The organization has 31868 authors who have published 73724 publications receiving 2633689 citations. The organization is also known as: ORNL.

Reduced carbon emission estimates from fossil fuel combustion and cement production in China

Abstract: Nearly three-quarters of the growth in global carbon emissions from the burning of fossil fuels and cement production between 2010 and 2012 occurred in China. Yet estimates of Chinese emissions remain subject to large uncertainty; inventories of China's total fossil fuel carbon emissions in 2008 differ by 0.3 gigatonnes of carbon, or 15 per cent. The primary sources of this uncertainty are conflicting estimates of energy consumption and emission factors, the latter being uncertain because of very few actual measurements representative of the mix of Chinese fuels. Here we re-evaluate China's carbon emissions using updated and harmonized energy consumption and clinker production data and two new and comprehensive sets of measured emission factors for Chinese coal. We find that total energy consumption in China was 10 per cent higher in 2000-2012 than the value reported by China's national statistics, that emission factors for Chinese coal are on average 40 per cent lower than the default values recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and that emissions from China's cement production are 45 per cent less than recent estimates. Altogether, our revised estimate of China's CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion and cement production is 2.49 gigatonnes of carbon (2 standard deviations = ±7.3 per cent) in 2013, which is 14 per cent lower than the emissions reported by other prominent inventories. Over the full period 2000 to 2013, our revised estimates are 2.9 gigatonnes of carbon less than previous estimates of China's cumulative carbon emissions. Our findings suggest that overestimation of China's emissions in 2000-2013 may be larger than China's estimated total forest sink in 1990-2007 (2.66 gigatonnes of carbon) or China's land carbon sink in 2000-2009 (2.6 gigatonnes of carbon).

Role of Surface Structure on Li-Ion Energy Storage Capacity of Two-Dimensional Transition-Metal Carbides

Abstract: A combination of density functional theory (DFT) calculations and experiments is used to shed light on the relation between surface structure and Li-ion storage capacities of the following functionalized two-dimensional (2D) transition-metal carbides or MXenes: Sc2C, Ti2C, Ti3C2, V2C, Cr2C, and Nb2C The Li-ion storage capacities are found to strongly depend on the nature of the surface functional groups, with O groups exhibiting the highest theoretical Li-ion storage capacities MXene surfaces can be initially covered with OH groups, removable by high-temperature treatment or by reactions in the first lithiation cycle This was verified by annealing f-Nb2C and f-Ti3C2 at 673 and 773 K in vacuum for 40 h and in situ X-ray adsorption spectroscopy (XAS) and Li capacity measurements for the first lithiation/delithiation cycle of f-Ti3C2 The high-temperature removal of water and OH was confirmed using X-ray diffraction and inelastic neutron scattering The voltage profile and X-ray adsorption near edge struc

Agouti protein is an antagonist of the melanocyte-stimulating-hormone receptor.

Abstract: The genetic loci agouti and extension control the relative amounts of eumelanin (brown-black) and phaeomelanin (yellow-red) pigments in mammals: extension encodes the receptor for melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH) and agouti encodes a novel 131-amino-acid protein containing a signal sequence. Agouti, which is produced in the hair follicle, acts on follicular melanocytes to inhibit alpha-MSH-induced eumelanin production, resulting in the subterminal band of phaeomelanin often visible in mammalian fur. Here we use partially purified agouti protein to demonstrate that agouti is a high-affinity antagonist of the MSH receptor and blocks alpha-MSH stimulation of adenylyl cyclase, the effector through which alpha-MSH induces eumelanin synthesis. Agouti was also found to be an antagonist of the melanocortin-4 receptor, a related MSH-binding receptor. Consequently, the obesity caused by ectopic expression of agouti in the lethal yellow (Ay) mouse may be due to the inhibition of melanocortin receptor(s) outside the hair follicle.

Development of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) as a bioenergy feedstock in the United States.

Abstract: A 10-year US Department of Energy-sponsored research program designed to evaluate and develop switchgrass ( Panicum virgatum ), a native perennial warm-season grass, as a dedicated energy crop is reviewed. The programmatic objectives were to identify the best varieties and management practices to optimize productivity, while developing an understanding of the basis for long-term improvement of switchgrass through breeding and sustainable production in conventional agroecosystems. This research has reduced the projected production cost of switchgrass by about 25% ($8–9 Mg −1 ) through yield increases of about 50% achieved through selection of the best regionally adapted varieties; through optimizing cutting frequency and timing; and by reducing the level (by about 40%) and timing of nitrogen fertilization. Breeding research has made further gains in productivity of switchgrass that exceed the historical rate of yield improvement of corn. Studies of soil carbon storage under switchgrass indicate significant carbon sequestration will occur in soils that will improve soil productivity and nutrient cycling and can substantially augment greenhouse gas reductions associated with substituting renewable energy for fossil energy. Collaborative research with industry has included fuel production and handling in power production, herbicide testing and licensing, release of new cultivars, and genetic modifications for chemical coproduct enhancement. Economically based life cycle analyses based on this research suggest that switchgrass produced for energy will compete favorably both as an agricultural crop and as fuel for industry.

Bioassay of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) using microcantilevers.

Abstract: Diagnosis and monitoring of complex diseases such as cancer require quantitative detection of multiple proteins. Recent work has shown that when specific biomolecular binding occurs on one surface of a microcantilever beam, intermolecular nanomechanics bend the cantilever, which can be optically detected. Although this label-free technique readily lends itself to formation of microcantilever arrays, what has remained unclear is the technologically critical issue of whether it is sufficiently specific and sensitive to detect disease-related proteins at clinically relevant conditions and concentrations. As an example, we report here that microcantilevers of different geometries have been used to detect two forms of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) over a wide range of concentrations from 0.2 ng/ml to 60 µg/ml in a background of human serum albumin (HSA) and human plasminogen (HP) at 1 mg/ml, making this a clinically relevant diagnostic technique for prostate cancer. Because cantilever motion originates from the free-energy change induced by specific biomolecular binding, this technique may offer a common platform for high-throughput label-free analysis of protein‐protein binding, DNA hybridization, and DNA‐protein interactions, as well as drug discovery. It is becoming increasingly evident that high-throughput identification and quantitation of a large number of biological molecules is important for generating a molecular profile that is critical in diagnosis, monitoring, and prognostic evaluation of complex diseases such as cancer