United States Department of Energy

About: United States Department of Energy is a government organization based out in Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Coal & Catalysis. The organization has 13656 authors who have published 14177 publications receiving 556962 citations. The organization is also known as: DOE & Department of Energy.

Two methods for estimating aeroelastic damping of operational wind turbine modes from experiments

Abstract: The theory and results of two experimental methods for estimating the modal damping of a wind turbine during operation are presented. Estimations of the aeroelastic damping of the operational turbine modes (including the effects of the aerodynamic forces) give a quantitative view of the stability characteristics of the turbine. In the first method the estimation of modal damping is based on the assumption that a turbine mode can be excited by a harmonic force at its natural frequency, whereby the decaying response after the end of excitation gives an estimate of the damping. Simulations and experiments show that turbine vibrations related to the first two tower bending modes can be excited by blade pitch and generator torque variations. However, the excited turbine vibrations are not pure modal vibrations and the estimated damping is therefore not the actual modal damping. The second method is based on stochastic subspace identification, where a linear model of the turbine is estimated alone from measured response signals by assuming that the ambient excitation from turbulence is random in time and space. Although the assumption is not satisfied, this operational modal analysis method can handle the deterministic excitation, and the modal frequencies and damping of the first tower and first edgewise whirling modes are extracted. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Engineering Light Outcoupling in 2D Materials

Abstract: When light is incident on 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), it engages in multiple reflections within underlying substrates, producing interferences that lead to enhancement or attenuation of the incoming and outgoing strength of light. Here, we report a simple method to engineer the light outcoupling in semiconducting TMDCs by modulating their dielectric surroundings. We show that by modulating the thicknesses of underlying substrates and capping layers, the interference caused by substrate can significantly enhance the light absorption and emission of WSe2, resulting in a ∼11 times increase in Raman signal and a ∼30 times increase in the photoluminescence (PL) intensity of WSe2. On the basis of the interference model, we also propose a strategy to control the photonic and optoelectronic properties of thin-layer WSe2. This work demonstrates the utilization of outcoupling engineering in 2D materials and offers a new route toward the realization of novel optoelectronic devices, such as 2D LEDs a...

Transposable Elements versus the Fungal Genome: Impact on Whole-Genome Architecture and Transcriptional Profiles.

Abstract: Transposable elements (TEs) are exceptional contributors to eukaryotic genome diversity. Their ubiquitous presence impacts the genomes of nearly all species and mediates genome evolution by causing mutations and chromosomal rearrangements and by modulating gene expression. We performed an exhaustive analysis of the TE content in 18 fungal genomes, including strains of the same species and species of the same genera. Our results depicted a scenario of exceptional variability, with species having 0.02 to 29.8% of their genome consisting of transposable elements. A detailed analysis performed on two strains of Pleurotus ostreatus uncovered a genome that is populated mainly by Class I elements, especially LTR-retrotransposons amplified in recent bursts from 0 to 2 million years (My) ago. The preferential accumulation of TEs in clusters led to the presence of genomic regions that lacked intra- and inter-specific conservation. In addition, we investigated the effect of TE insertions on the expression of their nearby upstream and downstream genes. Our results showed that an important number of genes under TE influence are significantly repressed, with stronger repression when genes are localized within transposon clusters. Our transcriptional analysis performed in four additional fungal models revealed that this TE-mediated silencing was present only in species with active cytosine methylation machinery. We hypothesize that this phenomenon is related to epigenetic defense mechanisms that are aimed to suppress TE expression and control their proliferation.

Evolution and comparative genomics of the most common Trichoderma species

Abstract: The growing importance of the ubiquitous fungal genus Trichoderma (Hypocreales, Ascomycota) requires understanding of its biology and evolution. Many Trichoderma species are used as biofertilizers and biofungicides and T. reesei is the model organism for industrial production of cellulolytic enzymes. In addition, some highly opportunistic species devastate mushroom farms and can become pathogens of humans. A comparative analysis of the first three whole genomes revealed mycoparasitism as the innate feature of Trichoderma. However, the evolution of these traits is not yet understood. We selected 12 most commonly occurring Trichoderma species and studied the evolution of their genome sequences. Trichoderma evolved in the time of the Cretaceous-Palaeogene extinction event 66 (±15) mya, but the formation of extant sections (Longibrachiatum, Trichoderma) or clades (Harzianum/Virens) happened in Oligocene. The evolution of the Harzianum clade and section Trichoderma was accompanied by significant gene gain, but the ancestor of section Longibrachiatum experienced rapid gene loss. The highest number of genes gained encoded ankyrins, HET domain proteins and transcription factors. We also identified the Trichoderma core genome, completely curated its annotation, investigated several gene families in detail and compared the results to those of other fungi. Eighty percent of those genes for which a function could be predicted were also found in other fungi, but only 67% of those without a predictable function. Our study presents a time scaled pattern of genome evolution in 12 Trichoderma species from three phylogenetically distant clades/sections and a comprehensive analysis of their genes. The data offer insights in the evolution of a mycoparasite towards a generalist.

A Measurement of the Q**2, W and t dependences of deeply virtual Compton scattering at HERA

Abstract: Deeply virtual Compton scattering, gamma*p -> gamma p, has been measured in e(+)p collisions at HERA with the ZEUS detector using an integrated luminosity of 61.1 pb(-1). Cross sections are presented as a function of the photon virtuality, Q(2), and photon-proton centre-of-mass energy, W, for a wide region of the phase space, Q(2) > 1.5GeV(2) and 40 < W < 170GeV. A subsample of events in which the scattered proton is measured in the leading proton spectrometer, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 31.3 pb(-1), is used for the first direct measurement of the differential cross section as a function of t, where t is the square of the four-momentum transfer at the proton vertex.