Environmental Projects

This report deals with the Biological Assessment, Biological Opinion and Final Report on the construction of a high- efficiency 34-meter, multifrequency beam-waveguide antenna at the Apollo Site of the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex, operated by JPL. According to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, a Biological Assessment must be conducted and a Biological Opinion, with terms and conditions, rendered (the Opinion by the U.S. Department of the Interior) before construction of any federal project that may affect endangered or threatened flora or fauna. After construction, a final report is filed with the Department. The desert tortoise, designated "threatened" by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Mojave ground squirrel and the Lane Mountain milk vetch, both designated "candidate threatened," required the reporting specified by the Act. The Assessment found no significant danger to the animal species if workers are educated about them. No stands of the plant species were observed in the surveyed construction area. The Department issued a Biological Opinion to safeguard the two animal species. The Service and the California Department of Fish and Game both issued a Biological Concurrence that JPL had satisfied all environmental criteria for preserving threatened species

Environmental projects. Volume 13: Underground storage tanks, removal and replacement. Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex

The Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex (GDSCC), located in the Mojave Desert about 40 miles north of Barstow, California, and about 160 miles northeast of Pasadena, is part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) Deep Space Network, one of the world's largest and most sensitive scientific telecommunications and radio navigation networks. Activities at the GDSCC are carried out in support of six large parabolic dish antennas. As a large-scale facility located in a remote, isolated desert region, the GDSCC operations require numerous on-site storage facilities for gasoline, diesel oil, hydraulic oil, and waste oil. These fluids are stored in underground storage tanks (USTs). This present volume describes what happened to the 26 USTs that remained at the GDSCC. Twenty-four of these USTs were constructed of carbon steel without any coating for corrosion protection, and without secondary containment or leak detection. Two remaining USTs were constructed of fiberglass-coated carbon steel but without secondary containment or leak protection. Of the 26 USTs that remained at the GDSCC, 23 were cleaned, removed from the ground, cut up, and hauled away from the GDSCC for environmentally acceptable disposal. Three USTs were permanently closed (abandoned in place)

Photovoltaics Program Utility Interface Southwest Regional Workshop Proceedings

The needs and constraints of the utilities are summarized. The capabilities and limitations of photovoltaic systems as an alternative electricity generation option by utilities are discussed

Flat-plate solar array project. Volume 4: High-efficiency solar cells

The High Efficiency Solar Cell Task was assigned the objective of understanding and developing high efficiency solar cell devices that would meet the cost and performance goals of the Flat Plate Solar Array (FSA) Project. The need for research dealing with high efficiency devices was considered important because of the role efficiency plays in reducing price per watt of generated energy. The R&D efforts conducted during the 1982 to 1986 period are summarized to provide understanding and control of energy conversion losses associated with crystalline silicon solar cells. New levels of conversion efficiency were demonstrated. Major contributions were made both to the understanding and reduction of bulk and surface losses in solar cells. For example, oxides, nitrides, and polysilicon were all shown to be potentially useful surface passivants. Improvements in measurement techniques were made and Auger coefficients and spectral absorption data were obtained for unique types of silicon sheets. New modelling software was developed including a program to optimize a device design based on input characteristics of a cell

Engineering Acetobacterium Woodii for the Production of Isopropanol and Acetone From Carbon Dioxide and Hydrogen

Financiado para publicación en acceso aberto: Universidade da Coruña/CISUG[Abstract] The capability of four genetically modified Acetobacterium woodii strains for improved production of acetone from CO2 and hydrogen was tested. The acetone biosynthesis pathway was constructed by combining genes from Clostridium acetobutylicum and Clostridium aceticum. Expression of acetone production genes was demonstrated in all strains. In bioreactors with continuous gas supply, all produced acetic acid, acetone, and, surprisingly, isopropanol. The production of isopropanol was caused by an endogenous secondary alcohol dehydrogenase (SADH) activity at low gas-feeding rate. Although high amounts of the natural end product acetic acid of A. woodii were formed,14.5 mM isopropanol and 7.6 mM acetone were also detected, showing that this is a promising approach for the production of new solvents from C1 gases. The highest acetic acid, acetone, and isopropanol production was detected in the recombinant A. woodii [pJIR750_ac1t1] strain, with final concentrations of 438 mM acetic acid, 7.6 mM acetone, and 14.5 mM isopropanol. The engineered strain A. woodii [pJIR750_ac1t1] was found to be the most promising strain for acetone production from a gas mixture of CO2 and H2 and the formation of isopropanol in A. woodii was shown for the first time.Research in Professor Peter Dürre's lab was funded by the ERA-IB7 project OBAC (FKZ 031B0274B). Research in Professor Christian Kennes' lab was also funded by the collaborative European ERA-IB7 project OBAC as well as PCIN2016-148. The authors in the latter laboratory, belonging to the BIOENGIN group, thank Xunta de Galicia for financial support to Competitive Reference Research Groups (ED431C 2021/55)Xunta de Galicia; ED431C 2021/55Alemania. Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF); 031B0274

Advances in metabolic engineering in the microbial production of fuels and chemicals from C1 gas

The future sustainable production of chemicals and fuels from non-petrochemical sources, while at the same time reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, represent two of society's greatest challenges. Microbial chassis able to grow on waste carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2) can provide solutions to both. Ranging from the anaerobic acetogens, through the aerobic chemoautotrophs to the photoautotrophic cyanobacteria, they are able to convert C1 gases into a range of chemicals and fuels which may be enhanced and extended through appropriate metabolic engineering. The necessary improvements will be facilitated by the increasingly sophisticated gene tools that are beginning to emerge as part of the Synthetic Biology revolution. These tools, in combination with more accurate metabolic and genome scale models, will enable C1 chassis to deliver their full potential

Frequency distribution in intraoperative stimulation-evoked EMG responses during selective dorsal rhizotomy in children with cerebral palsy—part 1: clinical setting and neurophysiological procedure

Introduction: Selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) consists of microsurgical partial deafferentation of sensory nerve roots (L1-S2). It is primarily used today in decreasing spasticity in young cerebral palsy (CP) patients. Intraoperative monitoring (IOM) is an essential part of the surgical decision-making process, aimed at improving functional results. The role played by SDR-IOM is examined, while realizing that connections between complex EMG responses to nerve-root stimulation and a patient's individual motor ability remain to be clarified. Methods: We conducted this retrospective study, analyzing EMG responses in 146 patients evoked by dorsal-root and rootlet stimulation, applying an objective response-classification system, and investigating the prevalence and distribution of the assessed grades. Part1 describes the clinical setting and SDR procedure, reintroduced in Germany by the senior author in 2007. Results: Stimulation-evoked EMG response patterns revealed significant differences along the segmental levels. More specifically, a comparison of grade 3+4 prevalence showed that higher-graded rootlets were more noticeable at lower nerve root levels (L5, S1), resulting in a typical rostro-caudal anatomical distribution. Conclusions: In view of its prophylactic potential, SDR should be carried out at an early stage in all CP patients suffering from severe spasticity. It is particularly effective when used as an integral part of a coordinated, comprehensive spasticity program in which a team of experts pool their information. The IOM findings pertaining to the anatomical grouping of grades could be of potential importance in adjusting the SDR-IOM intervention to suit the specific individual constellation, pending further validation. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT03079362

Lactate based caproate production with Clostridium drakei and process control of Acetobacterium woodii via lactate dependent in situ electrolysis

Syngas fermentation processes with acetogens represent a promising process for the reduction of CO2 emissions alongside bulk chemical production. However, to fully realize this potential the thermodynamic limits of acetogens need to be considered when designing a fermentation process. An adjustable supply of H2 as electron donor plays a key role in autotrophic product formation. In this study an anaerobic laboratory scale continuously stirred tank reactor was equipped with an All-in-One electrode allowing for in-situ H2 generation via electrolysis. Furthermore, this system was coupled to online lactate measurements to control the co-culture of a recombinant lactate-producing Acetobacterium woodii strain and a lactate-consuming Clostridium drakei strain to produce caproate. When C. drakei was grown in batch cultivations with lactate as substrate, 1.6 g·L−1 caproate were produced. Furthermore, lactate production of the A. woodii mutant strain could manually be stopped and reinitiated by controlling the electrolysis. Applying this automated process control, lactate production of the A. woodii mutant strain could be halted to achieve a steady lactate concentration. In a co-culture experiment with the A. woodii mutant strain and the C. drakei strain, the automated process control was able to dynamically react to changing lactate concentrations and adjust H2 formation respectively. This study confirms the potential of C. drakei as medium chain fatty acid producer in a lactate-mediated, autotrophic co-cultivation with an engineered A. woodii strain. Moreover, the monitoring and control strategy presented in this study reinforces the case for autotrophically produced lactate as a transfer metabolite in defined co-cultivations for value-added chemical production