Over the fifty-five year history of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), considerable progress has been made in the development of techniques for studying the structure, function, and dynamics of biological molecules. The majority of this research has involved the development of multi-dimensional NMR experiments for studying molecules in solution, although in recent years a number of groups have begun to explore NMR methods for studying biological systems in the solid-state. Despite this new effort, a need still exists for the development of techniques that improve sensitivity, maximize information, and take advantage of all the NMR interactions available in biological molecules. In this dissertation, a variety of novel NMR techniques for studying biomolecules are discussed. A method for determining backbone ({phi}/{psi}) dihedral angles by comparing experimentally determined {sup 13}C{sub a}, chemical-shift anisotropies with theoretical calculations is presented, along with a brief description of the theory behind chemical-shift computation in proteins and peptides. The utility of the Spin-Polarization Induced Nuclear Overhauser Effect (SPINOE) to selectively enhance NMR signals in solution is examined in a variety of systems, as are methods for extracting structural information from cross-relaxation rates that can be measured in SPINOE experiments. Techniques for the production of supercritical and liquid laser-polarized …

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A process for the deposition of yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) films, on porous substrates, has been developed. These films have possible applications as electrolyte membranes in fuel cells. The films were deposited from colloidal suspensions through the vacuum infiltration technique. Films were deposited on both fully sintered and partially sintered substrates. A critical cracking thickness for the films was identified and strategies are presented to overcome this barrier. Green film density was also examined, and a method for improving green density by changing suspension pH and surfactant was developed. A dependence of film density on film thickness was observed, and materials interactions are suggested as a possible cause. Non-shorted YSZ films were obtained on co-fired substrates, and a cathode supported solid oxide fuel cell was constructed and characterized.

We present results on a search for a heavy charged vector boson, W', decaying to an electron-neutrino pair in p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 205 pb{sup -1}. We found no evidence of this decay channel, and set 95% confidence level limits on the production cross section times branching fraction assuming the light neutrino. We also set the limit on the W' boson mass at M{sub W'} > 788 GeV/c{sup 2}, assuming the standard model strength couplings.

This thesis presents evidence for the B**{sup 0} and {Sigma}{sub b}{sup (*){+-}} hadrons in proton-antiproton collisions at a center of mass energy of 1.96 TeV, using data collected by the Collider Detector at Fermilab. In the search for B**{sup 0} {yields} B{sup {+-}} {pi}{sup {-+}}, two B{sup {+-}} decays modes are reconstructed: B{sup {+-}} {yields} J/{Upsilon}K{sup {+-}}, where J/{Upsilon} {yields} {mu}{sup +}{mu}{sup -}, and B{sup {+-}} {yields} {bar D}{sup 0}{pi}{sup {+-}}, where {bar D}{sup 0} {yields} K{sup {+-}} {pi}{sup {+-}}. Both modes are reconstructed using 370 {+-} 20 pb{sup -1} of data. Combining the B{sup {+-}} meson with a charged pion to reconstruct B**{sup 0} led to the observation and measurement of the masses of the two narrow B**{sup 0} states, B{sub 1}{sup 0} and B*{sub 2}{sup 0}, of m(B{sub 1}{sup 0}) = 5734 {+-} 3(stat.) {+-} 2(syst.) MeV/c{sup 2}; m(B*{sub 2}{sup 0}) = 5738 {+-} 5(stat.) {+-} 1(syst.) MeV/c{sup 2}. In the search for {Sigma}{sub b}{sup (*){+-}} {yields} {Lambda}{sub b}{sup 0}{pi}{sup {+-}}, the {Lambda}{sub b}{sup 0} is reconstructed in the decay mode {Lambda}{sub b}{sup 0} {yields} {Lambda}{sub c}{sup +}{pi}{sup -}, where {Lambda}{sub c}{sup +} {yields} pK{sup -} {pi}{sup +}, using 1070 {+-} 60 pb{sup -1} of data. Upon combining …

MINOS is a long-baseline neutrino oscillations experiment located at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL), USA. It makes use of the NuMI neutrino beamline and two functionally identical detectors located at distances of {approx}1km and {approx}735km from the neutrino production target respectively. The Near Detector measures the composition and energy spectrum of the neutrino beam with high precision while the Far Detector looks for evidence of neutrino oscillations. This thesis presents work conducted in two distinct areas of the MINOS experiment: analysis of neutral current and charged current interactions. While charged current events are only sensitive to muon neutrino disappearance, neutral current events can be used to distinguish oscillations into sterile neutrinos from those involving only active neutrino species. A complete, preliminary neutral current study is performed on simulated data. This is followed by a more detailed investigation of neutral current neutrino interactions in the MINOS Near Detector. A procedure identifying neutral current interactions and rejecting backgrounds due to reconstruction failures is developed. Two distinct event classification methods are investigated. The selected neutral current events in the Near Detector are used to extract corrections to the neutral current cross-section in the MINOS Monte Carlo simulation as a function of energy. The …

I have performed a search for t-channel single top quark production in p{bar p} collisions at 1.96 TeV on a 366 pb{sup -1} dataset collected with the D0 detector from 2002-2005. The analysis is restricted to the leptonic decay of the W boson from the top quark to an electron or muon, tq{bar b} {yields} lv{sub l}b q{bar b} (l = e,{mu}). A powerful b-quark tagging algorithm derived from neural networks is used to identify b jets and significantly reduce background. I further use neural networks to discriminate signal from background, and apply a binned likelihood calculation to the neural network output distributions to derive the final limits. No direct observation of single top quark production has been made, and I report expected/measured 95% confidence level limits of 3.5/8.0 pb.

The work presented in this thesis is mainly focused on the application in a {Delta}m{sub s} measurement. Chapter 1 starts with a general theoretical introduction on the unitarity triangle with a focus on the impact of a {Delta}m{sub s} measurement. Chapter 2 then describes the experimental setup, consisting of the Tevatron collider and the CDF II detector, that was used to collect the data. In chapter 3 the concept of parameter estimation using binned and unbinned maximum likelihood fits is laid out. In addition an introduction to the NeuroBayes{reg_sign} neural network package is given. Chapter 4 outlines the analysis steps walking the path from the trigger level selection to fully reconstructed B mesons candidates. In chapter 5 the concepts and formulas that form the ingredients to an unbinned maximum likelihood fit of {Delta}m{sub s} ({Delta}m{sub d}) from a sample of reconstructed B mesons are discussed. Chapter 6 then introduces the novel method of using neural networks to achieve an improved signal selection. First the method is developed, tested and validated using the decay B{sup 0} {yields} D{pi}, D {yields} K{pi}{pi} and then applied to the kinematically very similar decay B{sub s} {yields} D{sub s}{pi}, D{sub s} {yields} {phi}{pi}, {phi} {yields} …

In this dissertation, we present the results of a time-dependent angular analysis of B_s → J/ΨΦ decays performed with the use of initial-state flavor tagging. CP violation is observed in this mode through the interference of decay without net mixing and decay with net mixing, that is, B_s → J/ΨΦ and B_s → $\bar{B}$_s → J/ΨΦ . The time-dependent angular analysis is used to extract the decay widths of the heavy and light B_s eigenstates and the difference between these decay widths ΔΓ_s {triple_bond} Γ_s^L-Γ_s^H. Initial-state flavor tagging is used to determine the matter-antimatter content of the B_s mesons at production time. We combine flavor tagging with the angular analysis, which statistically determines the contributions of the CP-even and CP-odd components at decay time, to measure the CP-violating phase β_s. The phase β_s is expressed in terms of elements of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix as β_s {triple_bond} arg (-V_tsV*_tb/V_csV*_cb), and is predicted by the Standard Model to be close to zero, β_s^SM = 0.02. In the measurement of ΔΓ_s, we use a dataset corresponding to 1.7 fb^-1 of luminosity, collected at the CDF experiment from proton-antiproton collisions at a center of mass energy √s = 1.96 TeV. In the measurement of …

Using computer simulations, the performance of several CdTe based photovoltaic structures has been studied. The advantages and disadvantages of band gap grading, through the use of (Zn, Cd)Te, have also been investigated in these structures. Grading at the front interface between a CdS window layer and a CdTe absorber layer, can arise due to interdiffusion between the materials during growth or due to the intentional variation of the material composition. This grading has been shown to improve certain performance metrics, such as the open-circuit voltage, while degrading others, such as the fill factor, depending on the amount and distance of the grading. The presence of a Schottky barrier as the back contact has also been shown to degrade the photovoltaic performance of the device, resulting in a characteristic IV curve. However, with the appropriate band gap grading at the back interface, it has been shown that the performance can be enhanced through more efficient carrier collection. These results were then correlated with experimental observations of the performance degradation in devices subjected to light and heat stress.

The VRFurnace is a unique VR application designed to analyze a complete coal-combustion CFD model of a power plant furnace. Although other applications have been created that analyze furnace performance, no other has included the added complications of particle tracking and the reactions associated with coal combustion. Currently the VRFurnace is a versatile analysis tool. Data translators have been written to allow data from most of the major commercial CFD software packages as well as standard data formats of hand-written code to be uploaded into the VR application. Because of this almost any type of CFD model of any power plant component can be analyzed immediately. The ease of use of the VRFurnace is another of its qualities. The menu system created for the application not only guides first time users through the various button combinations but it also helps the experienced user keep track of which tool is being used. Because the VRFurnace was designed for use in the C6 device at Iowa State University's Virtual Reality Applications Center it is naturally a collaborative project. The projection-based system allows many people to be involved in the analysis process. This type of environment opens the design process to not only …

Two main issues regarding the disposal of spent nuclear fuel from nuclear reactors in the United States in the geological repository Yucca Mountain are: (1) Yucca Mountain is not designed to hold the amount of fuel that has been and is proposed to be generated in the next few decades, and (2) the radiotoxicity (i.e., biological hazard) of the waste (particularly the actinides) does not decrease below that of natural uranium ore for hundreds of thousands of years. One solution to these problems may be to use transmutation to convert the nuclides in spent nuclear fuel to ones with shorter half-lives. Both reactor and accelerator-based systems have been examined in the past for transmutation; there are advantages and disadvantages associated with each. By using existing Light Water Reactors (LWRs) to burn a majority of the plutonium in spent nuclear fuel and Accelerator-Driven Systems (ADSs) to transmute the remainder of the actinides, the benefits of each type of system can be realized. The transmutation process then becomes more efficient and less expensive. This research searched for the best combination of LWRs with multiple recycling of plutonium and ADSs to transmute spent nuclear fuel from past and projected nuclear activities (assuming little …

The properties of both carbon and gold substrates are easily affected by the judicious choice of a surface modification protocol. Several such processes for altering surface composition have been published in literature. The research presented in this thesis primarily focuses on the development of on-column methods to modify carbon stationary phases used in electrochemically modulated liquid chromatography (EMLC). To this end, both porous graphitic carbon (PGC) and glassy carbon (GC) particles have been modified on-column by the electroreduction of arenediazonium salts and the oxidation of arylacetate anions (the Kolbe reaction). Once modified, the carbon stationary phases show enhanced chromatographic performance both in conventional liquid chromatographic columns and EMLC columns. Additionally, one may also exploit the creation of aryl films to by electroreduction of arenediazonium salts in the creation of nanostructured materials. The formation of mercaptobenzene film on the surface of a GC electrode provides a linking platform for the chemisorption of gold nanoparticles. After deposition of nanoparticles, the surface chemistry of the gold can be further altered by self-assembled monolayer (SAM) formation via the chemisorption of a second thiol species. Finally, the properties of gold films can be altered such that they display carbon-like behavior through the formation of benzenehexathiol …

Thermodynamics has been studied systematically for the high temperature cuprate superconductor La{sub 2-x}Sr{sub x}CuO{sub 4-{delta}}, La-214, in the entire superconductive region from strongly underdoped to strongly overdoped regimes. Magnetization studies with H {parallel} c have been made in order to investigate the changes in free energy of the system as the number of carriers is reduced. Above the superconducting transition temperature, the normal-state magnetization exhibits a two-dimensional Heisenberg antiferromagnetic behavior. Below T{sub c}, magnetization data are thermodynamically reversible over large portions of the H-T plane, so the free energy is well defined in these regions. As the Sr concentration is varied over the wide range from 0.060 (strongly underdoped) to 0.234 (strongly overdoped), the free energy change goes through a maximum at the optimum doped in a manner similar to the T{sub c0} vs. x curve. The density of states, N(0), remains nearly constant in the overdoped and optimum doped regimes, taking a broad maximum around x = 0.188, and then drops abruptly towards zero in the underdoped regime. The La{sub 2-x}Sr{sub x}CuO{sub 4} (La-214) system displays the fluctuating vortex behavior with the characteristic of either 2D or 3D fluctuations as indicated by clearly identifiable crossing points T* close to …

This research examined the relationship between sediment sample data taken at Potential Release Sites (PRSs) and storm water samples taken at selected sites in and around Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The PRSs had been evaluated for erosion potential and a matrix scoring system implemented. It was assumed that there would be a stronger relationship between the high erosion PRSs and the storm water samples. To establish the relationship, the research was broken into two areas. The first area was raster-based modeling, and the second area was data analysis utilizing the raster based modeling results and the sediment and storm water sample results. Two geodatabases were created utilizing raster modeling functions and the Arc Hydro program. The geodatabase created using only Arc Hydro functions contains very fine catchment drainage areas in association with the geometric network and can be used for future contaminant tracking. The second geodatabase contains sub-watersheds for all storm water stations used in the study along with a geometric network. The second area of the study focused on data analysis. The analytical sediment data table was joined to the PRSs spatial data in ArcMap. All PRSs and PRSs with high erosion potential were joined separately to create …

The first proposal for plasma based accelerators was suggested by 1979 by Tajima and Dawson. Since then there has been a tremendous progress both theoretically and experimentally. The theoretical progress is particularly due to the growing interest in the subject and to the development of more accurate numerical codes for the plasma simulations (especially particle-in-cell codes). The experimental progress follows from the development of multi-terawatt laser systems based on the chirped-pulse amplification technique. These efforts have produced results in several experiments world-wide, with the detection of accelerated electrons of tens of MeV. The peculiarity of these advanced accelerators is their ability to sustain extremely large acceleration gradients. In the conventional radio frequency linear accelerators (RF linacs) the acceleration gradients are limited roughly to 100 MV/m; this is partially due to breakdown which occurs on the walls of the structure. The electrical breakdown is originated by the emission of the electrons from the walls of the cavity. The electrons cause an avalanche breakdown when they reach other metal parts of the RF linacs structure.

With the recent discovery of the giant magnetocaloric effect and the beginning of extensive research on the properties of Gd{sub 5}(Si{sub x}Ge{sub 1-x}){sub 4}, a necessity has developed for a better understanding of the microstructure and crystal structure of this family of rare earth compounds with startling phenomenological properties. The aim of this research is to characterize the microstructure of the Gd{sub 5}(Si{sub x}Ge{sub 1-x}){sub 4}, with X {approx_equal} 2 and its phase change by using both transmission and electron microscopes. A brief history of past work on Gd{sub 5}(Si{sub x}Ge{sub 1-x}){sub 4} is necessary to understand this research in its proper context.

In a cellular array, a range of primary spacing is found to be stable under given growth conditions. Since a strong coupling of solute field exists between the neighboring cells, primary spacing variation should also influence other microstructure features such as cell shape and cell length. The existence of multiple solutions is examined in this study both theoretically as well as experimentally. A theoretical model is developed that identifies and relates four important microstructural lengths, which are found to be primary spacing, tip radius, cell width and cell length. This general microstructural relationship is shown to be valid for different cells in an array as well as for other cellular patterns obtained under different growth conditions. The unique feature of the model is that the microstructure correlation does not depend on composition or growth conditions since these variables scale microstructural lengths to satisfy the relationship obtained in this study. Detailed directional solidification experimental studies have been carried out in the succinonitrile-salol system to characterize and measure these four length scales. Besides the validation of the model, experimental results showed additional scaling laws to be present. In the regime where only a cellular structure is formed, the shape of the cell, …

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) are widely used analytical separation techniques with many applications in chemical, biochemical, and biomedical sciences. Conventional analyte identification in these techniques is based on retention/migration times of standards; requiring a high degree of reproducibility, availability of reliable standards, and absence of coelution. From this, several new information-rich detection methods (also known as hyphenated techniques) are being explored that would be capable of providing unambiguous on-line identification of separating analytes in CE and HPLC. As further discussed, a number of such on-line detection methods have shown considerable success, including Raman, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), mass spectrometry (MS), and fluorescence line-narrowing spectroscopy (FLNS). In this thesis, the feasibility and potential of combining the highly sensitive and selective laser-based detection method of FLNS with analytical separation techniques are discussed and presented. A summary of previously demonstrated FLNS detection interfaced with chromatography and electrophoresis is given, and recent results from on-line FLNS detection in CE (CE-FLNS), and the new combination of HPLC-FLNS, are shown.

Astrocytes, a subtype of glial cell, have recently been shown to exhibit Ca{sup 2+} elevations in response to neurotransmitters. A Ca{sup 2+} elevation can propagate to adjacent astrocytes as a Ca{sup 2+} wave, which allows an astrocyte to communicate with its neighbors. Additionally, glutamate can be released from astrocytes via a Ca{sup 2+}-dependent mechanism, thus modulating neuronal activity and synaptic transmission. In this dissertation, the author investigated the roles of another endogenous signal, nitric oxide (NO), in astrocyte-neuron signaling. First the author tested if NO is generated during astrocytic Ca{sup 2+} signaling by imaging NO in purified murine cortical astrocyte cultures. Physiological concentrations of a natural messenger, ATP, caused a Ca{sup 2+}-dependent NO production. To test the roles of NO in astrocytic Ca{sup 2+} signaling, the author applied NO to astrocyte cultures via addition of a NO donor, S-nitrosol-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP). NO induced an influx of external Ca{sup 2+}, possibly through store-operated Ca{sup 2+} channels. The NO-induced Ca{sup 2+} signaling is cGMP-independent since 8-Br-cGMP, an agonistic analog of cGMP, did not induce a detectable Ca{sup 2+} change. The consequence of this NO-induced Ca{sup 2+} influx was assessed by simultaneously monitoring of cytosolic and internal store Ca{sup 2+} using fluorescent Ca{sup 2+} …

Studies of random laser systems are a new direction with promising potential applications and theoretical interest. The research is based on the theories of localization and laser physics. So far, the research shows that there are random lasing modes inside the systems which is quite different from the common laser systems. From the properties of the random lasing modes, they can understand the phenomena observed in the experiments, such as multi-peak and anisotropic spectrum, lasing mode number saturation, mode competition and dynamic processes, etc. To summarize, this dissertation has contributed the following in the study of random laser systems: (1) by comparing the Lamb theory with the Letokhov theory, the general formulas of the threshold length or gain of random laser systems were obtained; (2) they pointed out the vital weakness of previous time-independent methods in random laser research; (3) a new model which includes the FDTD method and the semi-classical laser theory. The solutions of this model provided an explanation of the experimental results of multi-peak and anisotropic emission spectra, predicted the saturation of lasing modes number and the length of localized lasing modes; (4) theoretical (Lamb theory) and numerical (FDTD and transfer-matrix calculation) studies of the origin of …

Over the last ten years, photonic band gap (PBG) theory and technology have become an important area of research because of the numerous possible applications ranging from high-efficiency laser diodes to optical circuitry. This research concentrates on reducing the length scale in the fabrication of layered photonic band gap structures and developing procedures to improve processing consistency. Various procedures and materials have been used in the fabrication of layered PBG structures. This research focused on an economical micro transfer molding approach to create the final PBG structure. A poly dimethylsiloxane (PDMS) rubber mold was created from a silicon substrate. It was filled with epoxy and built layer-by-layer to create a 3-D epoxy structure. This structure was infiltrated with nanoparticle titania or a titania sol-gel, then fired to remove the polymer mold, leaving a monolithic ceramic inverse of the epoxy structure. The final result was a lattice of titania rolds that resembles a face-centered tetragonal structure. The original intent of this research was to miniaturize this process to a bar size small enough to create a photonic band gap for wavelengths of visible electro-magnetic radiation. The factor limiting progress was the absence of a silicon master mold of small enough dimensions. …

One of the major motivators of this work is the Mercury Project, which is a 1 kW scalable diode-pumped solid-state laser system under development at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). Major goals include 100 J pulses, 10% wallplug efficiency, 10 Hz repetition rate, and a 5 times diffraction limited beam. To achieve these goals the Mercury laser incorporates ytterbium doped Sr{sub 5}(PO{sub 4}){sub 3}F (S-FAP) as the amplifier gain medium. The primary focus of this thesis is a full understanding of the properties of this material which are necessary for proper design and modeling of the system. Ytterbium doped fluorapatites, which were previously investigated at LLNL, were found to be ideal candidate materials for a high power amplifier systems providing high absorption and emission cross sections, long radiative lifetimes, and high efficiency. A family of barium substituted S-FAP crystals were grown in an effort to modify the pump and emission bandwidths for application to broadband diode pumping and short pulse generation. Crystals of Yb{sup 3+}:Sr{sub 5-x}Ba{sub x}(PO{sub 4}){sub 3}F where x < 1 showed homogeneous lines offering 8.4 nm (1.8 times enhancement) of absorption bandwidth and 6.9 nm (1.4 times enhancement) of emission bandwidth. The gain saturation fluence of Yb:S-FAP …

Homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engines are being considered as an alternative to diesel engines. The HCCI concept involves premixing fuel and air prior to induction into the cylinder (as is done in current spark-ignition engine) then igniting the fuel-air mixture through the compression process (as is done in current diesel engines). The combustion occurring in an HCCI engine is fundamentally different from a spark-ignition or Diesel engine in that the heat release occurs as a global autoignition process, as opposed to the turbulent flame propagation or mixing controlled combustion used in current engines. The advantage of this global autoignition is that the temperatures within the cylinder are uniformly low, yielding very low emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NO{sub x}, the chief precursors to photochemical smog). The inherent features of HCCI combustion allows for design of engines with efficiency comparable to, or potentially higher than, diesel engines. While HCCI engines have great potential, several technical barriers exist which currently prevent widespread commercialization of this technology. The most significant challenge is that the combustion timing cannot be controlled by typical in-cylinder means. Means of controlling combustion have been demonstrated, but a robust control methodology that is applicable to the entire range …