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To determine the activity of zinc in Zn-Al alloys, the electromotive force (emf) of the cell: Zn/ZnCl/sub 2/-KC1 (eut)/Zn,Al was measured at temperatures between 569.5 K (296.5C) and 649.5 K (376.5C). The applicability of a two-suffix Margules equation was demonstrated, in good agreement with theoretical expectations. The diffusion coefficient of Zn in Al determined from a planar diffusion model for the experimental data was about 3 x 10/sup -10/ cm/sup 2//sec to 2 x 10/sup -9/ cm/sup 2//sec in the range of temperature studied. This is higher than that found in the literature. The most plausible reason appears to be the high alumina concentration in the working electrode because of partial oxidation. Oxidation of the alloying metals was the primary cause of poor alloying between calcium/or zinc and aluminum, thereby frustrating similar measurements at a Ca-Al/or Zn-Al alloy. The literature on the activity of calcium and zinc is aluminum is reviewed.

This thesis describes a new method for the numerical solution of partial differential equations of the parabolic type on an adaptively refined mesh in two or more spatial dimensions. The method is motivated and developed in the context of the level set formulation for the curvature dependent propagation of surfaces in three dimensions. In that setting, it realizes the multiple advantages of decreased computational effort, localized accuracy enhancement, and compatibility with problems containing a range of length scales.

This has application to astronomy and astrophysics. Selenium in Ge has been studied with a doping technique which limits complex formation. Only one ionization level has been found to correspond to selenium, which presumably occupies a substitutional site. This level is extremely unstable and its concentration decreases after annealing at 400C. Future work is planned to anneal the fast neutron damage before much selenium has formed in the {sup 74/76}Ge samples. It is expected that the observed selenium level can be better characterized and the missing selenium level is more likely to be discovered if other defects are removed before {sup 77}Se formation.

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Macromolecular interactions are essential for virtually all cellular functions including signal transduction processes, metabolic processes, regulation of gene expression and immune responses. This dissertation focuses on the characterization of two important macromolecular interactions involved in the relationship between Equine Infectious Anemia Virus (EIAV) and its host cell in horse: (1) the interaction between the EIAV Rev protein and its binding site, the Rev-responsive element (RRE) and (2) interactions between equine MHC class I molecules and epitope peptides derived from EIAV proteins. EIAV, one of the most divergent members of the lentivirus family, has a single-stranded RNA genome and carries several regulatory and structural proteins within its viral particle. Rev is an essential EIAV regulatory encoded protein that interacts with the viral RRE, a specific binding site in the viral mRNA. Using a combination of experimental and computational methods, the interactions between EIAV Rev and RRE were characterized in detail. EIAV Rev was shown to have a bipartite RNA binding domain contain two arginine rich motifs (ARMs). The RRE secondary structure was determined and specific structural motifs that act as cis-regulatory elements for EIAV Rev-RRE interaction were identified. Interestingly, a structural motif located in the high affinity Rev binding site is …

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The search for the fundamental constituents of matter has been pursued and studied since the dawn of civilization. As early as the fourth century BCE, Democritus, expanding the teachings of Leucippus, proposed small, indivisible entities called atoms, interacting with each other to form the Universe. Democritus was convinced of this by observing the environment around him. He observed, for example, how a collection of tiny grains of sand can make out smooth beaches. Today, following the lead set by Democritus more than 2500 years ago, at the heart of particle physics is the hypothesis that everything we can observe in the Universe is made of a small number of fundamental particles interacting with each other. In contrast to Democritus, for the last hundred years we have been able to perform experiments that probe deeper and deeper into matter in the search for the fundamental particles of nature. Today's knowledge is encapsulated in the Standard Model of particle physics, a model describing the fundamental particles and their interactions. It is within this model that the work in this thesis is presented. This work attempts to add to the understanding of the Standard Model by measuring the relative branching fraction of the …

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A dibutyl amide resin is used for the separation of uranium(VI), thorium(IV), and zirconium(IV) from each other and several other metal ions. Uranium(VI) and thorium(IV) are determined in the presence of large excesses of foreign metal ions and anions. A practical application of the amide resin is studied by determining uranium in low grade uranium ores. The amide resin is also used for the selective concentration of gold(III) from sea water.

Since an amorphous solid is often defined as that which lacks long-range order, the atomic structure is typically characterized in terms of the high-degree of short-range order. Most descriptions of vapor-deposited amorphous alloys focus on characterizing this order, while assuming that the material is chemically homogeneous beyond a few near neighbors. By coupling traditional small-angle x-ray scattering which probes spatial variations of the electron density with anomalous dispersion which creates a species-specific contrast, one can discern cracks and voids from chemical inhomogeneity. In particular, one finds that the chemical inhomogeneities which have been previously reported in amorphous Fe{sub x}Ge{sub 1-x} and Mo{sub x}Ge{sub 1-x} are quite anisotropic, depending significantly on the direction of film growth. With the addition of small amounts of metal atoms (x<0.2), no films appear isotropic nor homogeneous through the metal/insulator transition. The results indicate that fluctuations in the growth direction play a pivotal role in preventing simple growth models of a columnar structure or one that evolves systematically as it grows. The anomalous scattering measurements identify the metal atoms (Fe or Mo) as the source of the anisotropy, with the Ge atoms distributed homogeneously. The author has developed a method for using these measurements to determine …

This dissertation addresses the issue of composition modulation in sputtered amorphous metal-germanium thin films with the aim of understanding the intermediate range structure of these films as a function of composition. The investigative tool used in this work is anomalous small-angle X-ray scattering (ASAXS). The primary focus of this investigation is the amorphous iron-germanium (a-Fe{sub x}Ge{sub 100-x}) system with particular emphasis on the semiconductor-rich regime. Brief excursions are made into the amorphous tungsten-germanium (a-W{sub x}Ge{sub 100-x}) and the amorphous molybdenum-germanium (a-Mo{sub x}Ge{sub 100-x}) systems. All three systems exhibit an amorphous structure over a broad composition range extending from pure amorphous germanium to approximately 70 atomic percent metal when prepared as sputtered films. Across this composition range the structures change from the open, covalently bonded, tetrahedral network of pure a-Ge to densely packed metals. The structural changes are accompanied by a semiconductor-metal transition in all three systems as well as a ferromagnetic transition in the a-Fe{sub x}Ge{sub 100-x} system and a superconducting transition in the a-Mo{sub x}Ge{sub 100-x} system. A long standing question, particularly in the a-Fe{sub x}Ge{sub 100-x} and the a-Mo{sub x}Ge{sub 100-x} systems, has been whether the structural changes (and therefore the accompanying electrical and magnetic transitions) are accomplished …

Optimal prediction is a general system reduction technique for large sets of differential equations. In this method, which was devised by Chorin, Hald, Kast, Kupferman, and Levy, a projection operator formalism is used to construct a smaller system of equations governing the dynamics of a subset of the original degrees of freedom. This reduced system consists of an effective Hamiltonian dynamics, augmented by an integral memory term and a random noise term. Molecular dynamics is a method for simulating large systems of interacting fluid particles. In this thesis, I construct a formalism for applying optimal prediction to molecular dynamics, producing reduced systems from which the properties of the original system can be recovered. These reduced systems require significantly less computational time than the original system. I initially consider first-order optimal prediction, in which the memory and noise terms are neglected. I construct a pair approximation to the renormalized potential, and ignore three-particle and higher interactions. This produces a reduced system that correctly reproduces static properties of the original system, such as energy and pressure, at low-to-moderate densities. However, it fails to capture dynamical quantities, such as autocorrelation functions. I next derive a short-memory approximation, in which the memory term is …

A fuel cell is an electrochemical energy conversion device, the continuous-flow analogue of the popular electrochemical storage device known as the battery. While the potential of fuel cells as power sources was recognized well over a century ago, they have since found limited application; a myriad of chemical, engineering and materials issues can be cited for this disappointing showing. Recent growing concern over the fate of the environment, however, has helped to renew interest in fuel cell research. This paper describes the methanol fuel cell and catalytic problems associated with the anode. On this task, the adsorption of carbon monoxide on platinum has been investigated.

It is now widely accepted that the Standard Model assumption of massless neutrinos is wrong, due primarily to the observation of solar and atmospheric neutrino flavor oscillations by a small number of convincing experiments. The MINOS Far Detector, capable of observing both the outgoing lepton and associated showering products of a neutrino interaction, provides an excellent opportunity to independently search for an oscillation signature in atmospheric neutrinos. To this end, a MINOS data set from an 883 live day, 13.1 kt-yr exposure collected between July, 2003 and April, 2007 has been analyzed. 105 candidate charged current muon neutrino interactions were observed, with 120.5 {+-} 1.3 (statistical error only) expected in the absence of oscillation. A maximum likelihood analysis of the observed log(L/E) spectrum shows that the null oscillation hypothesis is excluded at over 96% confidence and that the best fit oscillation parameters are sin{sup 2} 2{theta}{sub 23} = 0.95{sub -0.32} and {Delta}m{sub 23}{sup 2} = 0.93{sub -0.44}{sup +3.94} x 10{sup -3} eV{sup 2}. This measurement of oscillation parameters is consistent with the best fit values from the Super-Kamiokande experiment at 68% confidence.

The phenomenon of flavour oscillations of neutrinos created in the atmosphere was first reported by the Super-Kamiokande collaboration in 1998 and since then has been confirmed by Soudan 2 and MACRO. The MINOS Far Detector is the first magnetized neutrino detector able to study atmospheric neutrino oscillations. Although it was designed to detect neutrinos from the NuMI beam, it provides a unique opportunity to measure the oscillation parameters for neutrinos and anti-neutrinos independently. The MINOS Far Detector was completed in August 2003 and since then has collected 2.52 kton-years of atmospheric data. Atmospheric neutrino interactions contained within the volume of the detector are separated from the dominant background from cosmic ray muons. Thirty seven events are selected with an estimated background contamination of less than 10%. Using the detector's magnetic field, 17 neutrino events and 6 anti-neutrino events are identified, 14 events have ambiguous charge. The neutrino oscillation parameters for {nu}{sub {mu}} and {bar {nu}}{sub {mu}} are studied using a maximum likelihood analysis. The measurement does not place constraining limits on the neutrino oscillation parameters due to the limited statistics of the data set analysed. However, this thesis represents the first observation of charge separated atmospheric neutrino interactions. It also …

The b quark fragmentation distribution has been measured, using data registered by the DELPHI experiment at the Z pole, in the years 1994-1995. The measurement made use of 176000 inclusively reconstructed B meson candidates. The errors of this measurement are dominated by systematic effects, the principal ones being related to the energy calibration. The distribution has been established in a nine bin histogram. Its mean value has been found to be &lt;x{sub E}&gt; = 0.704 {+-} 0.001(stat.) {+-} 0.008(syst.). Using this measurement, and other available analyses of the b-quark fragmentation distribution in e{sup +}e{sup -} collisions, the non-perturbative QCD component of the distribution has been extracted independently of any hadronic physics modeling. This distribution depends only on the way the perturbative QCD component has been defined. When the perturbative QCD component is taken from a parton shower Monte-Carlo, the non-perturbative QCD component is rather similar with those obtained from the Lund or Bowler models. When the perturbative QCD component is the result of an analytic NLL computation, the non-perturbative QCD component has to be extended in a non-physical region and thus cannot be described by any hadronic modeling. In the two examples, used to characterize these two situations, which are …

The sudden release of toxic contaminants that reach indoor spaces can be hazardousto building occupants. To respond effectively, the contaminant release must be quicklydetected and characterized to determine unobserved parameters, such as release locationand strength. Characterizing the release requires solving an inverse problem. Designinga robust real-time sensor system that solves the inverse problem is challenging becausethe fate and transport of contaminants is complex, sensor information is limited andimperfect, and real-time estimation is computationally constrained.This dissertation uses a system-level approach, based on a Bayes Monte Carloframework, to develop sensor-system design concepts and methods. I describe threeinvestigations that explore complex relationships among sensors, network architecture,interpretation algorithms, and system performance. The investigations use data obtainedfrom tracer gas experiments conducted in a real building. The influence of individual sensor characteristics on the sensor-system performance for binary-type contaminant sensors is analyzed. Performance tradeoffs among sensor accuracy, threshold level and response time are identified; these attributes could not be inferred without a system-level analysis. For example, more accurate but slower sensors are found to outperform less accurate but faster sensors. Secondly, I investigate how the sensor-system performance can be understood in terms of contaminant transport processes and the model representation that is used to solve the …

Nucleation of bubbles, their growth by diffusion of dissolved gas to the bubble surface and by coalescence, and their detachment from the electrode are all very fast phenomena; furthermore, electrolytically generated bubbles range in size from ten to a few hundred microns; therefore, magnification and high speed cinematography are required to observe bubbles and the phenomena of their growth on the electrode surface. Viewing the action from the front side (the surface on which the bubbles form) is complicated because the most important events occur close to the surface and are obscured by other bubbles passing between the camera and the electrode; therefore, oxygen was evolved on a transparent tin oxide "window" electrode and the events were viewed from the backside. The movies showed that coalescence of bubbles is very important for determining the size of bubbles and in the chain of transport processes; growth by diffusion and by coalescence proceeds in series and parallel; coalescing bubbles cause significant fluid motion close to the electrode; bubbles can leave and reattach; and bubbles evolve in a cycle of growth by diffusion and different modes of coalescence. An analytical solution for the primary potential and current distribution around a spherical bubble in …

Deformation processed metal-metal composites (DMMC’s) are composites formed by mechanical working (i.e., rolling, swaging, or wire drawing) of two-phase, ductile metal mixtures. Since both the matrix and reinforcing phase are ductile metals, the composites can be heavily deformed to reduce the thickness and spacing of the two phases. Recent studies have shown that heavily drawn DMMCs can achieve anomalously high strength and outstanding combinations of strength and conductivity. In this study, Al-Fe wire composite with 0.07, 0.1, and 0.2 volume fractions of Fe filaments and Al-Ca wire composite with 0.03, 0.06, and 0.09 volume fractions of Ca filaments were produced in situ, and their mechanical properties were measured as a function of deformation true strain. The Al-Fe composites displayed limited deformation of the Fe phase even at high true strains, resulting in little strengthening effect in those composites. Al-9vol%Ca wire was deformed to a deformation true strain of 13.76. The resulting Ca second-phase filaments were deformed to thicknesses on the order of one micrometer. The ultimate tensile strength increased exponentially with increasing deformation true strain, reaching a value of 197 MPa at a true strain of 13.76. This value is 2.5 times higher than the value predicted by the rule …

The characterization of electrochemically modified polycrystalline platinum surfaces has been accomplished through the use of four major electrochemical techniques. These were chronoamperometry, chronopotentiommetry, cyclic voltammetry, and linear sweep voltammetry. A systematic study on the under-potential deposition of several transition metals has been performed. The most interesting of these were: Ag, Cu, Cd, and Pb. It was determined, by subjecting the platinum electrode surface to a single potential scan between {minus}0.24 and +1.25 V{sub SCE} while stirring the solution, that the electrocatalytic activity would be regenerated. As a consequence of this study, a much simpler method for producing ultra high purity water from acidic permanganate has been developed. This method results in water that surpasses the water produced by pyrocatalytic distillation. It has also been seen that the wettability of polycrystalline platinum surfaces is greatly dependent on the quantity of oxide present. Oxide-free platinum is hydrophobic and gives a contact angle in the range of 55 to 62 degrees. We have also modified polycrystalline platinum surface with the electrically conducting polymer poly-{rho}-phenylene. This polymer is very stable in dilute sulfuric acid solutions, even under applied oxidative potentials. It is also highly resistant to electrochemical hydrogenation. The wettability of the polymer modified …

This report discusses the problems of a large positive sodium void reactivity effect in liquid metal reactors which have received increased attention following the accident at Chernobyl, a light water reactor with a positive coolant void coefficient. While the probability of voiding sodium is small, a large positive sodium void reactivity effect is, in many minds, unacceptable. Analyses were performed on models of an advanced liquid metal reactors to determine the effects fuel type have on the sodium void reactivity effect. Three fuel types were considered; metal, oxide, and nitride. Calculations were performed using three-dimensional, multigroup diffusion theory. Two programs were developed to aid the analyses. One calculated the capture-to-fission ratio and the other calculated reaction rates of selected materials. A one-group equation was derived to determine a theoretical basis for the sodium void reactivity effect. An option was presented for a shortened core having a near-zero sodium-void worth. The effect on the sodium void reactivity effect of using actinides as fuel is also considered.

This thesis consists of two parts: In the first part we describe the Photomultiplier Tube (PMT) selection and testing processes for the Hadronic Forward (HF) calorimeter of the CMS, a Large Hadron Collier (LHC) experiment at CERN. We report the evaluation process of the candidate PMTs from three different manufacturers, the complete tests performed on the 2300 Hamamatsu PMTs which will be used in the HF calorimeter, and the details of the PMT Test Station that is in University of Iowa CMS Laboratories. In the second part we report the {Xi}{sub c}{sup +} lifetime measurement from SELEX, the charm hadro-production experiment at Fermilab. Based upon 301 {+-} 31 events from three di.erent decay channels, by using the binned maximum likelihood technique, we observe the lifetime of {Xi}{sub c}{sup +} as 427 {+-} 31 {+-} 13 fs.

The morphological evolution of coherent inclusions in elastic media is studied in two-dimensions. The inclusions are simple dilations with isotropic surface energy in a system with homogeneous elastic constants of negative anisotropy. The equilibrium sizes at which a circular inclusion transforms to a rectangle or square, and at which a square splits into a doublet or quartet of separated inclusions are computed analytically. A finite-element model is then constructed to simulate the evolution of an arbitrary distribution of inclusions along the minimum-energy path. In the model, the circle evolves into a square, which splits into a doublet by hollowing from its center, or, if this is forbidden, by drawing in a perturbation on its surface. The sizes at which shapes spontaneously transform are compared to the equilibrium values. Finally, the simulation is used to study the evolution of a random distribution of inclusions. The first metastable state assumed by the distribution depends on the elastic interaction, surface energy and areal fraction of the inclusion phase through a single dimensionless parameter that groups these three effects. Results are compared to prior theoretical and experimental work on coarsening patterns in three dimensions.