Polycrystals of the intermetallic compound of the Dy{sub 5}(Si{sub x}Ge{sub 1-x}){sub 4} system, where x = 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.625, 0.675, 0.725, 0.75, 0.775, 0.825, 0.875, and 1, have been prepared by electric-arc-melting on water-cooled copper hearth in an argon atmosphere. A study of phase relationships and crystallography in the pseudobinary system Dy{sub 5}(Si{sub x}Ge{sub 1-x}){sub 4} using X-ray powder diffraction data and optical metallography was completed. It revealed that silicides in the composition range from 0.825 to 1 crystallize in the Gd{sub 5}Si{sub 4}-type crystal structure: germanides in the composition range from 0 to 0.625 crystallize in the Sm{sub 5}Ge{sub 4}-type structure, and alloys with intermediate composition range from 0.675 to 0.775 crystallize in the monoclinic Gd{sub 5}Si{sub 2}Ge{sub 2}-type structure. The -{Delta}S{sub m} values were determined from magnetization measurements for 7 alloys. The alloys with a monoclinic crystal structure which belong to an intermediate phase region have large MCE value, which exceeds those observed in the other two phase regions by 300 to 500%. The nature of the observed magnetic and structural transformations in the Dy{sub 5}(Si{sub x}Ge{sub 1-x}){sub 4} system seems to be similar with those reported for the Gd{sub 5}(Si{sub x}Ge{sub 1-x}){sub 4} system. However, the …

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Temperature Programmed Desorption (TPD) have been used to investigate the surface structure of model heterogeneous catalysts in ultra-high vacuum (UHV). UV-Raman spectroscopy has been used to probe the structure of bulk model catalysts in ambient and reaction conditions. The structural information obtained through UV-Raman spectroscopy has been correlated with both the UHV surface analysis and reaction results. The present day propylene and ethylene polymerization catalysts (Ziegler-Natta catalysts) are prepared by deposition of TiCl{sub 4} and a Al(Et){sub 3} co-catalyst on a microporous Mg-ethoxide support that is prepared from MgCl{sub 2} and ethanol. A model thin film catalyst is prepared by depositing metallic Mg on a Au foil in a UHV chamber in a background of TiCl{sub 4} in the gas phase. XPS results indicate that the Mg is completely oxidized to MgCl{sub 2} by TiCl{sub 4} resulting in a thin film of MgCl{sub 2}/TiCl{sub x}, where x = 2, 3, and 4. To prepare an active catalyst, the thin film of MgCl{sub 2}/TiCl{sub x} on Au foil is enclosed in a high pressure cell contained within the UHV chamber and exposed to {approx}1 Torr of Al(Et){sub 3}.

The amount of information on the world wide web has grown enormously since its creation in 1990. Duplication of content is inevitable because there is no central management on the web. Studies have shown that many similar versions of the same text documents can be found throughout the web. This redundancy problem is more severe for multimedia content such as web video sequences, as they are often stored in multiple locations and different formats to facilitate downloading and streaming. Similar versions of the same video can also be found, unknown to content creators, when web users modify and republish original content using video editing tools. Identifying similar content can benefit many web applications and content owners. For example, it will reduce the number of similar answers to a web search and identify inappropriate use of copyright content. In this dissertation, they present a system architecture and corresponding algorithms to efficiently measure, search, and organize similar video sequences found on any large database such as the web.

Electron based surface probing techniques can provide detailed information about surface structure or chemical composition in vacuum environments. The development of new surface techniques has made possible in situ molecular level studies of solid-gas interfaces and more recently, solid-liquid interfaces. The aim of this dissertation is two-fold. First, by using novel sample preparation, Low Energy Electron Diffraction (LEED) and other traditional ultra high vacuum (UHV) techniques are shown to provide new information on the insulator/vacuum interface. The surface structure of the classic insulator NaCl has been determined using these methods. Second, using sum frequency generation (SFG) surface specific vibrational spectroscopy studies were performed on both the biopolymer/air and electrode/electrolyte interfaces. The surface structure and composition of polyetherurethane-silicone copolymers were determined in air using SFG, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). SFG studies of the electrode (platinum, gold and copper)/electrolyte interface were performed as a function of applied potential in an electrochemical cell.