Injection of carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) into saline aquifers has been proposed as a means to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (geological carbon sequestration). Large-scale injection of CO{sub 2} will induce a variety of coupled physical and chemical processes, including multiphase fluid flow, fluid pressurization and changes in effective stress, solute transport, and chemical reactions between fluids and formation minerals. This work addresses some of these issues with special emphasis given to the physics of fluid flow in brine formations. An investigation of the thermophysical properties of pure carbon dioxide, water and aqueous solutions of CO{sub 2} and NaCl has been conducted. As a result, accurate representations and models for predicting the overall thermophysical behavior of the system CO{sub 2}-H{sub 2}O-NaCl are proposed and incorporated into the numerical simulator TOUGH2/ECO{sub 2}. The basic problem of CO{sub 2} injection into a radially symmetric brine aquifer is used to validate the results of TOUGH2/ECO2. The numerical simulator has been applied to more complex flow problem including the CO{sub 2} injection project at the Sleipner Vest Field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea and the evaluation of fluid flow dynamics effects of CO{sub 2} injection into aquifers. Numerical simulation results show that …

To summarize, polycrystalline ZnO thin films were grown by reactive sputtering. Nitrogen was introduced into the films by reactive sputtering in an NO{sub 2} plasma or by N{sup +} implantation. All ZnO films grown show n-type conductivity. In unintentionally doped ZnO films, the n-type conductivities are attributed to Zn{sub i}, a native shallow donor. In NO{sub 2}-grown ZnO films, the n-type conductivity is attributed to (N{sub 2}){sub O}, a shallow double donor. In NO{sub 2}-grown ZnO films, 0.3 atomic % nitrogen was found to exist in the form of N{sub 2}O and N{sub 2}. Upon annealing, N{sub 2}O decomposes into N{sub 2} and O{sub 2}. In furnace-annealed samples N{sub 2} redistributes diffusively and forms gaseous N{sub 2} bubbles in the films. Unintentionally doped ZnO films were grown at different oxygen partial pressures. Zni was found to form even at oxygen-rich condition and led to n-type conductivity. N{sup +} implantation into unintentionally doped ZnO film deteriorates the crystallinity and optical properties and leads to higher electron concentration. The free electrons in the implanted films are attributed to the defects introduced by implantation and formation of (N{sub 2}){sub O} and Zni. Although today there is still no reliable means to produce good …

The research discussed within involves the development of novel applications of real-time imaging of adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP). ATP was detected via bioluminescence and the firefly luciferase-catalyzed reaction of ATP and luciferin. The use of a microscope and an imaging detector allowed for spatially resolved quantitation of ATP release. Employing this method, applications in both biological and chemical systems were developed. First, the mechanism by which the compound 48/80 induces release of ATP from human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) was investigated. Numerous enzyme activators and inhibitors were utilized to probe the second messenger systems involved in release. Compound 48/80 activated a G{sub q}-type protein to initiate ATP release from HUVECs. Ca{sup 2+} imaging along with ATP imaging revealed that activation of phospholipase C and induction of intracellular Ca{sup 2+} signaling were necessary for release of ATP. Furthermore, activation of protein kinase C inhibited the activity of phospholipase C and thus decreased the magnitude of ATP release. This novel release mechanism was compared to the existing theories of extracellular release of ATP. Bioluminescence imaging was also employed to examine the role of ATP in the field of neuroscience. The central nervous system (CNS) was dissected from the freshwater snail Lymnaea stagnalis. …

In this dissertation, they have undertaken the challenge to understand the unusual propagation properties of the photonic crystal (PC). The photonic crystal is a medium where the dielectric function is periodically modulated. These types of structures are characterized by bands and gaps. In other words, they are characterized by frequency regions where propagation is prohibited (gaps) and regions where propagation is allowed (bands). In this study they focus on two-dimensional photonic crystals, i.e., structures with periodic dielectric patterns on a plane and translational symmetry in the perpendicular direction. They start by studying a two-dimensional photonic crystal system for frequencies inside the band gap. The inclusion of a line defect introduces allowed states in the otherwise prohibited frequency spectrum. The dependence of the defect resonance state on different parameters such as size of the structure, profile of incoming source, etc., is investigated in detail. For this study, they used two popular computational methods in photonic crystal research, the Finite Difference Time Domain method (FDTD) and the Transfer Matrix Method (TMM). The results for the one-dimensional defect system are analyzed, and the two methods, FDTD and TMM, are compared. Then, they shift their attention only to periodic two-dimensional crystals, concentrate on their …

Precipitation and characterization of nickel hydroxide powders were investigated. A comprehensive precipitation model incorporating the metal ion hydrolysis, complexation and precipitation reactions was developed for the production of the powders with urea precipitation method. Model predictions on Ni{sup 2+} precipitation rate were confirmed with precipitation experiments carried out at 90 C. Experimental data and model predictions were in remarkable agreement. Uncertainty in the solubility product data of nickel hydroxides was found to be the large contributor to the error. There were demonstrable compositional variations across the particle cross-sections and the growth mechanism was determined to be the aggregation of primary crystallites. This implied that there is a change in the intercalate chemistry of the primary crystallites with digestion time. Predicted changes in the concentrations of simple and complex ions in the solution support the proposed mechanism. The comprehensive set of hydrolysis reactions used in the model described above allows the investigation of other systems provided that accurate reaction constants are available. the fact that transition metal ions like Ni{sup 2+} form strong complexes with ammonia presents a challenge in the full recovery of the Ni{sup 2+}. On the other hand, presence of Al{sup 3+} facilitates the complete precipitation of Ni{sup …

Organic electronic materials are a new class of emerging materials. Organic light emitting devices (OLEDs) are the most promising candidates for future flat panel display technologies. The photophysical characterization is the basic research step one must follow to understand this new class of materials and devices. The light emission properties are closely related to the transport properties of these materials. The objective of this dissertation is to probe the relation between transport and photophysical properties of organic semiconductors. The transport characteristics were evaluated by using thermally stimulated current and thermally stimulated luminescence techniques. The photoluminescence detected magnetic resonance and photoluminescence quantum yield studies provide valuable photophysical information on this class of materials. OLEDs are already in the market. However, detailed studies on the degradation mechanisms are still lacking. Since both optically detected magnetic resonance and thermal activation spectroscopy probe long-lived defect-related states in organic semiconductors, the combined study generates new insight on the OLED operation and degradation mechanisms.

Organic Light-Emitting Devices (OLEDs), both small molecular and polymeric have been studied extensively since the first efficient small molecule OLED was reported by Tang and VanSlyke in 1987. Burroughes' report on conjugated polymer-based OLEDs led to another track in OLED development. These developments have resulted in full color, highly efficient (up to {approx} 20% external efficiency 60 lm/W power efficiency for green emitters), and highly bright (> 140,000 Cd/m{sup 2} DC, {approx}2,000,000 Cd/m{sup 2} AC), stable (>40,000 hr at 5 mA/cm{sup 2}) devices. OLEDs are Lambertian emitters, which intrinsically eliminates the view angle problem of liquid crystal displays (LCDs). Thus OLEDs are beginning to compete with the current dominant LCDs in information display. Numerous companies are now active in this field, including large companies such as Pioneer, Toyota, Estman Kodak, Philipps, DuPont, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba, and Osram, and small companies like Cambridge Display Technology (CDT), Universal Display Corporation (UDC), and eMagin. The first small molecular display for vehicular stereos was introduced in 1998, and polymer OLED displays have begun to appear in commercial products. Although displays are the major application for OLEDs at present, they are also candidates for nest generation solid-state lighting. In this case the light source needs …

This dissertation comprises two main research projects. The first project, presented in Chapter 1, involves the synthesis and thermochemistry of germacyclobutanes (germetanes). Four new germetanes (spirodigermetane, diallylgermetane, dichlorogermetane, and germacyclobutane) have been synthesized using a modified di-Grignard synthesis. Diallylgermetane is shown to be a useful starting material for obtaining other germetanes, particularly the parent germetane, germacyclobutane. The gas-phase thermochemistries of spirodigermetane, diallylgermetane and germacyclobutane have been explored via pulsed stirred-flow reactor (SFR) studies, showing remarkable differences in decomposition, depending on the substitution at the germanium atom. The second project investigates the thermochemical, photochemical, and catalytic additions of several digermanes to acetylenes. The first examples of thermo- and photochemical additions of Ge-Ge bonds to C{triple_bond}C are demonstrated. Mechanistic investigations are described and comparisons are made to analogous disilane addition reactions, previously studied in their group.

In this work, they try to understand the protein folding problem using pair-wise hydrophobic interaction as the dominant interaction for the protein folding process. They found a strong correlation between amino acid sequences and the corresponding native structure of the protein. Some applications of this correlation were discussed in this dissertation include the domain partition and a new structural threading method as well as the performance of this method in the CASP5 competition. In the first part, they give a brief introduction to the protein folding problem. Some essential knowledge and progress from other research groups was discussed. This part includes discussions of interactions among amino acids residues, lattice HP model, and the design ability principle. In the second part, they try to establish the correlation between amino acid sequence and the corresponding native structure of the protein. This correlation was observed in the eigenvector study of protein contact matrix. They believe the correlation is universal, thus it can be used in automatic partition of protein structures into folding domains. In the third part, they discuss a threading method based on the correlation between amino acid sequences and ominant eigenvector of the structure contact-matrix. A mathematically straightforward iteration scheme provides …

The implementation of x-ray computerized tomography (CT) on agricultural soils has been used in this research to quantify soil physical properties to be compared with standard laboratory (STD) methods. The overall research objective was to more accurately quantify soil physical properties for long-term management systems. Two field studies were conducted at Iowa State University's Northeast Research and Demonstration Farm near Nashua, IA using two different soil management strategies. The first field study was conducted in 1999 using continuous corn crop rotation for soil under chisel plow with no-till treatments. The second study was conducted in 2001 and on soybean crop rotation for the same soil but under chisel plow and no-till practices with wheel track and no-wheel track compaction treatments induced by a tractor-manure wagon. In addition, saturated hydraulic (K{sub s}) conductivity and the convection-dispersion (CDE) model were also applied using long-term soil management systems only during 2001. The results obtained for the 1999 field study revealed no significant differences between treatments and laboratory methods, but significant differences were found at deeper depths of the soil column for tillage treatments. The results for standard laboratory procedure versus CT method showed significant differences at deeper depths for the chisel plow treatment …

This thesis was developed to address the following questions for the Pb/Si(111) system: (1) Is it possible to control the nano-structure growth by changing the initial substrate; (2) is the nucleation theory applicable to the case of the 7-step growth mode; and (3) what phase or phases could be formed between coverage 6/5 ML and 4/3 ML? The first question was answered in chapter 2, different growth results were observed for different initial substrate, suggesting the possibility of controlling nano-structure growth by selecting the initial substrate. The applicability of nucleation theory was determined to be unclear in chapter 3, from the results that the saturation island density does not depend on deposition rate, in contrary to the prediction of nucleation theory. Chapter 4 revealed a novel ''devil's staircase'' in Pb/Si(111) within the coverage range 6/5 ML and 4/3 ML. Low temperature deposition experiments showed high order of self-organization in such a system. Theoretical studies are needed to understand such a low temperature behavior. In general, this thesis provides possibilities of controlling nano-structure growth, which can be possibly an indication for future application. It also raises interesting questions in fundamental researches: a modified theory of nucleation is needed, and a detailed …

The objectives of this research were to further characterize exotic by adapted corn inbreds by studying the impact of environment on their starch thermal properties, and investigating the development of starch thermal properties during kernel maturation by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). A method to expedite identification of unusual starch thermal traits was investigated by examining five corn kernels at a time, instead of one kernel, which the previous screening methods used. Corn lines with known thermal functions were blended with background starch (control) in ratios of unique starch to control starch, and analyzed by using DSC. Control starch was representative of typical corn starch. The values for each ratio within a mutant type were unique ({alpha} < 0.01) for most DSC measurements. These results supported the five-kernel method for rapidly screening large amounts of corn germplasm to identify unusual starch traits. The effects of 5 growing locations on starch thermal properties from exotic by adapted corn and Corn Belt lines were studied using DSC. The warmest location, Missouri, generally produced starch with greater gelatinization onset temperature (T{sub oG}), narrower range of gelatinization (R{sub G}), and greater enthalpy of gelatinization ({Delta}H{sub G}). The coolest location, Illinois, generally resulted in starch …

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 authors present a measurement of the mass dependence of the forward-backward charge asymmetry for e{sup +}e{sup -} pairs resulting from {gamma}*/Z decays with mass M{sub ee} > 40 GeV/c{sup 2}. The Run II data sample consists of 72 pb{sup -1} of data, which was collected by the CDF detector in {bar p}p collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV at the Fermilab Tevatron. The measurement is compared with predictions from the Standard Model.

This document describes the search for second-generation leptoquarks (LQ{sub 2}) in around 114pb{sup -1} of p{bar p} collisions, recorded with the D0 detector between September 2002 and June 2003 at a centre-of-mass energy of {radical}s = 1.96TeV. The predictions of the Standard Model and models including scalar leptoquark production are compared to the data for various kinematic distributions. Since no excess of data over the Standard Model prediction has been observed, a lower limit on the leptoquark mass of M{sub LQ{sub 2}}{sup {beta}=1} > 200GeV has been calculated at 95% confidence level (C.L.), assuming a branching fraction of {beta} = BF(LQ{sub 2} {yields} {mu}j) = 100% into a charged lepton and a quark. The corresponding limit for {beta} = 1/2 is M{sub LQ{sub 2}}{sup {beta}=1/2} > 152 GeV. Finally, the results were combined with those from the search in the same channel at D0 Run I. This combination yields the exclusion limit of M{sub LQ{sub 2}}{sup {beta}=1} > 222 GeV (177GeV) for (beta) = 1 (1/2) at 95% C.L., which is the best exclusion limit for scalar second-generation leptoquarks (for {beta} = 1) from a single experiment to date.

For this study, a high throughput method for identifying and testing regulatory elements was examined. In addition, the validity of promoters predicted by FirstEF was tested. It was found that by combining computer based promoter and first exon predictions from FirstEF (Davuluri et al., 2001) with PCR-based cloning to generate luciferase reporter constructs, and by testing reporter activity in cultured mammalian cells plated in a 96 well format one could identify promoter activity in a relatively high throughput manner. The data generated in this study suggest that FirstEF predictions are sometimes incorrect. Therefore, having a strategy for defining which FirstEF predicted promoters to test first may accelerate the process. Initially testing promoters that are at a confirmed transcription start site for a gene, at a possible alternate transcription start site or in a region of conserved sequence would be the best candidates, while promoters predicted in gene desert regions may not be as easy to confirm. The luciferase assay lent itself very well to the high throughput search, however the subcloning did not always go smoothly. The numerous steps that this traditional subcloning method requires were time consuming and increased the opportunities for errors. A faster method that skips many …

Designing an adaptive optics (AO) system for extremely large telescopes (ELT's) will present new optical engineering challenges. Several of these challenges are addressed in this work, including first-order design of multi-conjugate adaptive optics (MCAO) systems, pyramid wavefront sensors (PWFS's), and laser guide star (LGS) spot elongation. MCAO systems need to be designed in consideration of various constraints, including deformable mirror size and correction height. The y,{bar y} method of first-order optical design is a graphical technique that uses a plot with marginal and chief ray heights as coordinates; the optical system is represented as a segmented line. This method is shown to be a powerful tool in designing MCAO systems. From these analyses, important conclusions about configurations are derived. PWFS's, which offer an alternative to Shack-Hartmann (SH) wavefront sensors (WFS's), are envisioned as the workhorse of layer-oriented adaptive optics. Current approaches use a 4-faceted glass pyramid to create a WFS analogous to a quad-cell SH WFS. PWFS's and SH WFS's are compared and some newly-considered similarities and PWFS advantages are presented. Techniques to extend PWFS's are offered: First, PWFS's can be extended to more pixels in the image by tiling pyramids contiguously. Second, pyramids, which are difficult to manufacture, can …

The authors describe a measurement of the top quark mass using events with two charged leptons collected by the CDF II Detector from p{bar p} collisions with {radical}s = 1.96 TeV at the Fermilab Tevatron. The posterior probability distribution of the top quark pole mass is calculated using the differential cross-section for the t{bar t} production and decay expressed with respect to observed leptons and jets momenta. The presence of background events in the collected sample is modeled using calculations of the differential cross-sections for major background processes. This measurement represents the first application of this method to events with two charged leptons. In a data sample with integrated luminosity of 340 pb{sup -1}, they observe 33 candidate events and measure M{sub top} = 165.2 {+-} 61.{sub stat} {+-} 3.4{sub syst} GeV/c{sup 2}.

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The mechanisms by which transparent dielectrics damage when exposed to high power laser radiation has been of scientific and technological interest since the invention of the laser. In this work, a set of three experiments are presented which provide insight into the damage initiation mechanisms and the processes involved in laser-induced damage. Using an OPO (optical parametric oscillator) laser, we have measured the damage thresholds of deuterated potassium dihydrogen phosphate (DKDP) from the near ultraviolet into the visible. Distinct steps, whose width is of order K{sub b}T, are observed in the damage threshold at photon energies associated with the number of photons (3{yields}2 or 4{yields}3) needed to promote a ground state electron across the energy gap. The wavelength dependence of the damage threshold suggests that a primary mechanism for damage initiation in DKDP is a multi-photon process in which the order is reduced through excited defect state absorption. In-situ fluorescence microscopy, in conjunction with theoretical calculations by Liu et al., has been used to establish that hydrogen displacement defects are potentially responsible for the reduction in the multi-photon cross-section. During the damage process, the material absorbs energy from the laser pulse and produces an ionized region that gives rise to …

The size-dependent optical and electronic properties of semiconductor nanocrystals have drawn much attention in the past decade, and have been very well understood for spherical ones. The advent of the synthetic methods to make rod-like CdSe nanocrystals with wurtzite structure has offered us a new opportunity to study their properties as functions of their shape. This dissertation includes three main parts: synthesis of CdSe nanorods with tightly controlled widths and lengths, their optical and dielectric properties, and their large-scale assembly, all of which are either directly or indirectly caused by the uniaxial crystallographic structure of wurtzite CdSe. The hexagonal wurtzite structure is believed to be the primary reason for the growth of CdSe nanorods. It represents itself in the kinetic stabilization of the rod-like particles over the spherical ones in the presence of phosphonic acids. By varying the composition of the surfactant mixture used for synthesis we have achieved tight control of the widths and lengths of the nanorods. The synthesis of monodisperse CdSe nanorods enables us to systematically study their size-dependent properties. For example, room temperature single particle fluorescence spectroscopy has shown that nanorods emit linearly polarized photoluminescence. Theoretical calculations have shown that it is due to the crossing …

A description of the development of the mc{_}runjob software package used to manage large scale computing tasks for the D0 Experiment at Fermilab is presented, along with a review of the Digital Front End Trigger electronics and the software used to control them. A tracking study is performed on detector data to determine that the D0 Experiment can detect charged B mesons, and that these results are in accordance with current results. B mesons are found by searching for the decay channel B{sup {+-}} {yields} J/{psi}K{sup {+-}}.

Air quality planning in Central California is complicated and controversial despite millions of dollars invested to improve scientific understanding. This research describes and critiques the use of photochemical air quality simulation modeling studies in planning to attain standards for ground-level ozone in the San Francisco Bay Area and the San Joaquin Valley during the 1990's. Data are gathered through documents and interviews with planners, modelers, and policy-makers at public agencies and with representatives from the regulated and environmental communities. Interactions amongst organizations are diagramed to identify significant nodes of interaction. Dominant policy coalitions are described through narratives distinguished by their uses of and responses to uncertainty, their exposures to risks, and their responses to the principles of conservatism, civil duty, and caution. Policy narratives are delineated using aggregated respondent statements to describe and understand advocacy coalitions. I found that models impacted the planning process significantly, but were used not purely for their scientific capabilities. Modeling results provided justification for decisions based on other constraints and political considerations. Uncertainties were utilized opportunistically by stakeholders instead of managed explicitly. Ultimately, the process supported the partisan views of those in control of the modeling. Based on these findings, as well as a review …

One of the goals of nanotechnology is to enable programmed self-assembly of patterns made of various materials with nanometer-sized control. This dissertation describes the results of experiments templating arrangements of gold and semiconductor nanocrystals using 2'-deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Previously, simple DNA-templated linear arrangements of two and three nanocrystals structures have been made.[1] Here, we have sought to assemble larger and more complex nanostructures. Gold-DNA conjugates with 50 to 100 bases self-assembled into planned arrangements using strands of DNA containing complementary base sequences. We used two methods to increase the complexity of the arrangements: using branched synthetic doublers within the DNA covalent backbone to create discrete nanocrystal groupings, and incorporating the nanocrystals into a previously developed DNA lattice structure [2][3] that self-assembles from tiles made of DNA double-crossover molecules to create ordered nanoparticle arrays. In the first project, the introduction of a covalently-branched synthetic doubler reagent into the backbone of DNA strands created a branched DNA ''trimer.'' This DNA trimer templated various structures that contained groupings of three and four gold nanoparticles, giving promising, but inconclusive transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results. Due to the presence of a variety of possible structures in the reaction mixtures, and due to the difficulty of …