This paper discusses a study created to determine the connection between performance on several neuropsychological measures and return to work. Connie D. Henson explains the study, which involved 134 brain injured patients treated in an outpatient neuropsychological re-entry program, and resulted in some mild correlations found while testing.

This paper discusses the author's work creating 30 ceramic vessels experimenting with the relaxation of jar forms. James Robert Salazar discusses how these jars retain their proportions and structure despite the relaxation process, and the inspirations that created a personal aesthetic evident in the works.

Stability of a cylindrical pore under the influence of surface energy is important for porous silicon (PS) processing in the integrated circuit industry. Once the zig-zag cylindrical pores of porous silicon or oxidized porous silicon (OPS) are unstable and breakup into rows of isolated spherical pores, oxidation of PS and densification/nitridation of OPS become difficult. Swing to difficulty transport of reactant gas (O{sub 2}, NH{sub 3}) or the trapped gas (for densification of OPS). A first order analysis of the stability of a cylindrical pore or cylinder is considered first. Growth of small sinusoidal perturbations by viscous flow or evaporation/condensation result in dependence of perturbation growth rate on perturbation wavelength. Rapid thermal oxidation (RTO) of porous silicon is proposed as an alternative for the tedious two-step 300 and 800C oxidation process. Transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy ESCA are used for quality control. Also, rapid thermal nitridation of oxidized porous silicon in ammonia is proposed to enhance OPS resistance to HF solution. Pores breakup of OPS results in a trapped gas problem during densification. Wet helium is proposed as OPS densification ambient gas to shorten densification time. Finally, PS is proposed to be an extrinsic gettering center in silicon wafers. …

The surface chemistry and catalytic reactivity of transition metal oxides deposited on Rh and Pt substrates has been examined in order to establish the role of oxide-metal interactions in influencing catalytic activity. The oxides investigated included titanium oxide (TiOx), vanadium oxide (VOx), iron oxide (FeOx), zirconium oxide (ZrOx), niobium oxide (NbOx), tantalum oxide (TaOx), and tungsten oxide (WOx). The techniques used to characterize the sample included AES, XPS, LEED, TPD, ISS, and STM. After characterization of the surface in UHV, the sample was enclosed in an atmospheric reaction cell to measure the influence of the oxide deposits on the catalytic activity of the pure metal for CO and CO{sub 2} hydrogenation. The oxide deposits were found to strongly enhance the reactivity of the Rh foil. The rates of methane formation were promoted by up to 15 fold with the maximum in rate enhancement occurring at oxide coverages of approximately 0.5 ML. TiOx TaOx, and NbOx were the most effective promoters and were stable in the highest oxidation states during both reactions (compared to VOx, WOx, and FeOx). The trend in promoter effectiveness was attributed to the direct relationship between oxidation state and Lewis acidity. Bonding at the metal oxide/metal interface …

The study of rare earth magnetic properties is undertaken to further the understanding of critical phenomena and the mechanism of magnetic ordering in solids. There is a great variety of magnetic ordering observed in the rare earth compounds, thus providing an insight to phenomena such as heat capacity, magnetostriction and crystal fields. Studies began on the magnetic properties of the rare earths and their compounds in the 1950`s.

It is possible to produce alumina-zirconia ceramic samples through existing solidification techniques. The resulting microstructures typically consist of rods of zirconia in an alumina matrix, although a lamellar structure has been noted in some cases. In nearly all cases, colony growth was present which may possibly result from grain size, repeated nucleation events, and lamellar oscillations. In the same vein, it appears that the amount of impurities within the system might be the underlying cause for the colony growth. Colony growth was diminished through impurity control as the higher purity samples exhibited colony free behavior. In addition to colony formations, faceted alumina dendrites or nonfaceted zirconia dendrites may result in the ceramic if the sample is solidified out of the coupled zone. In all cases, for larger-sized Bridgman samples, a lower limit in the eutectic spacing was noted. The solidification model which includes the kinetic effect has been developed, although the effect appears to be negligible under present experimental conditions. A spacing limit might also occur due to the result of heat flow problems. Heat flow out of the ceramic is difficult to control, often causing radial and not axial growth. This behavior is exaggerated in the presence of impurities. …

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) has emerged as one of the most versatile separation methods. However, efficient separation is not sufficient unless coupled to adequate detection. The narrow inner diameter (I.D.) of the capillary column raises a big challenge to detection methods. For UV-vis absorption detection, the concentration sensitivity is only at the {mu}M level. Most commercial CE instruments are equipped with incoherent UV-vis lamps. Low-brightness, instability and inefficient coupling of the light source with the capillary limit the further improvement of UV-vis absorption detection in CE. The goals of this research have been to show the utility of laser-based absorption detection. The approaches involve: on-column double-beam laser absorption detection and its application to the detection of small ions and proteins, and absorption detection with the bubble-shaped flow cell.

This dissertation includes three different topics: general introduction of capillary electrophoresis (CE); gradient in CE and CE in biological separations; and capillary gel electrophoresis (CGE) for DNA separation. Factors such as temperature, viscosity, pH, and the surface of capillary walls affecting the separation performance are demonstrated. A pH gradient between 3.0 and 5.2 is useful to improve the resolution among eight different organic acids. A flow gradient due to the change in the concentration of surfactant, which is able to coat to the capillary wall to change the flow rate and its direction, is also shown as a good way to improve the resolution for organic compounds. A temperature gradient caused by joule heat is shown by voltage programming to enhance the resolution and shorten the separation time for several phenolic compounds. The author also shows that self-regulating dynamic control of electroosmotic flow in CE by simply running separation in different concentrations of surfactant has less matrix effect on the separation performance. One of the most important demonstrations in this dissertation is that the author proposes on-column reaction which gives several advantages including the use of a small amount of sample, low risk of contamination, and time saving and kinetic …

The electronic and structural properties of the ({radical}3 {times} {radical}3) R30{degrees} Ag/Si(111) and ({radical}3 {times} {radical}3) R30{degrees} Au/Si(111) surfaces are investigated using first principles total energy calculations. We have tested almost all experimentally proposed structural models for both surfaces and found the energetically most favorable model for each of them. The lowest energy model structure of the ({radical}3 {times} {radical}3) R30{degrees} Ag/Si(111) surface consists of a top layer of Ag atoms arranged as ``honeycomb-chained-trimers`` lying above a distorted ``missing top layer`` Si(111) substrate. The coverage of Ag is 1 monolayer (ML). We find that the honeycomb structure observed in STM images arise from the electronic charge densities of an empty surface band near the Fermi level. The electronic density of states of this model gives a ``pseudo-gap`` around the Fermi level, which is consistent with experimental results. The lowest energy model for the ({radical}3 {times} {radical}3) R30{degrees} Au/Si(111) surface is a conjugate honeycomb-chained-trimer (CHCT-1) configuration which consists of a top layer of trimers formed by 1 ML Au atoms lying above a ``missing top layer`` Si(111) substrate with a honeycomb-chained-trimer structure for its first layer. The structures of Au and Ag are in fact quite similar and belong to the …

A transport model for polymer electrolytes is presented, based on concentrated solution theory and irreversible thermodynamics. Thermodynamic driving forces are developed, transport properties are identified and experiments devised. Transport number of water in Nafion 117 membrane is determined using a concentration cell. It is 1.4 for a membrane equilibrated with saturated water vapor at 25{degrees}C, decreases slowly as the membrane is dehydrated, and falls sharply toward zero as the water content approaches zero. The relation between transference number, transport number, and electroosmotic drag coefficient is presented, and their relevance to water-management is discussed. A mathematical model of transport in a solid-polymer-electrolyte fuel cell is presented. A two-dimensional membrane-electrode assembly is considered. Water management, thermal management, and utilization of fuel are examined in detail. The membrane separators of these fuel cells require sorbed water to maintain conductivity; therefore it is necessary to manage the water content in membranes to ensure efficient operation. Water and thermal management are interrelated. Rate of heat removal is shown to be a critical parameter in the operation of these fuel cells. Current-voltage curves are presented for operation on air and reformed methanol. Equations for convective diffusion to a rotating disk are solved numerically for a consolute …

This research shows that selenophene transition metal complexes have a chemistry that is similar to their thiophene analogs. Selenophene coordination has been demonstrated and confirmed by molecular structure in both the {eta}{sup 5}- and the {eta}{sup 1}(Se)-coordination modes. The reaction chemistry of selenophene complexes closely resembles that of the analogous thiophene complexes. One major difference, however, is that selenophene is a better donor ligand than thiophene making the selenophene complexes more stable than the corresponding thiophene complexes. The {sup 77}Se NMR chemical shift values for selenophene complexes fall within distinct regions primarily depending on the coordination mode of the selenophene ligand. In the final paper, the C-H bond activation of {eta}{sup 1}(S)-bound thiophenes, {eta}{sup 1}(S)-benzothiophene and {eta}{sup 1}(Se)-bound selenophenes has been demonstrated. The deprotonation and rearrangement of the {eta}{sup 1}(E)-bound ligand to the carbon bound L-yl complex readily occurs in the presence of base. Reprotonation with a strong acid gives a carbene complex that is unreactive towards nucleophilic attack at the carbene carbon and is stable towards exposure to air. The molecular structure of [Cp(NO)(PPh{sub 3})Re(2-benzothioenylcarbene)]O{sub 3}SCF{sub 3} was determined and contains a Re-C bond with substantial double bond character. Methyl substitution for the thienylcarbene or selenylcarbene gives a carbene …

Hale and Cohen (1991) developed software to generate two-dimensional computer models of complex geology. Their method uses a triangulation technique designed to support efficient and accurate computation of seismic wavefields for models of the earth`s interior. Subsequently, Hale (1991) used this triangulation approach to perform dynamic ray tracing and create synthetic seismograms based on the method of Gaussian beams. Here, I extend this methodology to allow an increased variety of ray-theoretical experiments. Specifically, the developed program GBmod (Gaussian Beam MODeling) can produce arbitrary multiple sequences and incorporate attenuation and density variations. In addition, I have added an option to perform Fresnel-volume ray tracing (Cerveny and Soares, 1992). Corrections for reflection and transmission losses at interfaces, and for two-and-one-half-dimensional (2.5-D) spreading are included. However, despite these enhancements, difficulties remain in attempts to compute accurate synthetic seismograms if strong lateral velocity inhomogeneities are present. Here, these problems are discussed and, to a certain extent, reduced. I provide example computations of high-frequency seismograms based on the method of Gaussian beams to exhibit the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed modeling method and illustrate new features for both surface and vertical seismic profiling (VSP) acquisition geometries.

This report discusses the following topics: Bloch oscillations and other dynamical phenomena of electrons in semiconductor superlattices; solvable dynamical model of an electron in a one-dimensional aperiodic lattice subject to a uniform electric field; and quantum dynamical phenomena of electrons in aperiodic semiconductor superlattices.

To enhance the SQUID`s field sensitivity, it is coupled to a flux transformer, a closed superconducting circuit consisting of a pickup loop, to which a signal is applied, connected in series to an input coil, which is inductively coupled to the SQUID. To fabricate an optimal flux transformer, one must use more than one superconducting thin-film layer, each of which is patterned into narrow strips or wires. Some wires from different layers cross, yet remain electrically isolated, to form crossovers, while in other places there must be superconducting contact between wires from different layers. Together, the superconducting wire, superconducting-superconducting contact and the superconducting crossover constitute a superconducting interconnect or multilayer wiring technology. We discuss the development of an interconnect technology involving the high transition temperature ({Tc}) superconductor YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7-x} (YBCO). Because of the need for epitaxial growth there are limits on materials for the insulating layer separating the YBCO films in multilayer structures, and on deposition and patterning techniques. We discuss the use of pulsed laser deposition in conjunction with patterning by shadow masks and later by photolithography to produce interconnects, multiturn input coils, and flux transformers. We also discuss the performance of SQUID magnetometers, in which a …

Since its development, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) has been a widely used analytical technique. ICP-MS offers low detection limits, easy determination of isotope ratios, and simple mass spectra from analyte elements. ICP-MS has been successfully employed for many applications including geological, environmental, biological, metallurgical, food, medical, and industrial. One specific application important to many areas of study involves elemental speciation by using ICP-MS as an element specific detector interfaced to liquid chromatography. Elemental speciation information is important and cannot be obtained by atomic spectrometric methods alone which measure only the total concentration of the element present. Part 1 of this study describes the speciation of selenium in human serum by size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and detection by ICP-MS. Although ICP-MS has been widely sued, room for improvement still exists. Difficulties in ICP-MS include noise in the background, matrix effects, clogging of the sampling orifice with deposited solids, and spectral interference caused by polyatomic ions. Previous work has shown that the addition of xenon into the central channel of the ICP decreases polyatomic ion levels. In Part 2 of this work, a fundamental study involving the measurement of the excitation temperature is carried out to further understand xenon`s role …

The measurement of q{sub o} is extremely important for understanding the quantity of matter in our universe. The measurement of q{sub o} using supernovae of type Ia as standard candles is appealing because it requires less modeling than other methods using galaxies. The challenge with using supernovae to measure q{sub o} is in finding enough of them. In order to find supernovas, we have constructed a very popular f/1 camera for the 3.9m Anglo-Australian Telescope. The camera uses reducing optics that put a 17 in. {times} 17 in. field on a 1024 {times} 1024 pixel Thomson CCD. Using this system, we image to 23rd magnitude in five minutes. We have developed a software package that uses image subtraction to find supernovae that are approximately magnitude 22.4 or brighter in these images. One field can be processed every 6.6 minutes on a relatively unloaded VAX 6000-6510. We estimate that this system should find one supernova in every 105--139 images (about two nights of observation on the AAT). Throughout the two years of operation, we observed the equivalent of about four nights with seeing better than two arc seconds. Although we found many candidates, we were unable to confirm any supemovae. The …

Water-enhanced solvation (WES) was explored for Lewis acid solutes in Lewis base organic solvents, to develop cheap extract regeneration processes. WES for solid solutes was determined from ratios of solubilities of solutes in water-sat. and low-water solvent; both were determined from solid-liquid equilibrium. Vapor-headspace analysis was used to determine solute activity coefficients as function of organic phase water concentration. WES magnitudes of volatile solutes were normalized, set equal to slope of log {gamma}{sub s} vs x{sub w}/x{sub s} curve. From graph shape {Delta}(log {gamma}{sub s}) represents relative change in solute activity coefficient. Solutes investigated by vapor-headspace analysis were acetic acid, propionic acid, ethanol, 1,2-propylene glycol, 2,3-butylene glycol. Monocarboxylic acids had largest decrease in activity coefficient with water addition followed by glycols and alcohols. Propionic acid in cyclohexanone showed greatest water-enhancement {Delta} (log {gamma}{sub acid})/{Delta}(x{sub w}/x{sub acid}) = {minus}0.25. In methylcyclohexanone, the decrease of the activity coefficient of propionic acid was {minus}0.19. Activity coefficient of propionic acid in methylcyclohexanone stopped decreasing once the water reached a 2:1 water to acid mole ratio, implying a stoichiometric relation between water, ketone, and acid. Except for 2,3-butanediol, activity coefficients of the solutes studied decreased monotonically with water content. Activity coefficient curves of ethanol, 1,2-propanediol …

The N-body problem is to simulate the motion of N particles under the influence of mutual force fields based on an inverse square law. The problem has applications in several domains including astrophysics, molecular dynamics, fluid dynamics, radiosity methods in computer graphics and numerical complex analysis. Research efforts have focused on reducing the O(N{sup 2}) time per iteration required by the naive algorithm of computing each pairwise interaction. Widely respected among these are the Barnes-Hut and Greengard methods. Greengard claims his algorithm reduces the complexity to O(N) time per iteration. Throughout this thesis, we concentrate on rigorous, distribution-independent, worst-case analysis of the N-body methods. We show that Greengard`s algorithm is not O(N), as claimed. Both Barnes-Hut and Greengard`s methods depend on the same data structure, which we show is distribution-dependent. For the distribution that results in the smallest running time, we show that Greengard`s algorithm is {Omega}(N log{sup 2} N) in two dimensions and {Omega}(N log{sup 4} N) in three dimensions. We have designed a hierarchical data structure whose size depends entirely upon the number of particles and is independent of the distribution of the particles. We show that both Greengard`s and Barnes-Hut algorithms can be used in conjunction with …

Molten carbonate fuel cell system is a leading candidate for the utility power generation because of its high efficiency for fuel to AC power conversion, capability for an internal reforming, and a very low environmental impact. However, the performance of the molten carbonate fuel cell is limited by the oxygen reduction reaction and the cell life time is limited by the stability of the cathode material. An elucidation of oxygen reduction reaction in molten alkali carbonate is essential because overpotential losses in the molten carbonate fuel cell are considerably greater at the oxygen cathode than at the fuel anode. Oxygen reduction on a fully-immersed gold electrode in a lithium carbonate melt was investigated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry to determine electrode kinetic and mass transfer parameters. The dependences of electrode kinetic and mass transfer parameters on gas composition and temperature were examined to determine the reaction orders and the activation energies. The results showed that oxygen reduction in a pure lithium carbonate melt occurs via the peroxide mechanism. A mass transfer parameter, D{sub O}{sup 1/2}C{sub O}, estimated by the cyclic voltammetry concurred with that calculated by the EIS technique. The temperature dependence of the exchange current density and …

We present data from our study of a device known as the inverse free electron laser. First, numerical simulations were performed to optimize the design parameters for an experiment that accelerates electrons in the presence of an undulator by stimulated absorption of radiation. The Columbia free electron laser (FEL) was configured as an auto-accelerator (IFELA) system; high power (MW`s) FEL radiation at {approximately}1.65 mm is developed along the first section of an undulator inside a quasi-optical resonator. The electron beam then traverses a second section of undulator where a fraction of the electrons is accelerated by stimulated absorption of the 1.65 mm wavelength power developed in the first undulator section. The second undulator section has very low gain and does not generate power on its own. We have found that as much as 60% of the power generated in the first section can be absorbed in the second section, providing that the initial electron energy is chosen correctly with respect to the parameters chosen for the first and second undulators. An electron momentum spectrometer is used to monitor the distribution of electron energies as the electrons exit the IFELA. We have found; using our experimental parameters, that roughly 10% of …

Nuclear grade high efficiency aerosol filters, also known as high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters, are commonly used in air cleaning systems for removal of hazardous aerosols. Performance of the filter units is important in assuring health and environmental protection. The filter units are constructed from pleated packs of fiberglass filter media sealed into rigid frames. Results of previous studies on such filter units indicate that their performance may not be completely predicted by ideal performance of the fibrous filter media. In this study, departure from ideal performance is linked to leaks existing in filter units and overall filter unit performance is derived from independent performance of the individual filter unit components. The performance of 14 nuclear grade HEPA filter units (size 1, 25 cfm) with plywood frames was evaluated with a test system that permitted independent determination of penetration as a function of particle size for the whole filter unit, the filter unit frame, and the filter media pack. Tests were performed using a polydisperse aerosol of di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate with a count median diameter of 0.2 {mu}m and geometric standard deviation of 1.6. Flow rate and differential pressure were controlled from 1% to 100% of design values. Particle counts …

This dissertation contains investigations in three distinct areas. Chapters 1 and 2 provide an analysis of the effects of electromagnetic phenomena during the initial stages of cell discharge. Chapter 1 includes the solution to Maxwell`s equations for the penetration of the axial component of an electric field into an infinitely long cylindrical conductor. Chapter 2 contains the analysis of the conductor included in a radial circuit. Chapter 3 provides a complete description of the equations that describe the growth of an oxide film. A finite difference program was written to solve the equations. The system investigated is the iron/iron oxide in a basic, aqueous solution. Chapters 4 and 5 include the experimental attempts for replacing formaldehyde with an innocuous reducing agent for electroless deposition. In chapter 4, current-versus-voltage curves are provided for a sodium thiosulfate bath in the presence of a copper disk electrode. Also provided are the cathodic polarization curves of a copper/EDTA bath in the presence of a copper electrode. Chapter 5 contains the experimental results of work done with sodium hypophosphite as a reducing agent. Mixed-potential-versus-time curves for solutions containing various combinations of copper sulfate, nickel chloride, and hypophosphite in the presence of a palladium disk electrode …

A divergence correction is conventionally applied to zero-offset data in an effort to preserved amplitude information. The conventional divergence correction compensates for the geometrical spreading of a point source in a horizontally layered medium where velocity varies with depth only. The dip-dependent divergence correction extends the conventional correction for improved amplitude processing of dipping beds. The dip-dependent divergence correction is computed by dynamic ray tracing, and applied to stacked data using a dip decomposition technique. This correction decreases amplitudes relative to the conventional correction for steep dips and late times. In a data example from the Gulf of Mexico, the conventional correction over- amplified the reflection off a salt dome flank by a factor of 1.6. High amplitudes near salt flanks are also associated with the presence of hydrocarbons. Applying the dip-dependent divergence correction ensures that ``bright spots`` are not due to over-amplification of steep dips by the conventional correction. In areas like the Gulf of Mexico, where the velocity function varies primarily with depth, and steep beds are commonplace, the dip-dependent divergence correction is an inexpensive way to improve the amplitude information in seismic images.

A thermal building simulation program is a numerical model that calculates the response of the building envelopes to weather and human activity, simulates dynamic heating and cooling loads, and heating and cooling distribution systems, and models building equipment operation. The scope of the research is to supply the users of such programs with information about the dangers and benefits of simplifying the input to their models. The Introduction describes the advantages of modeling the heat transfer mechanisms in a building. The programs that perform this type of modeling have, however, limitations. The user is therefore often put in the situation of simplifying the floor plans of the building under study, but not being able to check the effects that this approximation introduces in the results of the simulation. Chapter 1 is a description of methods. It also introduces the floor plans for the office building under study and the ``reasonable`` floor plans simplifications. Chapter 2 presents DOE-2, the thermal building simulation program used in the sensitivity study. The evaluation of the accuracy of the DOE-2 program itself is also presented. Chapter 3 contains the sensitivity study. The complicated nature of the process of interpreting the temperature profile inside a space …