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Application Of Asymptotic Theory In Exchange Interactions And Charge Transfer Collisions, Jathindas Tharamel

Doctoral Dissertations

A survey of electron exchange interactions in various atomic systems at large internuclear distances is given. Polarized wave functions, obtained by solving differential equations numerically, are used in the Holstein-Herring integral for the exchange energy. The asymptotically exact exchange interaction thus obtained is subsequently used in the study of charge transfer processes that occur in the collision of atomic systems. A natural scaling law that helps to make a rapid estimation of the charge transfer cross section in an ion-ion collision from the knowledge of the isoelectronic ion-atom cross section is derived. Finally, a detailed analysis of the oscillatory structures …

The Utilization Of Municipal Solid Waste Combustion Bottom Ash As A Paving Material, Xishun Zhang

Doctoral Dissertations

A research project was conducted to investigate the potentials of using municipal solid waste combustion bottom ash as a paving material. The effort focused on (i) characterization of the time-dependent properties of the bottom ash, (ii) bottom ash utilization as an unbound material in road subbase and base application, and (iii) bottom ash utilization as an aggregate substitution in hot mixture asphalt. A series of standard or non-standard procedures were employed to evaluate bottom ash behavior.

Results indicate that variability of the physical properties of the bottom ash produced during the two years study period is relatively small in view …

Photoacoustic Spectroscopy And Heavy-Atom Overtone Transitions In The Near Infrared, Xiaoke Yang

Doctoral Dissertations

This thesis presents vibrational overtone studies on N$\sb2$O, $\rm\sp{12}CO\sb2,$ OCS, and $\rm\sp{13}CO\sb2$ in the energy range from 10000 cm$\sp{-1}$ to 14000 cm$\sp{-1}$ by means of photoacoustic spectroscopy. Many new overtone and combination transitions have been discovered and some of the band intensities have been measured for the carbon dioxide molecule. The observed values of the transition positions and relative intensities are in good agreement with the theoretical calculations that were also performed. In addition, improvements on the experimental apparatus have been made during the investigations on these heavy-atom systems.

The text of this thesis is composed of seven chapters. The …

On The Occurrence Of Solar Flares Observed With The Burst And Transient Source Experiment, Douglas Alan Biesecker

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation is an investigation of solar flare and microflare occurrence rates, times, and sizes in the context of solar flare occurrence models and periods, and coronal heating. Solar flares, explosive releases of energy with effects observed at earth, are not fully understood. Microflares, smaller versions of typical solar flares, were previously only observed during a short balloon experiment. They may provide clues to understanding solar flares by allowing us to test what we already know about large solar flares.

The Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory's (GRO) Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) is used to search for solar flares. This study …

Children Experiencing Unemployment Stress: A Comparison Of Families With Stable And Unstable Employment Histories, Barbara Alice Wauchope

Doctoral Dissertations

This study investigates children's experiences of changes that occur in families when fathers lose their jobs, the children's interpretations and responses to those changes, and their resulting symptoms of stress. In the first part, school-aged children and their parents in fourteen two-parent families in northern New England were interviewed and completed instruments measuring the children's behavior and symptoms of stress. In the second part, adults from seventy-six additional families completed a self-administered questionnaire. In both parts, children in families were divided into two groups and compared: middle-class with older parents in which fathers had little or no history of losing …

Let Us Now Praise Famous Students: A Qualitative Study Of High School Students With Learning Disabilities, Judith Elizabeth Day

Doctoral Dissertations

This study used qualitative methodology in order to gain understanding of the school lives of high school students with learning disabilities in the areas of reading and writing. Two resource room sections of students were observed, using methods of participant observation over a year long period and four case studies of students from these sections were conducted. Classroom work of all students was studied and special education files of those chosen as case studies were reviewed. Students and school personnel involved in the education of the students were interviewed.

Research findings suggested that, despite years of intervention, high school students …

Dancing On Razor Wire: Caring To Write And Writing To Care In A Women's Prison, Kathe Penfield Simons

Doctoral Dissertations

This qualitative study investigates the writing of women in prison as a tool to care for themselves and others. The inmates participated in a student-centered, socially contextualized, process writing class whereby they could write for their own purposes, and share and publish their writing. The study presents case studies of two women who were also involved in a peer-tutoring program (one serving as the tutor for the other) and who used their literacies extensively on their own time outside of the classroom.

Many of our nation's inmates are considered illiterate by standardized, school-based measures. Some participate in correctional education programs …

Becoming Visionary: Reading And Living In The Existential Mode, Michael Anthony Reardon

Doctoral Dissertations

This study identifies, defines and analyzes a sub-genre of modern Anglo-American fiction distinguished by the presence of "visionary" characters, who possess the ability to see acutely into the contingency and anguish of the human condition in this world rather than--as with the popular conception of "visionary"--our potentialities in another. Their experience of vision flows from an "existential moment," a type of epiphany which discloses the essential Nothingness that exists beneath the systems, structures, attitudes and assumptions through which we attempt to order our daily lives. Most importantly, the visionary's heightened consciousness leads to an existence defined by individual choice, responsibility …

Production And Extraction Of Polarized Electrons From An Optically Pumped Helium Discharge, Raymond James Vandiver

Doctoral Dissertations

"Polarized electron sources are needed to study the spin dependent processes in atomic and molecular systems. This area of physics has enjoyed much success in the past decade due to the development of polarized electron sources of high electron polarization and current. We have investigated the production and extraction of polarized electrons from an optically pumped helium discharge.

We have directly extracted electrons with polarizations between 6% and 7% at currents greater than 200 µA from a helium DC discharge where the helium 2³S₁ metastable atoms are optically pumped to nearly 100% polarization. These high metastable polarizations …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Binuclear And Unsymmetrical Phthalocyanines, Jiang Yang

Doctoral Dissertations

"The metal free planar binuclear phthalocyanines sharing a benzene or naphthalene ring have been synthesized and characterized. The position of Q band of binuclear phthalocyanine sharing a naphthalene ring is red shifted compared to binuclear phthalocyanine sharing a benzene ring. The compounds are shown to form the liquid crystal mesophases at room temperature.

The unique unsymmetrical phthalocyanines with steric hindrance tetraphenyl or “opposite” octaphenyl substitution have been synthesized with the aid of computer modeling. The compounds are characterized by UV-visible near IR absorption and NMR spectroscopy. Mesophase is observed by optical microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry.

The aggregation behavior has …

Internal Working Models Of Self And Others In Adolescents: A Social-Cognitive Perspective, Saul Rosenthal

Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation, links between internal working models of attachment and self-concept are examined. Attachment and self-concept researchers discuss mental models of the self and the self in relationships as cognitive processors that affect attention to social information, as well as encoding, interpretation, and recall. Although some research supports the notions of attachment and self-concept constructs, no associations between the two have been previously examined. An argument is presented that concepts of the self and models of important relationships are interdependent. This argument is empirically tested with a sample of adolescent girls and their mothers, who completed a series of …

Strawberry Malformation And The Tarnished Plant Bug, David Thomas Handley

Doctoral Dissertations

Experiments were designed to study the malformation of strawberries, Fragaria x ananassa (Duchesne) caused by the tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois). In greenhouse experiments, duration of blossom exposure to tarnished plant bug affected the type of malformation observed. Exposure at anthesis for 48 hours was most likely to cause apical seediness, the malformation associated with tarnished plant bug. The number of nonviable achenes per fruit increased with longer feeding durations. Malformation was also affected by blossom stage. Prebloom feeding caused blossom death. Feeding at petal fall or achene separation resulted in malformations, including apical seediness. Feeding at …

Fiber Optic Chemical Sensors Based On Polymer Swelling And Shrinking, Ming Qi Bai

Doctoral Dissertations

Fiber optic chemical sensors based on the polymer bead swelling and shrinking have been evaluated and improved. The sensing element is a crosslinked polymer bead which swells or shrinks as a function of analyte. The change in bead size is coupled to the movement of a small mirror in front of two optical fibers. One fiber conducts light from a LED source to the mirror, the other fiber collects reflected light and carries it to a photomultiplier tube which serves as the detector. Changes in mirror position change the amount of light reflected into the collection fiber.

The variation in …

The Spatial Distribution Of Snow And Aerosol Chemistry In The Mountains Of Central Asia, Cameron Parker Wake

Doctoral Dissertations

Central Asia represents one of the largest voids with respect to our understanding of geochemical cycles in the continental troposphere and hydrosphere. Fortunately, the vast extent of glaciers in central Asia provide several high elevation ($>$5000 m) locations from which to recover glaciochemical records, and thereby furnish a unique window through which to study biogeochemical cycles in the mid- to upper-troposphere.

Snow and ice samples collected from nine glacier basins spread throughout the mountains of central Asia were analyzed for their major ion and particle content. Aerosol samples collected from four sites in central Asia were analyzed for their …

Reaction Of Nickel With Soils And Goethite: Equilibrium And Kinetic Studies, Ahmed Ali Mehadi

Doctoral Dissertations

Reaction of nickel with soil B horizons under various ionic strengths, pH and temperature conditions was conducted using a batch kinetics method. The forward and reverse apparent rate constants were determined using computer simulation techniques. Thermodynamic parameters were calculated from the rate constants. Increase in soil pH and temperature increased the sorption of nickel, while increase in ionic strength decreased nickel sorption. The reactions were all spontaneous with negative standard free energies ($\Delta$G$\sp\circ$); soils having higher nickel sorption capacity were more negative. The free energy decreased with increase in pH. The enthalpy ($\Delta$H$\sp\circ$) and entropy ($\Delta$S$\sp\circ$) for the reactions were …

An Analysis Of North Sea Oil Development And Scottish Island Youth: Postmaterialism As An Identifiable And Measurable Dimension, John Alan Anderson

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines opinions and attitudes of high school age youth living in the Shetland and Orkney islands and explores aspects of rapid growth associated with North Sea oil development. Only a minimal amount of research regarding post-impacts and rapid growth appears in the literature. Studies that do exist lack in theory and methodological consistency. This study draws ideas from mainstream sociology, Social Impact Assessment (SIA), Quality of Life (QoL) and Inglehart's materialism/postmaterialism to develop a working theory of social values and rapid growth. This study further reviews and applies six methodological considerations useable in future SIA, QoL, or boomtown …

Physical Behavior Of Computing Networks With An Emphasis On Routing, Peter George Drexel

Doctoral Dissertations

Combining powerful, local computing capability with inexpensive packet switched communication invites the creation of a new entity--the computing network. A computing network is a group of computer systems, interconnected by a packet switched network, which cooperate to accomplish a specific task.

Efficient communication between computer systems is critical. The accepted method of dealing with packet congestion is to limit network operation to linear regions ($\le$80 percent of total capacity).

Because of large parameter spaces, the behavior of computing networks is complex and not easily predictable with current techniques except in the simplest, linear region of operation. Since traditional approaches are …

Study Of Cross-Tail Current Carriers In Magnetotail, Chen Lu

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to gain physical insight into how charged particles, which violate the guiding center approximations, contribute to cross-tail current in a self-consistent plasma sheet. A technique to generate self-consistent one-dimensional (1-D) current sheets is described. Groups of monoenergetic protons are followed in a model magnetic field. The sample current sheets are characterized by resonant quasiadiabatic and stochastic orbits. The magnetic moment of a quasiadiabatic ion which is injected from outside a current sheet changes substantially during an interaction with the current sheet, but returns to almost its initial value by the time the ion leaves. …

The Scattering Of Gas Phase Molecules Andvan Der Waals Clusters From Surfaces, John Norman Beauregard

Doctoral Dissertations

The interaction of gas phase species with surfaces plays an important role in a myriad of processes such as heterogeneous catalysis, corrosion and the etching of semiconductor surfaces in the microelectronics industry. Thus, the study of gas-surface interactions has become a field of intense research. In this dissertation, we present the results of a computational study of the scattering of gas phase molecules and van der Waals clusters from surfaces. We have used molecular dynamics calculations which allow for the examination of the microscopic details of gas-surface scattering.

In this work we study four distinct systems. In Chapter I the …

Modeling Soil Climate Controls On The Exchange Of Trace Gases Between The Terrestrial Biosphere And The Atmosphere, Stephen Edward Frolking

Doctoral Dissertations

Soil temperature and moisture profiles (soil climate) have a strong influence on the rate of trace gas exchange between the terrestrial biosphere and the atmosphere through the controls exerted on microbial processes and the physical exchange of gases.

Principal controls of biological denitrification in mineral soils are the availability of carbon and nitrogen substrates and the soil anaerobic status. A process-oriented model of decomposition and denitrification in soils (DNDC) was modified to have a more detailed portrayal of these controls. In particular, a diffusive soil gas phase was added, along with a method for determining anaerobic and aerobic fractional volume …

Essays In International Trade And The Environment: Applications Of Heckscher-Ohlin And Non-Traditional Trade Theories, Antoinette Mary James

Doctoral Dissertations

The essays in this dissertation examine the implications of a country's use of the environment for its trade patterns. The first essay provides the foundation for the empirical analysis conducted in the second essay. The first essay examines empirical research in Heckscher-Ohlin trade theory with the intent of establishing the limits of the theory and some reasons for its lack of empirical support. The essay concludes that Heckscher-Ohlin is a specialized theory of trade flows between countries with similar endowments and which are at similar stages of development. The explanation for the poor empirical performance lies in applications of the …

Characterization And Inheritance Of The Fused Vein Trait In Squash (Cucurbita Pepo L), Robert Bruce Carle

Doctoral Dissertations

This investigation characterized and determined the inheritance of the fused vein trait in Cucurbita pepo L. with the purpose of evaluating its use as a rouging marker for hull-less seeded cultivars.

The trait is characterized by the partial fusion of the primary leaf veins. There is a reduction in the intraveinal leaf blade and the dorsal leaf surface appears wrinkled. Depending on genetic background, fusion begins with the fourth to tenth leaf stage and continues throughout vegetative growth. The extent of fusion also varies from slight (1-5 cm) to pronounced (15-20 cm). Anatomically, fusion results from an interruption of vein …

The Association Properties Of Retroviral Integration Protein, Jacqueline Lei Coleman

Doctoral Dissertations

Retroviral Integration Protein (IN) has been shown to be both necessary and sufficient for the integration of reverse transcribed retroviral DNA into the host cell DNA. It has been demonstrated that self-association is required for proper function, yet little is known about the thermodynamic properties of this association. Analytical ultracentrifugation was used to determine the stoichiometries and free energies ($\Delta$G) of IN self association under various physical conditions. The best fit model of association in all glycerol-free conditions studied was a reversible monomer-dimer-tetramer. The addition of glycerol at concentrations of 8% (vol/vol) or greater significantly enhances the monomer-dimer formation so …

Rapid Hydropyrolysis Of Coals For Production Of Liquid Hydrocarbons, Abdul Rahman Mohamed

Doctoral Dissertations

Production of fuels and chemicals from coal is becoming attractive due to potential high cost and uncertain supply of crude petroleum oil. Conventional techniques of coal liquefaction, though technically feasible, have been expensive due to hydrogen requirements, high pressure equipment, and high cost of commercial supported catalysts.

In this study, a novel technique for rapid hydropyrolysis of bituminous, subbituminous, and lignite coals has been investigated. Rapid hydropyrolysis is the process of heating at a fast rate to high temperature in a hydrogen environment. A coal sample in hydrogen atmosphere is targeted, in the absence of a catalyst, with a high …

Genetic And Molecular Analyses Of Host Symbiotic Genes And An In Vitro Regeneration System For Cicer Arietinum L, Vijayashri Ganapathy Paruvangada

Doctoral Dissertations

Ineffectively nodulating plant mutants PM405B, PM638A, and PM796B were used in molecular/genetic analyses of root nodule formation in chickpea. To establish the mode of inheritance of the mutant nodule phenotype in chickpea mutant PM638A, reciprocal crosses were made between PM638A and wild-type ICC640. The F$\sb2$ segregation data fit a 3 mutants: 1 wild-type monohybrid phenotypic ratio, indicating that ineffective nodulation is due to a monogenic dominant, nuclear mutation, tentatively designated as "Rn$\sb7$". Segregation analysis of F$\sb3$ progeny confirmed this model.

Early (ENod2) and late (Lb) nodulin cDNAs were used as heterologous probes to identify and study the expression of corresponding …

Fiber-Reinforced Plastic Grids For The Structural Reinforcement Of Concrete Beams, Joseph Robert Yost

Doctoral Dissertations

The research presented in this dissertation evaluates the performance of simply supported concrete beams reinforced with a 2 dimensional Fiber Reinforced Plastic (FRP) grid. The non-corrosive, high strength properties characteristic of FRP materials make them a desirable structural reinforcement for concrete in environments where high concentrations of chloride ions are present.

The FRP grid under investigation is called NEFMAC and it is manufactured by Turay Industries of Tokyo Japan. NEFMAC is dimensionally fabricated as orthogonally intersecting longitudinal and transverse bars. The bars are continuous at the intersection points and, as such, there exists no preferred or strong direction within the …

The Structure Of Water Mass, Salt, And Temperature Transports Within Intermediate Depths Of The Western Tropical Atlantic Ocean, Frank Lee Bub

Doctoral Dissertations

Water mass flow patterns within the 150-1300 m intermediate layer of the western tropical Atlantic were determined from observations during four 1990-1991 Pegasus velocity and CTD hydrographic surveys. Non-divergent flows were analyzed to determine transports.

A survey-average 29 Sverdrups (1 Sv = 10$\sp6$m$\sp3$/s) of southern hemisphere water masses flowed northwestward across 44$\sp\circ$W near the equator as part of the subsurface South Equatorial Current (SEC). 21 Sv retroflected anticyclonically around the Amazon Eddy (2$\sp\circ$N 45$\sp\circ$W) and flowed eastward toward the North Equatorial Undercurrent (NEUC). The other 8 Sv moved northwestward within a series of anticyclonic retroflection eddies which periodically separate from …

Equilibrium Electrophoresis: Results From The Second Prototype, David Barton Hayes

Doctoral Dissertations

Equilibrium electrophoresis is a new method that determines the apparent charge on macroions. The theory of equilibrium electrophoresis is summarized. The second generation device is described. Apparent charges, at various ionic strengths, measured by equilibrium electrophoresis are reported for pd(A)$\sb{20},$ pd(T)$\sb{20},$ pd(A)$\sb{20}$ $\cdot$ pd(T)$\sb{20},$ cytochrome c from horse heart, TA lysozyme mutant, TA(119/135) charge mutated lysozyme, and EDTA. The apparent charge of plasmid pBR322 from electrophoretic mobility and sedimentation velocity is reported. The results are compared to those expected according to the Record-Manning counterion condensation theory and the Debye-Huckel shielding theory. The apparent charges of the two ss DNA samples …

Characterization Of Biglycan And Decorin Self-Association By Analytical Ultracentrifugation, Jun Liu

Doctoral Dissertations

Biglycan and decorin are small, leucine-rich proteoglycans that bind to a variety of extracellular and membrane associated molecules, regulating their biological functions. Although self-association occurs in many proteoglycans, and is thought to be important for their biological roles, little is known about the thermodynamic properties of biglycan and decorin in terms of molecular weights, stoichiometry and association constants. We have used sedimentation analysis to examine the structures and self-association of bovine articular cartilage biglycan, its core protein and GAG chains in a variety of buffers. The monomer molecular weights were 86,600 Da for intact biglycan, 44,100 Da for the core …

A Participatory Study Of The Self-Identity Of Kibei Nisei Men: A Sub Group Of Second Generation Japanese American Men, William T. Masuda

Doctoral Dissertations

At one time, the Kibei were perceived as "a minority within a minority" (Me Williams, 1944: 322) who were "distrusted in both America and Japan" (1944:321). But today, the Kibei are hardly distinguishable from the Nisei as they both enter the evening of their lives. Raised in both America and Japan, but strongly influenced in their formative years by Japanese cultural values and beliefs, they were often perceived differently by their own family, by the Japanese American community, and by the American community at large. The apparent marginality of this group, living on the fringes of or in the space …