Engineering Commons^™

Oxidized Derivatives Of Ω-3 Fatty Acids: Identification Of Ipf 3Α-Vi In Human Urine, John A. Lawson, Seongjin Kim, William S. Powell, Garret Gerald A. Fitzgerald, Joshua Rokach

Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Faculty Publications

Isoprostanes (iPs) are prostaglandin-like molecules derived from autoxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). Urinary iP levels have been used as indices of in vivo lipid peroxidation. Thus far, it has only been possible to measure iPs derived from arachidonic acid in urine, because levels of iPs/neuroprostanes (nPs) derived from ω3-PUFAs have been found to be below detection limits of available assays. Because of the interest in ω3-PUFA dietary supplementation, we developed specific methods to measure nPF4α-VI and iPF3α-VI [derived from 4,7,10,13,16,19-docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and 5,8,11,14,17-eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)] using a combination of chemical synthesis, gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), andliquid chromatography tandem …

Afci Quarterly Input – Unlv July 1 Through September 30, 2006, Harry Reid Center For Environmental Studies. Nuclear Science And Technology Division

Transmutation Research Program Reports (TRP)

Quarterly report highlighting research projects, activities and objectives of the Transmutation Research Program at the Nuclear Science & Technology Division, Harry Reid Research Center.

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas supports the AFCI through research and development of technologies for economic and environmentally sound refinement of spent nuclear fuel. The UNLV program has four components: infrastructure, international collaboration, student-based research, and management and program support.

Microwave Reflectometry As A Novel Diagnostic Tool For Detection Of Skin Cancers, Pratik Mehta, Kundan Chand, Deepak Narayanswamy, Daryl G. Beetner, R. Zoughi, William V. Stoecker

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

More than 1 000 000 people are diagnosed with skin cancer each year in the United States, and more than 10 000 people die from the disease. Methods such as visual inspection and dermoscopy are available for early detection of skin cancers, but improvement in accuracy is needed. This paper investigates the use of microwave reflectometry as a potential diagnostic tool for detection of skin cancers. Open-ended coaxial probes were used to measure microwave properties of skin. The influences of measurement parameters such as probe application pressure, power level, and variation in reflection properties of skin with location and hydration …

Cerium-Based Spontaneous Coating Process For Corrosion Protection Of Aluminum Alloys, James O. Stoffer, Thomas J. O'Keefe, Matthew O'Keefe, Eric L. Morris, Scott A. Hayes, Paul Yu, Alex Williams, Berny F. Rivera Vasquez, Xuan Lin

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

A cerium-based coating for corrosion resistance is applied by exposing a cleaned aluminum-based component to a corrosion-inhibiting cerium solution containing cerium ions in the presence of an oxidizing agent. The coating deposits spontaneously without an external source of electrons.

Numerical Aspects Of The Saft Equation Of State, Leah M. Octavio

Senior Honors Projects

Equations of states are used to model fluid behavior. At a given temperature and pressure, for example, a mixture of water and alcohol might form a liquid and vapor phase, with the vapor phase being richer in alcohol and the liquid phase richer in water. In many industrial processes, such as distillation or extraction where mixtures of different compounds need to be separated, knowing how the fluid mixture will behave at various conditions helps make the operations more efficient and economical. While many equations of state exist, they differ in their accuracy in modeling systems and in their mathematical complexity. …

Energy Efficient Process Heating: Insulation And Thermal Mass, Kevin Carpenter, J. Kelly Kissock

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

Open tanks and exterior surfaces of process heating equipment lose heat to the surroundings via convection, radiation, and/or evaporation. A practical way of reducing heat loss is by insulating or covering the surfaces. This paper presents methods to quantify heat loss and energy savings from insulating hot surfaces and open tanks. The methods include radiation and evaporation losses, which are ignored by simplified methods. In addition, thermal mass, such as refractory, conveyor and racking equipment, acts as a heat sink and increases heating energy use in process heating applications. This paper presents lumped capacitance and finite-difference methods for estimating heat …

Structural And Magnetic Properties Of La Mn₁₋ₓfeₓo₃ (0 < X < 1.0), X.-D. Zhou, L. R. Pederson, Qingsheng Cai, Jinbo Yang, B. J. Scarfino, M. Kim, William B. Yelon, William Joseph James, Harlan U. Anderson, C. Wang

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Electronic, structural, and magnetic properties of Mn-doped lanthanum ferrites were studied by neutron diffraction, superconducting quantum interference device, and impedance spectroscopy. Neutron diffraction refinements were performed with the constraint of full La occupancy, which showed the presence of excess oxygen when x < 0.4. Mixed valent Mn cations and cation vacancies, therefore, exist in all the samples. The samples with x > 0.7 are magnetically ordered at room temperature with orthorhombic symmetry (Pbnm). When x < 0.3 the structure is rhombohedral and magnetically disordered above 16 K. The majority carriers, electron holes, correspond to high oxidation states of Mn. The carrier concentration is determined from the Seebeck coefficients, and is a function of temperature and Fe concentration. The measurements of conductivity and Seebeck coefficients show polaron hopping at elevated temperatures.

Nanometal Containing Nanocomposites And Photolithographic Polyaniline Nanofibers, Frank D. Blum, Sunil K. Pillalamarri, Lalani K. Werake, J. Greg Story, Massimo F. Bertino, Akira Tokuhiro

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

A report on recent progress from our laboratories on the nanostructures produced from novel synthesis techniques will be discussed. Using high-energy radiation (γ-rays) we have been able to produce conducting polymer nanofibers and nanorods of polyaniline and polypyrrole without the use of a separate template or capping agent. This technique has been extended, with the addition of metal ions, to a "one pot" synthesis, producing conducting nanocomposites. These nanocomposites contain metal nanoparticles which decorate the conducting nanofibers. We have also recently shown that these systems can be photopatterned to produce novel structures. We believe that these systems will be useful …

Interaction Between Metal Fission Products And Triso Coating Materials, Clemens Heske

Fuels Campaign (TRP)

In this project the chemical bonding and interface formation of metal fission products with the coating materials used in TRISO fuel particles is investigated. The interface formation of Pd, Cs, and Ag with SiC and pyrolytic carbon is studied in detail. Using the SiC single crystals and TRISO coating materials as substrates, interfaces are prepared under controlled conditions in an ultra-high vacuum environment and are studied with a photoelectron spectroscopy, Auger electron spectroscopy, Inverse Photoemission, X-ray emission spectroscopy, and X-ray absorption spectroscopy. Recent additions to the experimental approach include microscopic techniques (Transmission Electron Microscopy, Scanning Tunneling Microscopy, Atomic Force Microscopy) …

Interaction Between Metal Fission Products And Triso Coating Materials: A Study Of Chemical Bonding And Interdiffusion: 1st Quarterly Report, 2006, Clemens Heske

Fuels Campaign (TRP)

This project is devoted to an in-depth study of the chemical and electronic impact of metal fission products on the coating layers in TRISO nuclear fuel. In particular, there is a focus on the investigation of Pd, Cs, and Ag and their interface formation with SiC and carbon-based substrates. A variety of surface and near-surface bulk sensitive probes that investigate the occupied and unoccupied electronic states of the substrate and the metal overlayer have been utilized. By a controlled and stepwise deposition of the metal overlayer, it is possible to gain substantial insight into the formation of interfaces and their …

Dissolution, Reactor, And Environmental Behavior Of Zro2-Mgo Inert Fuel Matrix, Kenneth Czerwinski

Fuels Campaign (TRP)

This project examines inert fuels containing ZrO₂ and MgO as the inert matrix, with the relative amount of MgO varied from 30% to 70% in ZrO₂. Reactor physics calculations are used to examine suitable quantities of burnable poisons from the candidate elements Gd, Er, or Hf with reactor grade Pu providing the fissile component, with up to 10% of ²³⁹Pu. Ceramics are synthesized and characterized based on the reactor physics results. The solubility of the fuel ceramics, in reactor conditions, reprocessing conditions, and repository conditions, are investigated in a manner to provide thermodynamic data necessary for …

Solution-Based Synthesis Of Nitride Fuels, Kenneth Czerwinski, Thomas Hartmann

Fuels Campaign (TRP)

A wide variety of fuel concepts are considered for advanced reactor technology including metals, metal oxides or metal nitrides as solid solutions or composite materials. Nitride fuels have appropriate properties for advanced fuels including high thermal conductivity, thermal stability, solid-state solubility of actinides, fissile metal density, and suitable neutronic properties. A drawback of nitride fuels involves their synthesis. A key parameter for preparing oxide fuels is the precipitation step in the sol-gel process. For nitride fuels, the current synthetic route is carbothermic reduction from the oxide to the nitride. This process step is based on solid phase reactions and for …

University Of Nevada, Las Vegas Transmutation Research Program Annual Report Academic Year 2005-2006, Anthony Hechanova, Rebecca Arbour

Transmutation Research Program Reports (TRP)

It is my pleasure to present the UNLV Transmutation Research Program’s fifth annual report that highlights the academic year 2005 – 2006. Supporting this document are the many technical reports and scientific papers that have been generated over the past five years.

In the fifth year of our program, we saw amazing growth in the Radiochemistry Ph.D. program with a total of 12 students in the second year of the program (twice the number we anticipated in the program proposal). In the back of this issue, under Infrastructure Augmentation, you will find some news about the new academic programs sponsored …

Electrochemical Deposition And Characterization Of Fe₃O₄ Films Produced By The Reduction Of Fe(Iii)-Triethanolamine, Hiten M. Kothari, Elizabeth A. Kulp, Steven J. Limmer, Philippe Poizot, Eric W. Bohannan, Jay A. Switzer

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this paper, we demonstrate that films of magnetite, Fe₃O₄, can be deposited by the electrochemical reduction of a Fe(III)-triethanolamine complex in aqueous alkaline solution. the films were deposited with a columnar microstructure and a [100] preferred orientation on stainless steel substrates. In-plane electrical transport and magnetoresistance measurements were performed on the films after they were stripped off onto glass substrates. the resistance of the films was dependent on the oxygen partial pressure. We attribute the increase in resistance in O₂ and the decrease in resistance in Ar to the oxidation and reduction of grain …

Molecular Mass And Dynamics Of Poly(Methyl Acrylate) In The Glass Transition Region, Burak Metin, Frank D. Blum

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

The segmental dynamics of bulk poly(methyl acrylate) (PMA) were studied as a function of molecular mass in the glass-transition region using 2H NMR and modulated differential scanning calorimetry (MDSC). Quadrupole-echo 2H NMR spectra were obtained for four samples of methyl-deuterated PMA-d3 with different molecular masses. The resulting spectra were fit using superpositions of simulated spectra generated from the MXQET simulation program, based on a model incorporating nearest-neighbor jumps from positions on the vertices of a truncated icosahedron (soccer-ball shape). The lower molecular-mass samples, influenced by the presence of more chain ends, showed more heterogeneity (broader distribution) and lower glass transitions …

Segmental Dynamics Of Poly(Isopropyl Acrylate)-D7 On Silica, Piyawan Krisanangkura, Frank D. Blum

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

For a polymer film deposited on a surface, the strength of the surfacesegment interaction affects the mobility of polymer-chain segments. The selfconsistent field lattice model of Scheutjens and Fleer,1 based on mean-field lattice models of polymer at interfaces,2 has been used to describe the distribution of conformations of polymers on surfaces. Adsorbed-polymer segments may be classified as belonging to loops, trains or tails. There are different techniques used to study the molecular motion of the polymer including modulated differential scanning calorimetry (MDSC)3 and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR).4,5 in this work, solid-state deuterium (2H) NMR was used to characterize the polymer …

Separation And Quantification Of N-Acetylcysteine-Amide (Naca) By Hplc With Fluorescence Detection, Wei Wu, Glenn Goldstein, Craig D. Adams, Richard H. Matthews, Nuran Ercal

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC) is a well-known antioxidant that is capable of facilitating glutathione (GSH) biosynthesis and replenishing intracellular GSH under oxidatively challenging circumstances. N-acetyl-cysteine-amide (NACA), the amide form of NAC, is a newly designed and synthesized thiol-containing compound which is believed to be more lipophilic and permeable through cell membranes than NAC. The metabolic and antioxidant effects of these compounds in vitro and in vivo are under investigation. However, an analytical method that can separate and quantify both compounds simultaneously is not yet available, to the best of our knowledge. Because of their structural similarities, the two compounds are difficult to …

Synthesis And Thermal Behavior Of Poly(Methyl Acrylate) Attached To Silica By Surface-Initiated Atrp, Manikantan B. Nair, Frank D. Blum

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

The modification of the surface of an object dictates the response of the object to an external environment.1 Surface-modified materials and nanoparticles have attracted immense interest due to the various desirable electronic, optical and magnetic properties they possess.2 Silica is widely used as an inorganic filler. Surface modification of the silica, with a variety of organic moieties, facilitates the utilization of silica in conjunction with organic systems. The resulting organic/inorganic hybrid materials have significant potential applications. This work reports the synthesis and characterization of modified silica, and poly(methyl acrylate) attached to the modified silica. An observation of the thermal behavior …

Segmental Dynamics In Poly(Methyl Acrylate) On Silica: Molecular-Mass Effects, Burak Metin, Frank D. Blum

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

The effect of molecular mass on the segmental dynamics of poly(methyl acrylate) (PMA) adsorbed on silica was studied using deuterium quadrupole-echo nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and modulated differential scanning calorimetry. Samples adsorbed on silica (all about 1.5 mg PMA/m2 silica) were shown to have more restricted segmental mobility, and higher Tg's, than the corresponding bulk PMA samples. Around the glass-transition region, adsorbed samples exhibited segmental mobility, which could be classified as heterogeneous due to a superposition of more-mobile and less-mobile components present in the deuterium NMR spectra. This heterogeneity was consistent with a motional gradient with more-mobile segments near the …

Segmental Mobility Of Chain Ends In Poly(Methyl Acrylate)-D3, Burak Metin, Frank D. Blum

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

Better control of polymeric materials can be achieved with a thorough understanding of the dynamics of their constituents. In the present study, we consider polymer chains as composed of chain middles and chain ends. Even though chain ends do not comprise much of the sample by mass, they may play a crucial role in the ultimate properties of the polymers. Although chain ends have been assigned a higher mobility, as compared to chain middles, there have not been a large number of experimental studies that directly probe their mobility. Among those, the studies of Kitahara et al.1 and Miwa et …

Crystal And Electronic Structures Of Linh₂, Jinbo Yang, X.-D. Zhou, Qingsheng Cai, William Joseph James, William B. Yelon

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The crystal structure of LiNH₂ was reinvestigated using powder neutron diffraction with high sensitivity. The compound crystallizes in the tetragonal space group I4 with lattice parameters α = b= 5.034 42 (24) Å, c = 10.255 58 (52) Å. It is found that H atoms occupy 8g1(0.2429, 0.1285, 0.1910) and 8g2 (0.3840, 0.3512, 0.1278) sites. The bond lengths between the nearest nitrogen and hydrogen atoms are 0.986 and 0.942 Å, respectively. The bond angle between H-N-H is about 99.97°. These results are significantly different from those of previous experiments. The electronic structure was calculated according to the revised structural …

Growth Of Ge Quantum Dots On Si(100)-(2×1) By Pulsed Laser Deposition, M. S. Hegazy, H. E. Elsayed-Ali

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Self-assembled germanium quantum dots (QDs) were grown on Si(100)-(2×1) by pulsed laser deposition. In situ reflection-high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) and postdeposition atomic force microscopy are used to study the growth of the QDs. Several films of different thicknesses were grown at a substrate temperature of 400 °C using a Q-switched Nd:yttrium aluminum garnet laser (λ= 1064 nm, 40 ns pulse width, 23 J/cm ² fluence, and 10 Hz repetition rate). At low film thicknesses, hut clusters that are faceted by different planes, depending on their height, are observed after the completion of the wetting layer. With increasing film thickness, …