Heavy vehicles are major emitters of noise. Especially at idle or low vehicle speeds a large portion of the noise emanates from the fan that forces the flow through the cooling module. The aim of this work is to investigate and reveal aerodynamic and acoustic installation effects linked to the cooling package. This introduces a multidisciplinary approach involving examination of the flow field, sound generation and sound propagation. The work includes two main parts: an experimental and a numerical part. The cooling module used throughout this work, named reduced cooling module, primarily includes a radiator, a shroud, a fan and a hydraulic engine to simplify the aeroacoustics analysis. The experimental part comprises measurements of the sound emanated from the cooling package. A new approach to the spectral decomposition method is developed yielding the fan sound power or spectrum to be formulated as a product of a source part and a system part scaling with the Strouhal number and the Helmholtz number. Also, a separate determination of the transmission loss of the radiator is performed. The impact of the radiator on the transmitted noise was found to be negligible. The numerical part incorporates comparisons from two aeroacoustics studies; a configuration where the fan is forced to operate at a fixed operation point and measured flow and turbulence statistics are available and the reduced cooling module. A hybrid turbulence modeling technique, IDDES, is adopted for the flow simulations. The sound propagation is calculated by the Ffowcs-Williams and Hawkings acoustic analogy when assuming a free-field sound propagation and by a finite element solver in the frequency domain to capture the installation effects. The simulated SPL conforms to the measured SPL and the blade response to the turbulent inflow and to the tip resolution, respectively, produce noise which spectral shape distribution is modified in accordance with earlier experimental findings published. Furthermore, the influence of an upstream radiator in close contact with the fan on the flow and sound fields is investigated. Here, the simulated aeroacoustic characteristics were found to change similarly to the acoustic measurements with and without radiator.

Decomposition of organic matter is a critical component in global biogeochemical cycling. While decomposition rates have been robustly predicted for mesic systems, modeling decomposition dynamics in drylands has proven to be problematic, reflecting a need to account for processes that may be unique to dryland systems: low and spatially variable vegetation cover, high rates of soil movement, and high levels of radiant energy exposure at the soil surface. Recent empirical evidence suggests that the discrepancies between measured and predicted decomposition rates in drylands may be due to the greater influence of abiotic drivers, such as soil-litter mixing (SLM) and solar radiation, on plant litter decomposition relative to more mesic systems. UV-driven photodegradation may dominate until SLM reaches a threshold, at which point litter is shielded from radiation and microbial processes become predominant. The overarching goal of this dissertation was to examine the influence of SLM and solar radiation on decomposition of foliar and woody plant litter in a dryland ecosystem undergoing woody plant encroachment. A series of four complimentary experiments sought to quantify the effects of these abiotic drivers on decomposition in relation to variables such as vegetation patch type (e.g., beneath a shrub canopy, in a grass patch, on bare ground), radiant energy regime (e.g., full sun vs. shade), geomorphic surface (e.g., sandy, Holocene-age vs. clay-rich, Pleistocene-age soils), seasonality of litter fall (e.g., summer vs. winter), and litter quality (e.g., grass, shrub leaf, woody). Results indicate that interactions between SLM and photodegradation are complex and mediated by variations in ground cover which influence the local radiant energy environment and the movement of soil across the landscape by wind and water. Decomposition rates were significantly influenced by SLM, UV radiation, radiant energy regime, vegetation structure, and initial litter quality. While these results confirmed the importance of SLM and photodegradation as dryland decomposition drivers, they also reinforced the need for additional research to further clarify the relative importance of these processes under field conditions, particularly the interplay between UV radiation and SLM and their relative influence on biotic and abiotic decomposition processes. Given the changes in climate and vegetation projected for drylands, it is critical to further elucidate the influence of these processes on dryland biogeochemical cycling, as their effects may be magnified or dampened under future conditions. A deeper understanding of the processes driving biogeochemical cycling that may be unique to systems undergoing shifts in plant lifeform composition will allow us to better account for the fate of carbon in these globally important ecosystems.

The pyrolysis of sec-butyllithium in solution was studied in an attempt to understand the loss of stereo-specificity and the atypical kinetics that have been reported. Additionally, the effect of added lithium alkoxides was studied to determine their effects on the highly reactive sec-butyllithium substrate.

The goal of this paper is to characterize, at least partially, upper semi-continuous decompositions of topological spaces and the role that upper semi-continuity plays in preserving certain topological properties under decomposition mappings. Attention is also given to establishing what role upper semi-continuity plays in determining conditions under which decomposition spaces possess certain properties. A number of results for non-upper semi-continuous decompositions are included to help clarify the scope of the part upper semi-continuity plays in determining relationships between topological spaces and their decomposition spaces.

The decomposition of plant litter is a critical biological function that aids in nutrient cycling and energy transfers within and between ecosystems. The primary decomposers of dead leaf material are bacteria and fungi, though there is no consensus as to which of these groups is dominant, nor is it known how the abundance and composition of these communities changes over time. The objectives of this study were to examine the relative contributions of bacterial and fungal populations to leaf organic matter (OM) decomposition and to consider the effect of moisture availability on the microbial community. The study was conducted across three habitats of differing moisture regimes: an upland terrestrial site, an emerging freshwater marsh, and an established freshwater swamp. Litterbags were constructed using two types of vegetation: a standardized substrate, maple leaves, and the site-specific vegetation, deployed in November 2007 following plant senescence, and retrieved after 0, 3, 6, 10, and 16 months of field incubation. The samples were then analyzed for decomposition as % OM remaining, total carbon and nitrogen content (C:N), dissolved organic carbon (DOC) release, microbial respiration via 14C heterotrophic uptake of acetate, and microbial community composition via terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis. The results demonstrated that moisture regime is a significant factor in decomposition, with high decomposition at wetter sites. Vegetation type also impacted decomposition, as maple leaves were found to decay more similarly across sites, while the breakdown of site-specific vegetation varied more. These findings lack evidence to suggest one variable, moisture or vegetation time, as the driving factor of decomposition. Respiration rates varied greatly between sites and over time. Surprisingly, fungi were found to be a significant contributor to respiration at sites of high moisture, which suggests a need to better incorporated their activity in carbon budgets. Microbial communities were unique at each site and shifts were observed over time for both the bacterial and fungal populations. Changes in community structure were well correlated with changes in OM quality and quantity, though specific relationships varied by site. Future work determining functional groups and taxa of these microbial assemblages would provide a deeper knowledge of the role of these communities on decomposition processes. A better understanding of how differences in soil moisture impact decomposition rates will provide greater insight on the carbon sequestered or released from a habitat, which may be particularly important with global climate change. Although sites of high moisture exhibited accelerated decomposition, moisture alone may not be the driving factor. In turn, variables associated with high moisture, such as increased nutrients, should be further researched as they may actually be behind the increase in decomposition.

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1986 H47 / Master of Science / Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University / This study investigated the decomposition of three pig (Sus scrofa) carcasses in the same body of water under lentic and lotic conditions and at variable depths in a temperate mixed forest in the Outdoor Research Facility (ORF) in Holliston, Massachusetts in the summer months of June and July. Data were collected on the invertebrate activity, scavenger activity, water and ambient temperature, stages ofbody decomposition, and the rate of decomposition for each set of remains. Accumulated degree days (ADD) and total body scores (TBS) were used to determine two equations, differentiated by their microhabitat, with the potential use of estimating the postmortem submergence interval (PMSI) in death investigations under similar conditions. The aquatic remains reached skeletonization in 45 days and the terrestrial control remains in 14. Terrestrial and aquatic invertebrate activity was extensive both above and below the waterline with 42 families from 17 orders collected and identified. Through the use of motion detector cameras the researcher was able to view the activities performed around the remains by a blue heron, a coyote, a raccoon, multiple black vultures, multiple turkey vultures, multiple squirrels, and multiple American bullfrogs.

Thesis advisor: Elida V. Laski / Use of base-10 decomposition strategy for addition in first grade is related to mathematics advantage in the later years (Geary et al., 2013), yet we know little about the strategy’s prevalence among first graders or factors contributing to its use. The present study sought to bridge this gap by testing 87 first graders in the greater Boston area. The results confirmed previous findings that showed that in the last 10 years first graders in the US have increased in frequency of base-10 decomposition. Children who had better knowledge of basic number facts used it more frequently, particularly on problems with smaller addends. Further, the study tested whether an instructional intervention would be effective in increasing reliance on base-10 decomposition. 61 of the original participants were selected to take part in an experimental intervention that taught them to execute the strategy while relying on external representations – sometimes known as manipulatives. Informed by two lines of research, the present study tested the hypothesis that the efficacy of the intervention may depend on whether one or multiple external representations are used for instruction. The results showed a dramatic increase in first graders’ mental base-10 decomposition use as a result of the intervention. Children grew in their use of the strategy at the same rates across genders, levels of basic arithmetic fluency, and working memory. Overall, the results showed that relying on multiple representations during instruction appears more beneficial to strategy use on mental arithmetic, but this benefit may be conditional on how well the children have mastered and abstracted the strategy. Implications to classroom interventions aimed to increase the use of advanced arithmetic strategies are discussed. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2016. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology.

Uma tecnologia importante para reduzir a quantidade de poluentes atmosféricos lançados na atmosfera, é a utilização de catalisadores, que convertem os gases altamente poluentes como o NO, para outros gases inofensivos ao meio ambiente. Neste trabalho, os óxidos do tipo perovskitas La2CuO4, LaNiO3, LaMnO3, La1,4Sr0,6CuO4, La0,7Sr0,3NiO3 e La0,7Sr0,3MnO3 foram preparados através do método da co-precipitação, caracterizados por difração de raios-X, redução a temperatura programada, fisissorção de nitrogênio e análise química, e, posteriormente avaliados frente as reações de redução de NO com CO, e decomposição direta de NO. Ambas as reações foram testadas nas temperaturas de 400oC e 500oC e o tempo de reação foi de 7 à 10 horas. Através dos ensaios catalíticos verificou-se que o catalisador La2CuO4 apresentou a maior atividade para a reação de redução, e quando substituiu-se parcialmente o lantânio pelo estrôncio, houve uma melhora significativa para todos os catalisadores. As análises de DRX indicaram que, mesmo após os ensaios catalíticos, a estrutura cristalina dos catalisadores foi preservada. / A important technology to reduce the atmospheric pollution is the use of catalysts, to transform high pollutant as NO in other inoffensive gases to the environment. In this work, the perovskite oxides La2CuO4, LaNiO3, LaMnO3, La1,4Sr0,6CuO4, La0,7Sr0,3NiO3 e La0,7Sr0,3MnO3 were prepared through co-precipitation method and characterized by X-ray diffraction and temperature programmed reduction, nitrogen physsisorption and subsequent valued on the reduction of NO by CO and the direct decomposition of NO. These reaction were tested at 400oC and 500oC temperatures and times of reaction between 7 and 10 hours. Through the catalytic tests the La2CuO4 catalyst shown the best activity to the reduce reaction, and when the La is partially substituted by strontium all the catalyst showed a better significant for all the catalysts. The XRD analysis shown that the catalytic structure of the catalysts were preserved after the catalytic test yet.

This work includes various proofs of cohomology vanishing for logarithmic de Rham complex of unitary local system defined on an open algebraic complex manifold, which has a projective compactification by normal crossing divisor