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<p>NOvA is a long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment that uses two functionally identical detectors separated by 810 kilometers at locations 14 milliradians off-axis from the NuMI muon neutrino beam at Fermilab. At these locations the beam energy peaks at 2 GeV. This baseline is the longest in the world for an accelerator-based neutrino oscillation experiment, which enhances the sensitivity to the neutrino mass ordering. The experiment studies oscillations of the muon neutrino and anti-neutrino beam that is produced. Both detectors completed commissioning in the summer of 2014 and continue to collect data. One of the primary physics goals of the experiment is the measurement of electron neutrino appearance in the muon neutrino beam which yields measurements of the oscillation parameters $\sin</p><p>{2}2\theta_{13}$, $\delta$, and the neutrino mass ordering within the standard model of neutrino oscillations. This thesis presents the analysis of data collected between February 2014 and May 2015, corresponding to $3.52\times 10</p><p>{20}$ protons-on-target. In this first analysis NOvA recorded 6 electron neutrino candidates which is a $3.3\sigma$ observation of electron neutrino appearance. The T2K experiment performs the same measurement on a baseline of 295 kilometers and has a $1~\sigma$ preference for the normal mass ordering over the inverted ordering over the phase space of the CP violating parameter $\delta$, which is also weakly seen in the NOvA result. By the summer of 2016 NOvA will triple its statistics due to increased beam power and a completed detector. If electron neutrinos continue to be observed at the current rate NOvA willl be able to establish a mass ordering preference at a similar confidence level to T2K.

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<p> Ionic currents were used to probe amorphous MnO<p style="font-variant: small-caps">2</p>, which is a battery cathode material in lithium ion batteries, that was template electrodeposited in polycarbonate cylindrical nanopores. The porous MnO<p style="font-variant: small-caps"> 2</p> occupies the volume extending approximately 1 &mu;m into the pore from one end and nanovoid channels, in the MnO<p style="font-variant: small-caps">2</p>, allow for electrolyte solution to pass through from one end to the other. </p><p> Presented in this thesis are the results of ionic current studies used to probe ion transport through amorphous MnO<p style="font-variant: small-caps">2</p>, in different oxidation states, with 100 mM LiClO₄ electrolyte in propylene carbonate (PC) solvent. Current-voltage curves, from ionic current-measurements, were unable to resolve excess surface charge in the electrodeposited MnO<p style="font-variant: small-caps"> 2</p>. A comparison of current-voltage curves from when the MnO<p style="font-variant: small-caps"> 2</p> was cycled between lithium inserted and deinserted oxidation states showed a trend of increasing resistance over a series of three lithium insertion and deinsertion cycles.</p>

An explicit Mueller-Regge model (with poles only) is constructed for the investigation of single-particle-inclusive processes in the quasi-two-body and triple-Regge subspace of the fragmentation region. The model is then applied in studies of nucleon production processes. The inclusive cross sections are considered and compared with the available data. The qualitative agreement between the cross section data and the model is reasonable, but the model is not satisfactory in details. Regge cuts are introduced into the model via the absorption model prescription. Then nucleon production processes are reinvestigated in this modified model and the polarization of the produced nucleon is predicted. The model is applied to Lambda production (in a nucleon interaction), and the agreement between theoretical prediction and the experimental data for the polarization of the Lambda in the small p region is remarkable. Finally, the model is applied to tensor meson production and the cross section and the spin density matrix elements are predicted.

This thesis is presented in two distinct parts. In part one, the single lepton yield due to internal conversion of soft virtual photons in high energy proton-proton collisions is calculated using soft photon techniques. Photons originating in bremsstrahlung of charged hadrons, directly produced photons and interference effects are considered. The result is compared with the experimental e/ir ratio as a function of transverse momentum. In part two, a Mueller-Regge model for the process is constructed and compared with newly available inclusive cross section data. Cut corrections are required for baryon exchange by the Carlitz-Kislinger prescription for removing unobserved parity partners and accordingly absorption effects are calculated. The conventional [delta] baryon trajectory is found to be satisfactory, contrary to other reports.