The process of massive star formation greatly influences its surroundings through their outflows, vast UV output and shocks from their supernova death. They form at great distances from the Earth, enshrouded by dust and gas and have relatively short lifetimes. Astrophysical masers which form in these environments may act as locators of the star forming regions. The aim of this thesis is to study massive star formation using masers to probe these regions. The three main masers used in this thesis are the Class I and Class II methanol masers and the 6035 MHz ex-OH maser. The methanol masers are divided into two groups, Class I and Class II, based on their distance from a central source. The Class I masers are separated 1-2 pc from a central source, the central source is the star forming region. The Class II masers are associated close to a star forming source. They are often associated with a 6035 MHz ex-OH maser. The 6035 MHz ex-OH masers are less common than the 6668 MHz Class I methanol masers. They are often found at sites of the 6668 MHz Class I masers and 1665/7 MHz OH masers. This thesis presents two maser surveys, the Methanol Multibeam (MMB) survey and the Class I survey. The MMB survey is currently surveying the entire Galactic Plane for the 6668 MHz Class II methanol maser and the 6035 MHz ex-OH maser. Over 60\% of the survey in the Southern hemisphere is now complete using the Parkes telescope. Over 900 6668 MHz Class I methanol masers and 110 6035 MHz ex-OH masers have been detected, with all of these masers pinpoint the location of newly forming high mass stars. Follow up observations to determine the precise locations of the 6668 MHz methanol and 6035 MHz ex-OH masers are currently underway. The first ever unbiased Class I survey has observed 1 sq degree of the Galactic Plane for the 44 GHz Class I methanol masers using the Mopra telescope in Australia. The 44 GHz Class II methanol masers are hypothesised to be associated with the outflows of high mass stellar objects. The Class I survey has detected 25 44 GHz methanol masers, with 23 being new detections. A smaller survey for 36 GHz Class I masers was also conducted using the Mopra telescope centered on the region with the highest population of 44 GHz Class I masers.

With the increasing production of natural gas as a result of the advancement in the technology, methane conversion to more valuable products has become a must. One of the most attractive processes which allow the utilization of the world’s most abundant hydrocarbon is the oxidative coupling. The main advantage of this process is the ability of converting methane into higher paraffins and olefins (primarily C2) in a direct way using a single reactor. Nevertheless, low C2+ yields have prevented the process to be commercialized despite the fact that great number of attempts to prepare catalysts were conducted so that it can be economically viable. Due to these limitations, understanding the mechanism and kinetics of the reaction can be utilized in improving the catalysts’ performance. The reaction involves the formation of methyl radicals that undergo gas-phase radical reactions. CH4 activation is believed to be done the surface oxygen species. However, recent studies showed that, in addition to the surface oxygen mediated pathway, an OH radical mediated pathway have a large contribution on the CH4 activation. The experiments of Li/MgO, Sr/La2O3 and NaWO4/SiO2 catalysts revealed variation of behavior in activity and selectivity. In addition, water effect analysis showed that Li/MgO deactivate at the presence of water due to sintering phenomena and the loss of active sites. On the other hand, negative effect on the C2 yield and CH4 conversion rate was observed with Sr/La2O3 with increasing the water partial pressure. Na2WO4/SiO2 showed a positive behavior with water in terms of CH4 conversion and C2 yield. In addition, the increment in CH4 conversion rate was found to be proportional with PO2 ¼ PH2O ½ which is consistent with the formation of OH radicals and the OH-mediated pathway. Experiments of using ring-dye laser, which is used to detect OH in combustion experiments, were tried in order to detect OH radicals in the gas-phase of the catalyst. Nevertheless, noisy signals were obtained that prevented the ability of detecting OH at the expected few ppms concentrations. Further optimization of the experimental setup is required.

Repeated treatment in ontogeny with the dopamine (DA) D2/D3 receptor agonist quinpirole is associated with enhanced quinpirole-induced yawning and other behaviors such as vacuous chewing, vertical jumping, and antinociception. To determine if the reputedly DA D3 agonist (±)-2-(dipropylamino)-7-hydroxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalene (7-OH-DPAT) would prime for yawning in a manner analogous to that for quinpirole, rats were treated for the first 11 days after birth with an equimolar dose of either quinpirole or 7-OH-DPAT (195.4 nmol/kg/day) and tested for agonist-induced yawning in adulthood. While enhanced quinpirole-induced and 7-OH-DPAT-induced yawning was observed in quinpirole-primed rats, acute treatments with quinpirole and 7-OH-DPAT did not produce an enhanced yawing response in 7-OH-DPAT-'primed' rats. Our findings indicate that 7-OH-DPAT, unlike quinpirole, does not prime for quinpirole- or 7-OH-DPAT-induced yawning in rats.

Although maternal vitamin D status has been linked to asthma in offspring, the relationship between vitamin D status and asthma in adults still remains unclear. The current study assessed the relationship between measures of vitamin D status and self-reported asthma/wheeze in 186 healthy women aged 18-30 years. Although the risk of asthma/wheeze symptoms was three-times higher among women with low dietary vitamin D intake (<200 IU>/day) than in those with higher vitamin D intake, suboptimal serum levels of 25(OH)D ( <70 nmol>/L) were associated with a 48% lower risk of asthma/wheeze than “optimal” serum levels. These contradictory effects underscore the poor correlation between dietary vitamin D intake and serum vitamin levels and suggest that other components in vitamin D-rich foods may be protective. Alternatively, women with higher serum vitamin D levels may have spent more time outdoors, increasing their exposure to asthma triggers. This study also identified predictors of serum 25 (OH) D in this sample. In addition to total dietary vitamin D (r= 0.2; p=0.03), intake of cold cereal (p=0.02) also significantly predicted serum 25(OH)D levels. Among non-dietary factors, month of blood draw (p=0.05) and oral contraceptive use (p<0.0001) were positive predictors of serum 25(OH) D; sunscreen use (p=0.04) was a negative predictor. After adjusting for covariates, oral contraceptive use was associated with 25(OH)D levels that were on average 24 nmol/L greater than those observed in women who did not use oral contraceptives. Additional prospective studies are needed to further evaluate the relationship between vitamin D status and asthma.

OH Megamasers (OHMs) generally appear in luminous infrared regions i.e. merging galaxies. In this study we assume that OHMs may not be represented by their association with star formation solely, because of the possibility of a compact AGN source in the merging galaxies. In fact, previously classified starburst galaxies where OHMs are found are now optically observed as AGN. OHMs may also serve as a reasonable criterion for the evolutionary stage of the merger. This project focuses on observations from a multi-frequency analysis of merging regions with known OHMs. Optically, Hα and BVRI filters provided an environmental perspective of the "masing" components. In the radio, 18-cm data was used to determine the structure and position of the OHM. We studied the source IIZw096 and compared our results with two familiar OHM sources. We were able to look at each source at high radio resolutions and compare the structure and classification of each.

Low-temperature non–thermal plasmas are of growing interest due to their applications in various fields, such as plasma-assisted combustion, plasma medicine, material processing, etc. Hydroxyl radical (OH) is one of the key agents and most important reactive species generated in plasmas. We employ cavity ringdown spectroscopy (CRDS), both a pulsed laser and a continuous wave (cw) laser to measure absolute number densities of OH radicals in low-temperature plasmas. A 2.45 GHz microwave plasma source was used to excite two different types of plasma cavities: an atmospheric plasma jet and microwave plasma torch (MPT). The atmospheric microwave plasma jet was thoroughly explored and operated with different plasma gases. Plasma jets with argon (Ar), helium (He), Ar/N2, Ar/O2, He/N2, He/O2 and Ar/H2O were investigated. The absolute number densities of OH radicals were measured along the jet axis in all of plasma jets using pulsed CRDS. Effects of plasma power and gas flow rates on OH radical generation were also studied. We have reported for the first time that OH radicals exist in the far downstream region of a plasma jet axis. The far downstream is a location where the ratio of distance from the plasma jet orifice over the plasma jet column length is larger than 3. For an Ar plasma jet length of 3 mm, OH radicals were detected at a farthest distance ratio of 7.6. The OH density profiles along the axis in all the plasma jets indicate that OH radicals have the highest number density in the vicinity of the jet tip and gradually decreases in the downstream. Optical emission spectroscopy and digital imaging were simultaneously employed to identify the different radicals generated in plasma jets and to study the fine structures of the plasma jets. Pulsed CRDS was also employed to measure OH radical density in an Ar MPT. By using high temporal resolved imaging, it was observed that the widely reported converging point in Ar MPT is actually a time-averaged visual effect. Absolute number densities of OH radicals and water molecules were measured in an alternating current (AC) glow discharge using near infrared cw CRDS.

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