Children with Down Syndrome (DS) experience cognitive delays with language being one of the most impaired domains. Exploring the effects of congenital heart defects (CHD), hospitalization, hearing impairment, and parental concern can provide a more precise view of factors affecting language development. Participants were 49 children with DS, 22 to 54 months of age. Expressive and receptive vocabulary size was obtained using a word count with the MacArthur Communication Development Inventory (MCDI). Medical information was obtained from the child’s medical file. Results showed expressive vocabulary was marginally significantly different between children with DS and no CHD, a CHD that did not require surgery, and a CHD that did require surgery, such that children with a CHD requiring surgery had the smallest vocabulary. Children had significantly more health problems when they had a CHD that required surgery. Expressive and receptive vocabularies were significantly smaller for children with hearing impairment.

Software defect detection research typically focuses on individual inspection and testing techniques. However, to be effective in applying defect detection techniques, it is important to recognize when to use inspection techniques and when to use testing techniques. In addition, it is important to know when to deliver a product and use maintenance activities, such as trouble shooting and bug fixing, to address the remaining defects in the software.<p>To be more effective detecting software defects, not only should defect detection techniques be studied and compared, but the entire software defect detection process should be studied to give us a better idea of how it can be conducted, controlled, evaluated and improved.<p>This thesis presents a self-evolving software defect detection process (SEDD) that provides a systematic approach to software defect detection and guides us as to when inspection, testing or maintenance activities are best performed. The approach is self-evolving in that it is continuously improved by assessing the outcome of the defect detection techniques in comparison with historical data.<p>A software architecture and prototype implementation of the approach is also presented along with a case study that was conducted to validate the approach. Initial results of using the self-evolving defect detection approach are promising.

Abstract The present thesis focused on the synthesis and phase transformation of tohdite and alumina via static compression of gels at high temperature-pressures and dynamic laser ablation condensation of metal target under oxygen background gas. In part I, hydrous Al2O3-TiO2 (78:22 in molar ratio) gel was fired at various PT conditions using a piston-cylinder apparatus and identified by XRD, FTIR, optical microscopy and electron microscopy. Below 675oC, the sample remained amorphous at ambient pressure, yet transformed at 1.5 kbar to Ti-doped tohdite, which is elongated along the crystallographic c-axis, with well-developed (0001) base and {10 0} faces. Tohdite has a significant water/hydroxy content and is therefore susceptible to pore coalescence parallel to the basal layer upon electron dosage. Tohdite also contains Ti4+ up to 3 at.%, which replaces Al3+ in tetrahedral and/or octahedral sites to form superstructures and defect microstructures. In contrast, a higher T-P condition (above 675oC and 8 kbar) caused the formation of more stable Ti-doped corundum, which is hexagonal-rhombohedral crystal form and in epitaxial association with rutile nuclei. Ti-doped tohdite and corundum shed light on a sol-gel route for their occurrence in peraluminous metamorphic rock. The nanoporous and nanodelaminated tohdite may have potential catalytic applications (Part I). In part II, amorphous Al2O3 nanocondensates were synthesized via very energetic Nd-YAG laser pulse irradiation of oxygen-purged Al target for a very rapid heating/cooling effect. The nanocondensates above a critical diameter of 20 nm were phase separated as

The present work researches influence of energy focusing effect to the fusion zone defects in the electron beam welding, which include fusion zone shape, welding depth, welding width, rippling and spiking. And to verify the model of welding defects base on theory and experiment. A spike is a sudden increase in penetration beyond what might be called the average penetration line. Many spikes have voids and cold shuts in their lower portions, because molten metal does not fill in completely, producing a condition similar to a cold shut in a casting. Ripples on a workpiece surface are generally associated with segregation, porosity and other microstructure defects. These become the objectives in this project.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2003. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xi, 125 p. : ill. (some col.) Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 121-125).

Thesis (M. S.)--Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009. / Committee Chair: Ume, I. Charles; Committee Member: Mayor, J. Rhett; Committee Member: Sadegh, Nader. Part of the SMARTech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Collection.

published_or_final_version / Physics / Master / Master of Philosophy

Zinc oxide (ZnO), as a Ⅱ-Ⅵ compound semiconductor with a wide direct band gap, has attracted great attention from the worldwide researchers for its potential application in the fields of spintronics and optoelectronics. At present research about the defects in ZnO and ZnO-based materials is still far from complete. The deep level defects in melted grown ZnO single crystal induced by helium ions implantation and electron irradiation, as well as their thermal evolution, were studied in this research using the technique of deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) and photoluminescence (PL). DLTS results indicated that, besides E3 (????~0.28 ????) trap which was widely observed in the as-grown ZnO samples, the deep level with ????~0.92 ???? was also indentified in the helium-implanted ZnO samples, which was introduced by the ion implantation and tentatively assigned to be the oxygen vacancy (VO). This deep level was removed after 350 oC annealing in argon gas. Annealing at 350 oC also brought along a new deep level with ????~0.66???? into helium-implanted samples which could be annealed out by 650 oC annealing in argon gas. The electron irradiation induced a deep level with ????~0.59 ???? into ZnO, which was probably associated with the singly charged state of VO. This deep level also tended to be removed at 350 oC annealing in argon gas. The PL spectra revealed that both helium implantation and electron irradiation could improve the bound-exciton peak. Helium implantation also introduced defects emission at 1.90 eV , which was the red luminescence band, into the ZnO single crystal materials. This red luminescence band peak might be associated with DAP recombination. Electron irradiation might restrain the green luminescence in ZnO single crystal. The fine structures could disappear as the measurement temperature increased, leaving the green luminescence band only. / published_or_final_version / Physics / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Physics / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Physics / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy