A determination of the resonance escape probability of thorium as thorium nitrate in aqueous solution has been made as a function of thorium concentration. The physical system used was an aluminum box surrounded by successive layers of cadmium, paraffin and borated paraffin to keep out neutrons scattered by objects in the laboratory. Neutrons were obtained from a Cockcroft-Walton type accelerator by the D(d,n)He³ reaction. The drive-in target was located at the center of one of the faces of the aluminum box. Neutron density was measured at nine spatial positions in the direction of the neutron beam with a bare boron trifluoride detector. The area under a curve of neutron density versus spatial position was obtained for various concentrations of absorber. The above process was carried out for the thorium solution and for a “mock solution," whose cross-section was similar to that of thorium except that it had no resonances in the thorium resonance region. By taking ratios of the neutron densities (area under curves of neutron density versus spatial position) in the thorium solution to the neutron density in the mock solution, it was possible to determine the resonance escape probability of neutrons in a homogeneous, aqueous solution of thorium nitrate. It is shown that, for the absorber concentrations used in the experiment, the resonance escape probability for an infinite geometry may be obtained by the above ratio method. The difference between a finite system and an infinite one is exhibited as leakage of neutrons from the system in the finite case. If one can compare neutron densities for systems which are large enough so that leakage is negligible or for systems with corresponding leakage rates, the effect of leakage can be overcome and the resonance escape probability for the infinite geometry obtained. Before taking the above ratios of neutron densities, it was necessary to compensate for the spectral shift of the thermal flux in the two solutions. After such a correction, the resonance escape probability so obtained shows good correlation with the results of the Monte Carlo prediction for this system. Over the range covered by the experiment (0 - 1 x 10²¹ atoms of thorium per cubic centimeter), experimental results agree with Monte Carlo predictions to within one percent. Counting statistics were good, with 10⁶ counts normally taken per spatial position. The curves from which the value of neutron density were determined were formed by nine points, each of which represented at least 10⁶ counts. Reproducibility of the neutron density at a point was of the order of one percent. Various changes made in the analysis of the data have caused corresponding changes in the values obtained for the resonance escape probability of less than one percent. These facts all indicate that the uncertainty in the experimental determination is of the order of one percent. Calculations of effective resonance integrals from the experimentally determined values of the resonance escape probability show good agreement with published measurements on other systems. / Ph. D.

<p dir="ltr">Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) via MRI are powerful, noninvasive methods for imaging of the human brain. Here, two studies are presented which explore algorithm development for the processing and analysis of fMRI and DTI-MRI data.</p><p dir="ltr">In the first study, brain functional connectivity was analyzed in a cohort of high school American football athletes over a single play season and compared against participants in non-collision high school sports. Football athletes underwent four resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging sessions: once before (pre-season), twice during (in-season), and once 34–80 days after the contact activities play season ended (post-season). For each imaging session, functional connectomes (FCs) were computed for each athlete and compared across sessions using a metric reflecting the (self) similarity between two FCs. HAEs were monitored during all practices and games throughout the season using head-mounted sensors. Relative to the pre-season scan session, football athletes exhibited decreased FC self-similarity at the later in-season session, with apparent recovery of self-similarity by the time of the post-season session. In addition, both within and post-season self-similarity was correlated with cumulative exposure to head acceleration events. These results suggest that repetitive exposure to HAEs produces alterations in functional brain connectivity and highlight the necessity of collision-free recovery periods for football athletes.</p><p dir="ltr">In the second study, a method for harmonization of DTI-MRI data across sites was assessed. Pooling of data from multiple sites is limited by noise characteristics of individual scanners and their receive chain elements (e.g., coils, filters, algorithms), requiring careful consideration of methods to harmonize multisite data. Here, the ComBat data harmonization method was assessed on DTI-MRI data to determine if the harmonizing transformation produced by the algorithm could be transferred to harmonize new subject data from previously-observed sites without necessitating reharmonization of pre-existing data. Results indicated that this transferable ComBat methodology (T-ComBat) yielded reduced differences in fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity across sites when compared with unharmonized data but did not fully reach the performance of ComBat applied to the entire dataset. Results of this study provide guidelines for circumstances (namely, the proportion of subjects one may wish to add to an existing dataset) under which T-ComBat may be effectively applied to harmonize new subject DTI-MRI data.</p>

Surface plasmon resonance has become a widely investigated phenomenon in the past few years. Initially descriptive of light interactions with metallic films, research has branched out to encompass the nanoparticles as well. Generation of the maximum surface plasmon resonance for nanostructures is based on the resonance condition that the oscillatory behavior of the 'free' electrons on the surface of the particle become equivalent to the frequency of the excitation light; for films this required a specific geometry. Metallic nanoparticles have also interested researchers because of their unique optical properties. Depending on the metal, observations of quenching as well as fluorescence enhancement have been reported. Based on the phenomenon of surface plasmon resonance as well as the properties of metallic nanoparticles, this research reports the interaction of gold and silver nanoparticles in an aqueous dye solution. Our research is the basis for developing an optical sensor used for water treatment centers as an alarm mechanism. Due to the inefficiency of the fluorophore used in similar optodes, sufficient fluorescence was not obtained. With the addition of the nanoparticles, we hoped to observe the transfer of energy from the nanoparticle to the fluorophore to increase the overall intensity, thereby creating a sufficient signal. Using the excitation theories discovered by Raman, Mie, and Forster and Dexter as our foundation, we mixed a strongly fluorescent dye with gold nanoparticles and aagain with silver nanoparticles. After taken measurements via fluorescence spectroscopy, absorption spectroscopy, and photoluminescence excitation, we observed that the silver nanoparticles seemed to enhance the fluorescence of the dye while the gold nanoparticles quenched the fluorescence. / Master of Science

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(工学) / 甲第25296号 / 工博第5255号 / 京都大学大学院工学研究科材料化学専攻 / (主査)教授 田中 勝久, 教授 三浦 清貴, 教授 藤田 晃司 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering) / Kyoto University / DGAM

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1936 G51

LD2668 .T4 1962 P74

No description available.

No description available.

published_or_final_version / abstract / Electrical and Electronic Engineering / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / abstract / Electrical and Electronic Engineering / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy