This thesis consists of two distinct components: (1) Spin-polarized electron transport through aluminum array nanoparticles, (2) A single electric relaxation process in Barium Strontium Titanate (BST) nanoparticles. In the first chapter, we summarize our main results and new finding, and we also present our motivation. For the first component (chapters 2-5), we studied electron spin transport in nanometer scale aluminum grains as embedded in a ferromagnet tunneling junction. We observed tunnelling-magnetoresistance (TMR) and spin valve effects. From the TMR strong asymmetry with bias voltage, we explored spin relaxation effects. Additionally we also obtained the spin-coherence time on the order of nanoseconds by using the Hanle effect. For the second component (chapters 6-9), we investigated the dielectric response of BST and Barium Titanate (BTA) (high dielectric constant ferroelectrics) nanoparticles. The results were found to be quite unusual when compared with the dielectric response of film or bulk. The dielectric response is Debye relaxation with only a single relaxation time, and the relaxation time exhibits the Arrhenius Law at temperatures below 200 Kelvin.

This research develops a procedure to determine the applied stresses in rails using the acoustoelastic effect of ultrasonic waves. Acoustoelasticity is defined as the stress dependency of ultrasonic wave speed or wave polarization. Analytical models are developed that predict the acoustoelastic effect for longitudinal waves, shear waves, Lamb waves, and Rayleigh waves. Using a programming tool, a numerical simulation of the models is generated to obtain the stress dependent curves of wave velocity and polarization of the various ultrasonic waves propagating in rail steel. A comparison of the sensitivity of the acoustoelastic effect is made to determine the feasibility of ultrasonic waves for further study. Rayleigh waves are found to be most sensitive to stress change. Rayleigh waves are generated using ultrasonic transducer and detected using a laser Doppler vibrometer (LDV). The LDV measures the in-plane and out-of-plane velocities. Polarization is defined as the ratio of in-plane and out-of-plane displacements. Initially, polarization is determined for the specimen in unstressed condition. Thereafter, the rail specimen is stressed in a compression testing machine, the experiment repeated, and the polarization determined. Thus, Rayleigh wave polarization is obtained as a function of applied stress. Finally, the change in polarization obtained experimentally is compared with the analytical model.

Modeling of changing pressure, temperature, and density profiles in a wellbore as a function of time is crucial for design and analysis of pressure-transient tests (particularly when data are gathered above perforations), real-time management of annular-pressure buildup (ABP) and identifying potential flow-assurance issues. Other applications of this modeling approach include improving design of production tubulars and artificial-lift systems and gathering pressure data for continuous reservoir management. This work presents a transient wellbore model coupled with a semianalytic temperature model for computing wellbore-fluid-temperature profile in flowing and shut-in wells. The accuracy of the analytic heat-transfer calculations improved with a variable-formation temperature model and a newly developed numerical-differentiation scheme. Surrounding formation temperature is updated in every timestep up to a user specified distance to account for changes in heat-transfer rate between the hotter wellbore fluid and the cooler formation. Matrix operations are not required for energy calculations because of the semianalytic formulation. This efficient coupling with the semianalytic heat-transfer model increased the computational speed significantly. Either an analytic or a numeric reservoir model can be coupled with the transient wellbore model for rapid computations of pressure, temperature, and velocity. The wellbore simulator is used for modeling a multirate test from a deep offshore well. Thermal distortion and its effects on pressure data is studied using the calibrated model, resulting in development of correlations for optimum gauge location in both oil and gas wells. Finally, predictive capabilities of the wellbore model are tested on multiple onshore wells experiencing annular-pressure buildup problems. Modeling results compare quite well with the field data and also with the state-of-the-art commercial wellbore simulator.

The ability of exogenous gibberellin (GA) A3 to substitute for low temperatures in inducing flowering in Phalaenopsis hybrida under high temperatures suggests a similar role for endogenous GAs in normal (low temperature) development of the inflorescence and floral buds. Changes in endogenous GAs in shoot-tips (about 2.0 cm long) were examined when potentially flowering shoot was 2-3 cm and 7-10 cm long, respectively. Treatments included warm control (30/25 ¢J day/night, non-flowering), GA3-treated (30/25 ¢J day/night, flowering) and cool-induced (25/20 ¢J day/night, flowering) plants. GA3 at 0.5 £gg•shoot-1 was injected into the cavity of the second visible bud scale below the flowering shoot apex. The contents of the tips of potentially flowering shoot of GA1, GA20, GA19 and GA53 tended to be highest in cool-induced plants, intermediate in GA3-treated plants, and lowest in the warm controls (non-flowering). Tips of potentially flowering shoots in warm controls also contained higher GA8 relative to GA3-treated and cool-induced plants. Tips of potentially flowering shoots (2-3 cm in length with no flower primordium), contained low levels of GAs than older 7-10 cm long flowering shoot (with flower primordium) under cool-inductive conditions. These results suggest that continued inflorescence development and flower bud initiation are closely associated with increases in endogenous GAs, even in GA3-treated plants. They also suggest that a more rapid biosynthetic flow-through from GA19¡÷GA20¡÷GA1¡÷GA8 leaving reduced levels of GA1 may be involved in the inhibition of flowering and shoot elongation seen in warm (30/25 ¢J day/night) control plants. A reduced conversion of ¡§active¡¨ GA1 to inactive GA8 may thus be required for successful floral initiation and development whether induced by cool temperature or by applied GA3. These results imply that the high temperature inhibitory effect on flowering is mediated through its effect on lowering the level of endogenous GA1 and its precursors.

Liquid crystal displays (LCDs) have been widely used in the information technology such as LCD-TV, LCD monitor, laptop computer and mobile phones. Because liquid crystal does not emit lights by itself, a backlight source should be needed in order to produce viewable images on a LCD. The module which provides the light source is usually called ¡¥¡¥backlight module (BLM)¡¦¡¦ and a cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) is used as the light source, which is placed behind the panel of the LCD. Due to the temperature increase of the CCFL in a BLM of a LCD subjected to lighting state, micro-deformation will occur in the BLM and result uneven luminance phenomena. The purpose of this research is to study the effects of heat source from CCFL on luminance in the BLM of a 7-inch LCD. The temperature distributions are measured by using thermal couple and the luminance variations of the BLM are measured by using luminance meters and CCD camera. The results show that the luminance distribution is more even because of the heat source from CCFL in BLM.

Abstract The effect of joint strength of PbSn and AuSn solder on temperature cycling tests in laser packages has been studied experimentally and numerically. It was found that the solder joint strength increased as temperature cycle number increased, and then became steady after 400 cycles. This is may be due to the redistribution of the residual stresses within the solder during temperature cycling test, and hence reducing the residual stresses and increasing the solder joint as the temperature cycle increased. Numerical calculations were in good agreement with the experimental measurement that the solder joint strength increased as the temperature cycle increased. In this work, we also study the intermetallic compound (IMC) growth of PbSn and AuSn solders under cycling test and aging test. The thickness of IMC growth do not significantly increase under cycling test, because the cycling test temperature was from ¡V40 to 85ºC. However, under the high temperature aging of 200ºC for 25 days, the IMC thickness was increased to 4.71£gm.

Temporary changes in macroalgal abundance, percentage cover and areal biomass were surveyed on Nanwan (GPS: 21o56'00'N; 120o50'10'E) and Tiaoshi (GPS: 21o55'30'N; 120o 50'40'E) reefs (Kenting, Taiwan, Republic of China), during 1999-2000. Community structure and areal biomass showed significant changes in time and the maximal biomass was observed during March-April due to Sargassum spp. at Nanwan and Codium spp. at Tiaoshi. The maximal total areal biomass is not different between two years for Nanwan but significantly different for Tiaoshi mainly due to a marked biomass of Codium edule during 2000. Eutrophication on Nanwan and Tiaoshi reefs is the main cause for macroalgal blooming. Tissue composition analysis, nutrient enrichment and starvation treatments, bioassay and in situ extracellular alkaline phosphatase activity determination showed that growth of Sargassum duplicatum, Codium edule and Ulva latuca were limited by phosphorus during the early growth period while nitrogen during the fast growth period. Growth of Enteromorpha linza, Gracilaria coronopifolia and Laurencia papillosa were limited by phosphorus. Water temperature is the factor affecting the time for the start of development of young shoots and also for the peak of areal biomass and subsequent die-off of thallus. This investigation suggests that the reduction of water nutrient levels is an effective way in the retardation of over-growth of macroalgae on Nanwan and Tiaoshi reefs.

Customer load characteristics plays the ndamental role for more reliable load forecasting. It can also be used to enhance the system expansion planning and economic dispatch more effectively. Besides, the system capacity shortage due to peak loading can be relieved by the strategy of energy conservation and load management with customer load models. A systematic procedure is proposed in this thesis to study the effect of temperature change to the power system load demand by using the typical load patterns of customer classes. The billing data of all service customers are retrieved to derive the daily load profile of the selected Taipower district. To verify the accuracy of the estimated load composition, the simulation results are compared to the actual load profile collected by the SCADA system. The sensitivity analysis of load demand with respect to the temperature change for each customer class is performed by statistic regression according to the actual customer power consumption and temperature data. With temperature rise, the load contribution by each customer class is updated by the corresponding temperature sensitivity and integrated together to form the new load profile of the service district. In the future, the load research will play more important role for power utility companies. Load data will be utilized to a greater extent by various departments in utility companies. For instance, the proposed load survey system can solve the customer load characteristics more accurately to support various applications. By refer the temperature sensitivity analysis based on the customer load research, can evaluate the potential of air conditioner load management to reduce the system peak loading can be inhibit. With this information, the proper incentive of cycling control of air conditioners can be designed to achieve more effective load management.

In this thesis we synthesize Pr1.85Ce0.15CuO4 system by mean of X-ray diffraction, electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility and low-temperature specific heat. From these data analysis, we hope to more clearly understand the transition of electron-doped superconductor Pr2-xCexCuO4 (0.14<x<0.7) system. The main results show that the system is d-wave pairing symmetry. This conclusion is consisted with C. C. Tsuei¡¦s result. They present phase-sensitive evidence that the electron-doped cuprates Pr1.85Ce0.15CuO4 have d-wave pairing symmetry.

Four proteins exhibiting different rates of denaturation or precipitation with increasing cooking temperature from 63 to 73°C for beef and 67 to 79°C for pork were selected for developing a ratio model and incorporating the results into a mathematical expression. Monoclonal antibodies (Mabs) against lactate dehydrogenase isozyme 5 (LDH-5), bovine serum albumin (BSA), porcine enolase, and bovine myoglobin were developed for use in a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to simultaneously investigate changes in protein concentration with incremental increases in temperature. Four groups of mice were immunized separately with commercially available or purified protein (LDH-5, BSA, enolase, or myoglobin). After reporting ample blood serum titers, spleen cells were harvested and fused with SP2 myeloma tumor cells using an electro fusion cell manipulator. Hybridoma containing wells were screened against their respective protein to isolate hybridomas secreting protein specific Mabs. Tissue culture flask produced Mabs were used initially in sandwich ELISA assay testing. Mabs were tested against ground beef and pork cooked to instantaneous endpoint temperatures (EPTs). A 6 g section removed from the geometric center of each sample was homogenized in phosphate buffer, centrifuged, and a 1 ml aliquot collected for analysis. Microtiter plates were coated with goat anti-mouse IgG antibody (2 mg/ml) to act as a capture antibody for the protein specific monoclonal antibody concentrated from cell culture supernatant. Serial diluted muscle (beef or pork) extract (10 ml) from each EPT was applied to a microtiter plate. A protein A/G purified polyclonal antibody (Pab) was applied, followed by a goat anti-rabbit IgG peroxidase conjugated antibody. Concentration was determined by comparison to a standard curve. After multiple cell fusions, 24, 29, 66, and 12 cell lines secreting protein specific Mabs against LDH-5, BSA, enolase, and myoglobin, respectively, were produced. Six Mabs against LDH-5 reported R2 values > 0.9 indicating high specificity and affinity for LDH-5. Sandwich ELISA assays development with Mabs against BSA, enolase, and myoglobin was not as successful. Mouse ascites produced Mabs against BSA, enolase, and myoglobin were also unsuccessful when used in a sandwich ELISA. However, preliminary data suggested a multiple antigen ratio model still remained a viable option.