Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1996. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 103-110). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1996. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 103-110). Also available on the Internet.

Dissertation (PhD)--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

Η παρούσα διπλωματική αποτελείται από μια σειρά από projects συστημάτων επεξεργασίας ηχητικού σήματος, με κύριο προσανατολισμό το ηχητικό σήμα της ηλεκτρικής κιθάρας. Πολλά από τα ακόλουθα projects είναι βασισμένα σε ήδη υπάρχοντα κυκλώματα που κυκλοφορούν στο εμπόριο και έχουν τροποποιηθεί έτσι ώστε να έχουν βελτιωμένη απόδοση (λιγότερος θόρυβος, μικρότερη κατανάλωση ισχύος) και να έχουν καλύτερη ηχητική απόκριση (σύμφωνα με τα δικά μας -υποκειμενικά- κριτήρια). Τα πρώτα projects ως ενεργά στοιχεία χρησιμοποιούν είτε διακριτά τρανζίστορ και διόδους, είτε ολοκληρωμένα κυκλώματα τρανζίστορ-διόδων. Τα δύο τελευταία χρησιμοποιούν τριοδικές και πεντοδικές λυχνίες κενού. Με αυτόν τον τρόπο έχει επιτευχθεί και μια κλιμακούμενη αύξηση της δυσκολίας των projects. / --

On peut distinguer deux familles d'isolants thermiques pour le bâtiment : les isolants dits traditionnels et les super-isolants qui se caractérisent par un pouvoir isolant plus performant qu'une simple lame d'air immobile (25 mW/m/K). Les Panneaux Isolants sous Vide (PIV) font partie de cette seconde catégorie. Un PIV n'est pas un matériau homogène, mais un système constitué d'un matériau de cœur mis sous vide et enfermé dans une enveloppe. La performance thermique du PIV repose sur la structure nano-poreuse du matériau de cœur et du vide primaire maintenu par l'enveloppe qui possède une très faible perméabilité aux gaz. Alors que les isolants traditionnels ont des conductivités thermiques allant de 21 mW/m/K pour la mousse polyuréthane à 50 mW/m/K pour les laines les moins performantes, celle des PIV est d'environ 4 mW/m/K à l'état neuf. Cependant, comme tout isolant, leur performance se dégrade dans le temps. Cette diminution de conductivité thermique est davantage préjudiciable pour les PIV à cause de leur très bonne performance initiale et de leur coût encore élevé. Il convient donc d'étudier l'évolution de leur performance thermique sur l'ensemble de leur durée de vie dans le bâtiment, c'est à dire 50 ans. Pour cela la modélisation a été choisie comme outil car l'expérimentation ne peut satisfaire ces durées d'étude. L'étude du comportement thermique des PIV passe par différents axes de recherches intervenant à différentes échelles.Le premier concerne les mécanismes de transferts des gaz à travers les enveloppes des PIV, aussi appelés complexes barrières. L'enjeu est d'améliorer notre compréhension sur les relations qui existent entre les propriétés morphologiques des complexes barrières et les phénomènes de diffusion de la vapeur d'eau et de l'air sec à travers les différentes couches de matériaux qui constituent ces complexes barrières. Les résultats obtenus ne permettent pas encore de proposer un modèle de diffusion juste à cette échelle, mais mettent en avant certaines tendances et mécanismes physiques qui ouvrent de nouvelles pistes d'exploration.Le deuxième axe de recherche s'intéresse au comportement hygro-thermique à l'échelle des panneaux. Un modèle numérique de PIV a été développé afin de prendre en compte ses propriétés géométriques, thermiques et hydriques dans le calcul la performance thermique globale du panneau. Le modèle intègre le vieillissement du matériau de cœur par la modification de son isotherme de sorption à la vapeur d'eau. Des PIV fabriqués avec différents types de matériaux de cœur sont étudiés dans différentes conditions constantes en température et humidité. Les résultats des simulations permettent de mieux comprendre l'évolution de la conductivité thermique des PIV, d'analyser leur comportement global et de déterminer les principales caractéristiques qui sont déterminantes pour améliorer leur performance.Enfin, la troisième partie des travaux de recherche est consacrée au développement d'une méthode d'analyse de la performance des PIV en conditions réelles d'installation dans un bâtiment, dans différent climats français et plusieurs applications d'isolation. L'objectif est tout d'abord de déterminer les sollicitations réelles auxquelles sont soumis les PIV mis en œuvre, et ensuite de simuler leur comportement thermique à long terme afin de prédire leur performance moyenne. Les résultats donnent des températures et humidités qui sont très variables selon les climats, les systèmes d'isolation et les saisons de l'année, mais celles-ci restent finalement relativement modérées. La performance thermique moyenne des PIV sur 50 ans dépend très peu des applications, mais plus des climats et encore plus du type de silice qui constitue leur matériau de cœur. Contrairement à ce que laissent supposer les essais à court terme, les silices hydrophobes sont les plus favorables. Selon les applications et les climats, la conductivité thermique moyenne des PIV peut varier entre 4,7 et 7,3 mW/m/K. / Two types of thermal insulation materials exist for building application: the conventional insulation and the super-insulation materials which is characterized by an insulating performance higher than that of a simple layer of still air 25 mW/m/K). Vacuum Insulation Panels (VIP) belong to the second category. VIP is not a homogeneous material, but a product consisting of a core material maintained under vacuum by an envelope. The thermal performance of VIP is based on the nanoporous property of the core material and on the vacuum maintained by the envelope which has a very high gas barrier properties. While conventional insulation material has a thermal conductivity values from 21 mW/m/K for polyurethane foams to 50 mW/m/K for the worst wools, that of new VIPs is around 4 mW/m/K. Nevertheless, like every insulation materials, their performance degrades over time. This increase of thermal conductivity is even more detrimental for VIPs because of their very high initial performance and of their high cost. It is therefore important to study their thermal performance evolution over all their service-life in building, over 50 years. In order to manage this, modelling has been chosen, because experiments cannot be realised over such long periods. Studying the thermal performance of VIPs is going through different research topics which take place at different scales.The first one concerns the gas transfer mechanisms through the VIPs’ envelope, also called barrier complexes. The challenge is to improve our understanding of the relationship between the barrier complexes morphological properties and the water vapour and dry air diffusion phenomena through the different layers of materials which compose these barrier complexes. The results do not allow to provide a correct model at this scale, but put forward some trends and physical mechanisms that open up new avenues of exploration.The second research topic is focused on the hygro-thermal behaviour at panels’ scale. A numerical model of VIP has been developed in order to take into account its geometric, thermal and hygric properties in the global thermal performance calculation of the panel. The model integrates the ageing process of the core material by moving its water vapour sorption isotherm. VIPs made with different types of core material has been studied in different constant conditions of temperature and humidity. Simulation results allow to better understand the thermal conductivity evolution of VIPs, to analyse their global behaviour and to determine the main characteristics which are relevant to improve their performance.Then, the third part of the research studies is dedicated to the development of a method which allows to analyse the VIPs’ performance in real conditions of installation in building, in different French climate conditions and several insulation applications. The aim is first to determine the real solicitations imposed on VIP, and then to simulate their long-term thermal performance in order to predict their mean performance. Results show a large dispersion of solicitations submitted to VIPs according to the climate conditions and insulation systems. Temperatures and humidities are highly variable according to the seasons, but finally remain relatively moderate. It is turns out that the mean thermal performance of VIPs over 50 years differs little from applications, but more from climate conditions and even more from the type of silica used for the core material. Contrary to what the short term tests would suggest, hydrophobic silicas are most favourable. The mean thermal conductivity of VIPs can varies between 4.7 and 7.3 mW/m/K.

Objetivos: O objetivo do nosso estudo foi verificar se a umidificação dos comprimidos com formulação brasileira de misoprostol vaginal aumenta a dilatação cervical antes da aspiração manual por vácuo (AMIU), em comparação com o uso de misoprostol seco nos abortos espontâneos no primeiro trimestre. O objetivo secundário foi verificar se houve correlação entre o pH vaginal e o grau de dilatação cervical usando um comprimido de misoprostol umedecido ou seco. Métodos: Estudo unicêntrico, duplo cego e randomizado, com 46 pacientes com aborto espontâneo de primeiro trimestre foram alocados aleatoriamente para o tratamento com 400 μg de misoprostol seco ou umedecido (com 200 μl de água destilada). Resultados: A dilatação cervical mediana (intervalo) nos grupos úmido e seco foi de 8 mm (6-12 mm) e 7 mm (5-10 mm), respectivamente ( p = 0,06). O tempo médio entre a inserção de misoprostol e a realização do procedimento não diferiu entre os grupos seco (406 min, intervalo 180-550 min) e molhado (448 min, intervalo 180-526 min) ( p = 0,1). Não foi encontrada correlação entre o pH vaginal e a dilatação cervical usando dados continuos ( p = 0.57; r = 0.08; intervalo de confiança de 95% -0.02, 0.3) ou dados dicotômicos (pH ≤5 /> 5, dilatação cervical ≥8 mm ou <8 mm; p = 0,8). Conclusão: Não foi observada diferença na dilatação cervical entre o uso de misoprostol umedecido e não umedecido antes do AMIU. / Objectives: The aim of our study was to ascertain whether moistening the Brazilian formulation of vaginal misoprostol tablets increases cervical dilation before manual vacuum aspiration (MVA), compared with use of dry misoprostol, in first-trimester miscarriage. The secondary objective was to ascertain whether there was any correlation between vaginal pH and the degree of cervical dilation using a moistened or dry misoprostol tablet. Methods: In a single-centre, double-blind, randomised trial, 46 patients with first-trimester miscarriage were randomly allocated to treatment with dry or moistened (with 200 μl distilled water) 400μg of misoprostol. Results: The median (range) cervical dilation in the wet and dry groups was 8 mm (6–12 mm) and 7 mm (5–10 mm), respectively (p=0.06). The median time between misoprostol insertion and carrying out the procedure did not differ between the dry (406 min, range 180–550 min) and wet (448 min, range 180–526 min) groups (p=0.1). No correlation was found between vaginal pH and cervical dilation using continuous data (p=0.57; r=0.08; 95% confidence interval -0.02, 0.3) or dichotomous data (pH ≤5/>5; cervical dilation ≥8 mm or <8 mm; p=0.8). Conclusion: No difference was observed in cervical dilation between moistened and non-moistened misoprostol use prior to MVA.

In recent years, more and more efforts have been expended on the study of $n$-dimensional asymptotically anti-de Sitter spacetimes $(\mathcal{M},g)$ as solutions to the Einstein vacuum equations \begin{align*} \mathrm{Ric}(g)=\frac{2}{n-2}\Lambda\, g \end{align*} with negative cosmological constant $\Lambda$. This has been motivated mainly by the conjectured instability of these solutions. The author of this thesis joins these efforts with two contributions, which are themselves independent of each other. In the first part, we are concerned with a superradiant instability for $n=4$. For any cosmological constant $\Lambda=-3/\ell^2$ and any $\alpha < 9/4$, we find a Kerr-AdS spacetime $(\mathcal{M},g_{\mathrm{KAdS}})$, in which the Klein-Gordon equation \begin{align*} \Box_g\psi+\frac{\alpha}{\ell^2}\psi=0 \end{align*} has an exponentially growing mode solution satisfying a Dirichlet boundary condition at infinity. The spacetime violates the Hawking-Reall bound $r_+^2 > |a|\ell$. We obtain an analogous result for Neumann boundary conditions if $5/4 < \alpha < 9/4$. Moreover, in the Dirichlet case, one can prove that, for any Kerr-AdS spacetime violating the Hawking-Reall bound, there exists an open family of masses $\alpha$ such that the corresponding Klein-Gordon equation permits exponentially growing mode solutions. Our result provides the first rigorous construction of a superradiant instability for a negative cosmological constant. In the second part, we study perturbations of five-dimensional Eguchi-Hanson-AdS spacetimes exhibiting biaxial Bianchi IX symmetry. Within this symmetry class, the Einstein vacuum equations are equivalent to a system of non-linear partial differential equations for the radius $r$ of the spheres, the Hawking mass $m$ and $B$, a quantity measuring the squashing of the spheres, which satisfies a non-linear wave equation. First we prove that the system is well-posed as an initial-boundary value problem around infinity $\mathcal{I}$ with $B$ satisfying a Dirichlet boundary condition. Second, we show that initial data in the biaxial Bianchi IX symmetry class around Eguchi-Hanson-AdS spacetimes cannot form horizons in the dynamical evolution.

The scientific study of fingerprints/fingermarks—dactyloscopy—is one of the most important fields in forensic science today. Fingermarks are amongst the most common type of evidence recovered from crime scenes and are arguably the most valued due to the fact that they are, unlike deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), completely unique to an individual. Fingermarks recovery techniques are constantly evolving and new reagents are always being sought. This project aims to develop and access new fingermark enhancement procedures. The efficacy of an ethanoic solution of phosphomolybdic acid, has been investigated as a latent fingermark enhancement reagent, primarily on porous substrates. After treating samples and exposing them to ultraviolet radiation, the phosphomolybdic acid solution was shown to develop fingermarks to a high quality. Unlike the common amino acid reagents used for the enhancement of fingermarks on porous substrates, ninhydrin and 1,8-diazafluoren-9-one, phosphomolybdic acid stains a range of other compounds found within fingermark deposits, including lipids. The lysochrome diazo dye Oil Red O was used for comparative purposes due to its application in staining some of the same components of fingermark residues that phosphomolybdic acid would be proposed for. Initial results indicate that phosphomolybdic acid is comparable to Oil Red O at developing fingermarks on porous surfaces and may also have applications on non-porous surfaces. A systematic evaluation of solvent carriers was conducted, and whilst many solvents were insufficient, others did show some potential. Primary alcohols such as ethanol, methanol and propan-1-ol all developed fingermarks with identifiable ridge detail. Attempts to mix phosphomolybdic acid with other reagents which react with different fingermark constituents than those phosphomolybdic acid targets were, for the most part unsuccessful. However, not entirely ruled out. Many substrates were tested to observe which developed fingermarks when treated with the phosphomolybdic acid solution. Whilst marks were detected on numerous substrates, paper proved to be the most receptive. Similar stains to the phosphomolybdic acid were tested under the same conditions, however, none were as effective as the phosphomolybdic acid. A non-destructive, non-invasive technique was developed, utilising cuprous metals and their reactions with rubeanic acid. By bringing substrates with fingermarks deposited upon their surface into contact with a copper or copper alloyed plate, it was possible to transfer the fingermark residues to the plate. Forensic gelatin lifters could then be used to lift the marks from the metal plates, these lifted marks could subsequently be treated with a rubeanic acid solution to visualise the fingermarks. The rubeanic acid reacted with the Cu(II) which had been transferred to the fingermark residues to produce a dark product in the pattern of fingermark ridges. The technique was successful at developing fingerprints on semi-porous substrates. The technique was as effective on non-porous substrates, such as glass, but an investigation into the process on porous surfaces was less positive. Attempts to reuse the cuprous metals for the transference of fingermarks after an initial lift resulted in double or ghosted marks being developed, after a thorough wash with soap and water. This was overcome by cleaning with the metal cleaner Brasso. Copper cleaned with Brasso was reused 5 times to show its effectiveness, and adverse effects were minimal. The UK s recent move to polymer banknotes has seen some of the currently used fingermark enhancement techniques for currency potentially become redundant, due to the substrate characteristics of the polymer surfaces. Possessing a non-porous surface with some semi-porous properties, alternate processes are required for polymer banknotes. A preliminary investigation was conducted in to the recovery of fingermarks from polymer notes via vacuum metal deposition using elemental copper. The study successfully demonstrated that fresh latent fingermarks, from an individual donor, could be clearly developed and imaged in the near infrared. By varying the deposition thickness of the copper, the contrast between the fingermark minutiae and the substrate could be readily optimised. Where the deposition thickness was thin enough to be visually indistinguishable, forensic gelatin lifters could be used to lift the fingermarks. These lifts could then be treated with rubeanic acid to produce a visually distinguishable mark. The technique has shown enough promise that it could be effectively utilised on other semi- and non-porous substrates. A follow up group study was less effective than the aforementioned initial study. Many samples were processed using the vacuum metal deposition; incorporating a comparison study between copper and the gold/zinc standard and a depletion trial. However, when imaging was attempted a week after treatment, the results experienced before were unable to be replicated. Attempts to recover samples of radioactive nickel isotope from metal substrates using forensic gel lifters were initially unexceptional. Wipe tests were more successful at recovering the isotope. Experimentation using some non-metallic substrates was more fruitful, the gel lifters were able to recover the radioisotope more readily. Autoradiography showed that, although a weak beta emitter, nickel could be imaged when in sufficient quantities. By using nickel and a short half-life isotope of phosphorus in conjunction with patterned stamps and patterned deposits it was possible to image these patterns by autoradiography of the gels used to lift from the substrates these were deposited upon. These autoradiography images showed enough detail to warrant attempts with a synthetic finger, however, the imaging was insufficient to image the fine details of the friction ridges. Fingermarks deposited on the surface of agar gels showed bacterial growth after incubation for 24 hours. Aseptic transfer of bacterial colonies to fresh agar plates in a typical streak pattern were fruitful. Further transference to a nutrient broth were effective, however, attempts to seed bacterial agar plates for use in inhibition tests were unsuccessful. Overall, phosphomolybdic acid proved to be relatively effective, being able to develop fingermarks on a number of substrates. The copper transfer method, although, less fruitful than PMA showed promise. This lead to the idea of gel lifting from copper VMD treated polymer banknotes which was much more effective. Although, the radioactive and biological techniques showed promise, they were unfortunately unsuccessful at developing fingermarks. A number of the techniques evaluated and developed were successful enough to be published in forensic journals.

Os sistemas solares de aquecimento de água são uma forma de produção de energia não poluente, que já faz parte da matriz energética brasileira. O uso deste tipo de sistemas traz benefícios econômicos ao país e principalmente a quem os utiliza, devido à poupança no uso de outras fontes de energia para o aquecimento da água. No Brasil o aquecimento solar de água é realizado, principalmente, por coletores solares planos, tecnologia bem conhecida e fabricada no país a preços baixos. Mas atualmente há uma outra tecnologia que está sendo difundida no âmbito nacional, os coletores solares de tubos a vácuo, os quais estão sendo produzidos internacionalmente em uma escala maior, importados e comercializados a preços mais competitivos no mercado nacional. Por isto é necessário entender estes sistemas e o seu funcionamento para evitar erros na sua instalação e otimizar sua operação. Nesta dissertação é realizada uma análise comparativa de um sistema de aquecimento de água composto por um coletor solar de tubos de vidro a vácuo de extração de calor por transferência direta operando em circulação forçada com o mesmo sistema operando em circulação por termossifão. Esta comparação foi realizada determinando a energia anual que o sistema pode produzir para cada tipo de circulação, a qual foi calculada usando como referência a norma ISO 9459-2 e os dados climáticos da cidade de Porto Alegre do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul. Também foram realizadas medições da vazão em termossifão, entre o reservatório e o coletor solar, e foi determinado o coeficiente de perdas térmicas do tanque reservatório segundo os procedimentos da mesma norma. Para isto foi realizada a montagem de uma bancada experimental, com sensores e instrumentos de medida que foram calibrados. Para o sistema de aquecimento testado, os resultados mostram que o sistema trabalhando em circulação por termossifão produz maior quantidade de energia no ano do que o sistema em circulação forçada, onde se observou que a estratificação no tanque reservatório era menor. Também foi observado que a máxima vazão em termossifão para este sistema de aquecimento de água foi de 0,5 L/min. / Solar water heating systems are a method of clean energy production, which is already part of the Brazilian energy matrix. The use of these systems brings economic benefits to the country and especially who use them due to savings in the use of other sources of energy for heating water. In Brazil, the solar water heating is carried out mainly by flat solar collectors, which is a widely known technology because it is produced in the country at low prices. But recently, there is another technology that is being used named: evacuated solar collectors. These collectors are being worldwide produced on a large scale and they are imported and inserted at competitive prices in the domestic market. Therefore it is necessary to understand these systems and their operation to avoid errors in its installation and optimize their operation. In this work, it is accomplishing a comparative analysis of a solar water heating system composed by a water-in-glass evacuated tube solar collector working in forced circulation with the same system working in thermosyphon circulation. This comparison was performed by determining the annual energy that the system can produce for each type of circulation, which was calculated based on the ISO 9459-2 standard and the climatic data of the Porto Alegre city, state of the Rio Grande Do Sul. Also, it was performed thermosyphon measurements between the thermal reservoir and the solar collector, and it was calculated the heat loss coefficient from the reservoir tank according to the procedures of ISO 9459-2 standard. To do so, a testing bench was made, with sensors and measuring instruments which were calibrated before use. For the heating system tested, the results show that the system with thermosyphon circulation produces more annual energy than the forced circulation system where the water temperature stratification in the thermal reservoir was lower. Also, it was observed that the maximum thermosyphon flow for this solar water heating system was 0,5 L/min.

This dissertation provides a brief introduction into scanning tunneling microscopy, and then Chapter III reports on the design and operation of a cryogenic ultra-high vacuum scanning tunneling microscope (STM) coupled to a closed-cycle cryostat (CCC). The STM is thermally linked to the CCC through helium exchange gas confined inside a volume enclosed by highly flexible rubber bellows. The STM is thus mechanically decoupled from the CCC, which results in a significant reduction of the mechanical noise transferred from the CCC to the STM. Noise analysis of the tunneling current shows current fluctuations up to 4% of the total current, which translates into tip-sample distance variations of up to 1.5 picometers. This noise level is sufficiently low for atomic-resolution imaging of a wide variety of surfaces. To demonstrate this, atomic-resolution images of Au(111) and NaCl(100)/Au(111) surfaces, as well as of carbon nanotubes deposited on Au(111), were obtained. Other performance characteristics such as thermal drift analysis and a cool-down analysis are reported. Scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) measurements based on the lock-in technique were also carried out and showed no detectable presence of noise from the CCC. These results demonstrate that the constructed CCC-coupled STM is a highly stable instrument capable of highly detailed spectroscopic investigations of materials and surfaces at the atomic-scale. A study of electron transport in single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) was also conducted. In Chapter IV, STS is used to study the quantum-confined electronic states in SWCNTs deposited on the Au(111) surface. The STS spectra show the vibrational overtones which suggest rippling distortion and dimerization of carbon atoms on the SWCNT surface. This study experimentally connects the properties of well-defined localized electronic states to the properties of their associated vibronic states. In Chapter V, a study of PbS nanocrystals was conducted to study the effect of localized sub-bandgap states associated with surface imperfections. A correlation between their properties and the atomic-scale structure of chemical imperfections responsible for their appearance was established to understand the nature of such surface states. This dissertation includes both previously published/unpublished and co-authored material.