The Changing Role of Information in Warfare,

Is there need for yet another book on the role of the military in the information age? To judge by this volume, a collection of essays published under RAND’s Project Air Force, the answer is yes—but this may be twice the book we need. In this case, more than enough is not necessarily better. The Changing Role of Information in War- fare is part of RAND’s Strategic Appraisal series, and it primarily addresses the ef- fects of information technology on American military planning and operations. The fifteen chapters provide a useful review of the dangers and oppor- tunities that information technology presents to U.S. military forces. While originally intended for the Air Force, the work should interest a wider professional audience, especially because it includes a broad spectrum of views, ranging from techno-optimists to info-war pessimists

Applications of Sterically Protected Hydrogen Bond Donors in the Secondary Coordination Sphere

Hydrogen bonding interactions found within the secondary coordination sphere of metalloenzyme active sites are involved in regulating substrate binding, stabilizing reactive intermediates and facilitating proton and electron transfer reactions. Synthetic systems that mimic these interactions can be used to gain further insight into metalloenzyme mechanism and expand their utility. In this thesis, metal-ligand complexes incorporating secondary sphere hydrogen bond donors were prepared to study their influence on metal structure and reactivity in systems derived from metalloenzymes. The pincer ligand 6,6”-bis(2,4,6- trimethylphenylamino)terpyridine (H2TpyNMes) was prepared and incorporates sterically bulky H-bond donor groups in the secondary sphere. Inspired by [Fe]-hydrogenase, homogeneous ruthenium catalysts supported by H2TpyNMes show enhanced reactivity for transfer hydrogenation reactions and enhanced stability for the dehydrogenative oxidation of primary alcohols compared to unsubstituted catalysts. The planar binding and secondary hydrogen bond donors in H2TpyNMes were also used enforce an usual square planar geometry on copper(I). The geometric stabilization of complex Cu(H2TpyNMes)Cl by hydrogen bonding to the chloride ligand allows for fast electron transfer self-exchange rates reminiscent of blue copper proteins. In separate studies, a series of copper and zinc complexes bearing 6-substituted tris(2-pyridylmethyl)amine (LR) ligands appended with NH(p-R-C6H4) groups (R=H, CF3, OMe, NMe2) were prepared. The LR ligands are electronically tunable in addition to providing sterically protected H-bond donors in the secondary sphere. Hydrogen bonding to the chloride ligand affords C3-symmetric Cu(LR)Cl complexes that exhibit a reversible CuI/II redox event based on electronic character (ΔE1/2 = 160 mV) and CuI(LR)+ complexes react with oxygen to form hydrogen bonded (trans-1,2- peroxo)dicopper complexes. The additional stabilization provided by the H-bond donors allows for the stabilization of the first (trans-1,2-peroxo)dizinc complexes. Collectively, these studies demonstrate the role of secondary sphere hydrogen bonding interactions in the manipulation of metal complex structure, stability, and reactivity.PHDChemistryUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/143982/1/ewdahl_1.pd

OPTIMAL TESTING STRATEGIES FOR GENETICALLY MODIFIED WHEAT

A stochastic optimization model was developed to determine optimal testing strategies, costs, and risks of a dual marketing system. The model chooses the testing strategy (application, intensity, and tolerance) that maximizes utility (minimizes disutility) of additional system costs due to testing and quality loss and allows simulation of the risk premium required to induce grain handlers to undertake a dual marketing system versus a Non-GM system. Cost elements including those related to testing, quality loss, and a risk premium were estimated for a model representing a grain export chain. Uncertainties were incorporated and include test accuracy, risk of adventitious commingling throughout, and variety declaration. Sensitivities were performed for effects of variety risks, penalty differentials, re-elevation discounts, import tolerances, variety declaration, risk aversion, GM adoption, and domestic end-user.Segregation, Testing, Tolerance, Genetically Modified, Wheat, Risk Premium, Crop Production/Industries, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Nuclear recoil energy scale in liquid xenon with application to the direct detection of dark matter

We show for the first time that the quenching of electronic excitation from nuclear recoils in liquid xenon is well-described by Lindhard theory, if the nuclear recoil energy is reconstructed using the combined (scintillation and ionization) energy scale proposed by Shutt {\it et al.}. We argue for the adoption of this perspective in favor of the existing preference for reconstructing nuclear recoil energy solely from primary scintillation. We show that signal partitioning into scintillation and ionization is well-described by the Thomas-Imel box model. We discuss the implications for liquid xenon detectors aimed at the direct detection of dark matter

The Aqueous Phase Yield Of Alkyl Nitrates From Roo+No: Implications For Photochemical Production In Seawater

Alkyl nitrates have been observed in remote oceanic regions of the troposphere and in the surface ocean. The mechanism for their production in the oceans is not known. A likely source is the reaction of ROO + NO (where R is an alkyl group). Steady-state laboratory experiments show that alkyl nitrates are produced in the aqueous phase via this reaction, with branching ratios of 0.23 +/- 0.04, 0.67 +/- 0.03, and 0.71 +/- 0.04 for methyl, ethyl, and propyl nitrate respectively. The branching ratios in aqueous solution are significantly higher than in the gas phase. Irradiation of surface seawaters yield rates of alkyl nitrate production on the order of 10(-18) mol cm(-3) s(-1), suggesting that the reaction of ROO and NO is an important source of alkyl nitrates in seawater

Droplet- and Bead-Based Microfluidic Technologies for Rheological and Biochemical Analysis.

The development of microfluidics in recent decades has opened new methods for chemical, physical, and biomedical analysis. Two particularly exciting possibilities are portable, self-contained analysis systems and high-throughput, multiplexed analysis systems. While earlier systems have been based on continuous-flow microfluidics, the advantages of droplet-based microfluidics, with droplets of one liquid phase surrounded and isolated by a continuous immiscible second liquid phase, are becoming apparent. However, many of the analysis tools which exist for continuous phase microfluidics are lacking in the droplet regime. This dissertation describes the development of tools for analysis of rheological properties of nanoliter-volume (20 to 30 nL) microfluidic droplets. We report measurements of viscosity and viscoelastic phase angle. Viscosity measurements are achieved by observing the motion of a droplet through a contraction in the channel and relating the pressure, flow rate, and geometric parameters to the viscosity with the Hagen-Poiseuille equation. Phase angle is measured by applying an oscillatory pressure to a droplet located in a contraction and comparing the applied pressure to the droplet interface response. At low frequencies, where the elasticity of the interface is expected to dominate, droplets behave similarly regardless of polymer concentration. As the frequency increases, to a maximum of 6 Hz (~37 rad/s), the elastic contribution of the droplet fluid becomes apparent and samples can be distinguished. In addition, a simple, single mask method for fabricating microstructures with smooth 3D gradients and arbitrary shape in SU-8 and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is presented. Demonstration applications are shown, involving particle organization, particle imaging, and size-based particle sorting. Alone or in combination with droplet-based approaches, particle-based microfluidic assays offer potential for high-throughput and multiplexed assays. This fabrication technique makes accessible different methods for particle-based assays, especially for presentation of results. This dissertation also presents preliminary work toward a micro-scale dielectric barrier discharge plasma-based electronic pressure actuator, for control of microfluidic flows. Finally, there is discussion of the distributed health diagnostics design, in particular for microfluidic technologies, through the lens of technology assessment. This highlights the importance of interacting with users and considering the broader factors of governments, regulations, infrastructure, economics, climate, geography, culture, and religion.PHDChemical EngineeringUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/102436/1/elivak_1.pd