A Light at the End of the Tunnell?: The Parameters of Uninsured Motorist Coverage Coverage in Wrongful Death Cases

As a result, the implementation, application, and interpretation of this important piece of legislation has been left largely to the providence of the Missouri judicial system. When faced with litigation surrounding the UM statute, Missouri courts have often broadly interpreted the statute, extending its coverage to a large class of insureds as well as increasing the maximum amount of recovery possible. Additionally, insurers have often struggled to obtain favorable decisions in Missouri courts, especially in cases appealed to the Supreme Court of Missouri, and have failed to establish a concrete boundary that limits the scope and extent of UM coverage. Despite this tendency to define the coverage required by the UM statute broadly, some Missouri courts have imposed limits on the reach of the statute. In this murky atmosphere regarding the UM statute, the Supreme Court of Missouri decided Floyd-Tunnell v. Shelter Mutual Insurance Co. Decisions, such as Floyd-Tunnell, that interpret UM coverage are becoming increasingly important as the cost of injuries in automobile accidents, as well as the population of uninsured drivers, increase. Because uninsured drivers comprise a significant portion of the driving pool in each state, the issue of who qualifies as an insured in UM provisions can often determine whether a claimant is actually able to recover any damages for the injuries sustained in a car accident for which the claimant is not at fault. Judicial decisions that act to extend or limit the application of a policy’s UM coverage also have real consequences beyond determining the extent, if any, of possible recovery for individual claimants, as these decisions determine the future costs of premiums as well as future policy language and provisions across the state. After reviewing the relevant case law surrounding the UM statute, this Note will examine the greater ramifications of the Supreme Court of Missouri’s decision to limit UM coverage in wrongful death cases to the damages sustained by the insured decedent, rather than for injuries that a coinsured personally endured

Comparative studies of alkane activation by low-index surfaces of iridium and platinum

The interaction of alkanes with low-index surfaces of iridium at low temperatures and pressures has been studied in our laboratory by thermal desorption mass spectrometry and low-energy electron diffraction. While the reconstructed (110)-(1 × 2) surface of iridium initiates dissociative chemisorption of ethane and all higher alkanes at 125 K in the low coverage limit, similar reactions with the close-packed (111) surface occur readily only at defect sites. Thus, surface geometry influences strongly the activation barriers to C-H bond scission in alkanes on iridium surfaces

On residues of polynomial sequences

Given f(x)\in\Q[x], graphing the doubly infinite sequence $f\big|_{\Z}$ mod 1 can often produce interesting and even surprising results. In this paper, we will give some examples of such sequences, introduce some techniques for their analysis and construction, and will provide an easy method for distinguishing them from other sequences taking values in \Q\cap[0,1)

Electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical studies of nickel- and copper-based catalysts for the reduction of carbon dioxide

The trinickel complex, (Ni\sb3(\mu\sb3-CNMe)(\mu\sb3-I)(dppm)\sb3) (PF\sb6), 1, and the dicopper complex, (Cu\sb2(\mu-PPh\sb2bipy)\sb2(MeCN)\sb2) (PF\sb6\rbrack\sb2, 3, are both electrocatalysts for the reduction of carbon dioxide. Both complexes are able to catalyze the reduction of CO\sb2 at potentials that are much more favorable than the potential required for the uncatalyzed reduction. Complex 1 exhibits a reversible one-electron reduction at $-$1.09 V vs. SCE. When the reduction is carried out under a CO\sb2 atmosphere, CO(g) and CO\sb3\sp{2-} are produced. Complex 3 exhibits two reversible one-electron reductions, at $-$1.35 V and $-$1.53 V vs. SCE. CO(g) and CO\sb3\sp{2-} are produced under a CO\sb2 atmosphere. The rates of the heterogeneous electron transfers in both systems have been studied using rotating disk voltammetry. The rates of the homogeneous electron transfers were studied by performing computer simulations of the electrocatalytic systems. We found that the rate-determining step between the reduced nickel complex and CO\sb2 occurs with a rate constant of k\sb{\rm CO\sb2} = 1.6 \pm 0.3 M\sp{-1} s\sp{-1}. In system 3, the rate-determining step was found to occur with a rate constant of k\sb{\rm CO\sb2} = 18 \pm 4 M\sp{-1} s\sp{-1}. The rate-determining step for both systems has been found to be first order in both (catalyst) and (CO\sb2), with a second order dependence overall. The mechanisms of the electrocatalytic reactions have been explored using infrared spectroelectrochemistry (IR SEC). The design and testing of a thin-layer specular reflectance SEC cell is described. The reductions of the catalysts were effected in the absence and presence of CO\sb2 within the SEC cell, and the IR spectra taken over time. Changes in the catalyst upon addition of an electron(s) and the formation of CO\sb2 reduction products were monitored. The infrared spectroelectrochemical technique has also been applied to the study of the electrochemical reactions of metal carbonyl compounds. These reactions include metal-metal bond homolysis reactions, such as electrochemical cross-coupling reactions between (M\sb2(CO)\sb{10}) and (\rm CpM\sp\prime(CO)\sb3\rbrack\sb2 (where M = Mn or Re and M\sp\prime = W or Mo). Some ligand substitution reactions involved with metal-metal bond homolysis reactions are also described. Finally, IR SEC was used to follow the electron transfer chain catalysis reaction between (\rm(CH\sb3CN)\sb3M(CO)\sb3) (M = W, Mo) and isocyanide ligands

A comparison of the reactions of a sigma-monoradical in solution and gas phase and the evaluation of isomer detection in gasphase data analysis

The reactivity of carbon-centered sigma-monoradicals is an important area of study in chemistry. Of particular interest is their reactivity toward DNA components since some naturally occurring enediyne anti-tumor drugs form a carbon-centered sigma,sigma-biradical intermediate that causes irreversible damage to double stranded DNA. A greater understanding of the reactivities of related monoradicals must be obtained before the reactivities of the biradical intermediates can be addressed. Mass spectrometry has been used to study the reactions of nucleobases with various charged radicals in the past. The gas-phase environment in the mass spectrometer allows the reactions to occur without competing reactions with solvent molecules so that only the molecules of interest are involved. However, since drug reactions in a cell do not occur in a gaseous environment, a direct comparison of gas-phase and solution results would be valuable. This dissertation discusses ion-molecule reactions of charged monoradicals occurring in both gas phase and solution. The differences in reactivity in the two environments are rationalized by solvent effects, such as hydrogen bonding interactions between the DNA components and solvent molecules and solvent caging, as well as apparent differences in conformation of larger DNA components in gas phase and solution. The gas-phase reactivities of some charged bi- and triradicals toward simple organic reagents were examined in a FT-ICR mass spectrometer. The reactivities can be rationalized by previously reported reactivity controlling factors, such as the electron affinity of the radical site, the extent of coupling between biradical electrons and hydrogen bonding interactions in the transition state. The reactivities of two charged para-benzyne analogs appear to be most strongly controlled by differences in the electron affinities of the radical sites. When the electrophilicity (i.e., calculated electron affinity) increases, the transition state becomes more polarized, resulting in faster radical reactions. In contrast, comparison of the reactivity of a pyridine-based triradical to previously reported results for three related triradicals suggests that its reactivity is predominantly controlled by the extent of coupling between the radical electrons. During reactions, a radical may isomerize. Each isomer may react through separate pathways and at different efficiencies. In mass spectrometry, ionized isomers cannot be isolated to examine their properties separately. The potential for multiple isomers complicates the interpretation of the results of reactivity studies. In general, the presence of two isomers with different reaction efficiencies can be distinguished based on semi-logarithmic reaction rate plots that deviate from linearity. As the two efficiencies approach equality, the semi-logarithmic plot approaches linearity, which implies the presence of only a single isomer. Model data were used to determine the point at which curve fitting software finds a line instead of a curve, thus indicating the practical limits of finding multiple isomers by using a curve fitting method

An Investigation of the Interaction of Water and of Saturated Hydrocarbons with the (110) Surface of Iridium

The interactions of the reconstructed Ir(110)-(1x2) surface with water and with saturated hydrocarbons have been studied in an ultrahigh vacuum environment. The techniques of thermal desorption mass spectrometry (TDMS), ultrahigh photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, contact potential difference measurements and low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) were utilized. Chapter 2 describes a refinement in the technique for modelling the kinetics of desorption of adsorbed species by an Arrhenius construction. The functional dependence of the energy of desorption and the rate coefficient on the surface coverage are accounted for. An explicit example is provided. The interaction of water with the Ir(110)-(1x2) surface is discussed in Chapter 3. It is shown that at most, 6% of the adsorbed water dissociates upon adsorption at a temperature of 130 K. Water does dissociate to OH groups when adsorbed on an Ir(110)-(1x2) surface with preadsorbed oxygen. Water exhibits a constant probability of adsorption for all submonolayer coverages. There exist four distinct thermal desorption states of water on the clean Ir(110)-(1x2) surface. A qualitative model is put forth to rationalize the complex thermal desorption behavior. The remaining chapters describe investigations of the adsorption and reaction of saturated hydrocarbons on Ir(110)-(1x2). Chapter 4 presents the results of a study of the interaction of cyclopropane and Ir(110). Chapter 5 considers the coadsorption of hydrogen and cyclopropane on Ir(110). Finally, Chapter 6 presents the results of a study of the adsorption and reaction of ethane, propane, isobutane and neopentane on Ir(110). These saturated hydrocarbons dissociated on the surface at some temperature below 130 K. In each case, this dissociation reaction is poisoned by the presence of adsorbed hydrogen on the surface. This leads to the identification of an active site for hydrocarbon dissociation on the surface. As the surface is heated, the carbon remains adsorbed on the surface and the hydrogen desorbs as H2. For ethane, one thermal desorption peak of H2 is observed that corresponds to hydrogen adsorbed in β2 hydrogen adsites on the metal surface. This thermal desorption peak is observed for the remaining hydrocarbons, as well as two other thermal desorption states associated with hydrogen that exists in partially dehydrogenated hydrocarbon fragments present on the surface. No hydrocarbon species other than the one initially adsorbed were observed to desorb from the surface under any of the conditions reported in this work.</p

Advanced coal liquefaction catalyst development. Quarterly progress report No. 8

Coal liquefaction results with and without Amocat catalysts at various conditions (especially with respect to variations of hydrogen pressure and organic solvent) are reported. (LTN