Exploration of Reduction Catalysis for the Elimination of Nitrogen Oxides from Engine Exhaust

In recent years there has been a push for more efficient lean-burn engines that operate with higher air-to-fuel ratios. In order to support this demand, the need has arisen for an effective catalytic system to control the emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) from such engines. In this work, a study was performed on reduction catalysts prepared with 0.3% Pd by mass supported on sulfated zirconia (0.3% Pd/SZ) through a single-pot sol-gel process. The catalysts were prepared with varying alkoxide concentrations and Zr:SO4^2- ratios. Surface area and pore volume characterizations were performed on the samples and it was found that increasing the Zr:SO4^2- ratio decreased the surface area and pore volume of the catalysts. Catalyst activity testing was performed on the catalysts in a simulated exhaust stream and the catalyst prepared with the highest alkoxide concentration (1.3 M) and the highest Zr:SO4^2- (3:1) ratio was found to have the highest activity per surface area. This catalyst was found to be highly resistant to increases in gas hourly space velocity. Pd supported on sulfated ceria and zirconia mixtures were prepared through incipient wetness impregnation. The addition of 10% Co/Ceria in varying ratios to 0.3% Pd/SZ (1.3/3) was found to significantly increase NOx conversion and fully oxidize CO species. The optimum ratio of 0.3% Pd/SZ (1.3/3) to 10% Co/Ceria was found to be 8:1 by mass.Caterpillar Inc.A one-year embargo was granted for this item

In-Cage Surface Wetting System for Cooling Poultry in Transport

Abstract Poultry health and mortality rates are important considerations in poultry production, as companies can minimize product loss and appeal to a consumer base whose concern for animal welfare continues to grow. Although animal welfare is a consideration for the entire poultry production process, this project focuses on the live-haul phase of the process, specifically during transport from grow houses to processing facilities. During the summer months, broiler chickens being transported can suffer from heat stress that can lead to death. This project consists of the designing and testing of an in-cage surface wetting system to minimize heat stress incidents in broiler chickens being transported when temperatures exceed 17˚C. The system that was designed uses a piping system made of PVC and irrigation tubing that allows water to be sprayed through all areas of the cage using nozzles. The system must deliver 20 mL of water per bird, requiring a total of 2 L of water per cage when the cage is loaded with 100 broiler chickens. Nozzles were placed inside each level of the cage in an offset configuration that allows for maximum coverage within the cage. During testing of the prototype an average of 17.4 mL of water per bird was delivered. Coverage within the cage was observed to be over 75% during a single spray cycle of 15 seconds. These results make the designed system an acceptable solution to this problem. Nozzle recommendations for this type of system include using at least 8 nozzles per level in the cage. A conical spray pattern was observed to be beneficial as it covered more area in the cage when operating at an appropriate pressure. The nozzles were able to reach the center of the cage, which is expected to be one of the areas that would accumulate the most heat during transportation. The system was scaled-up for commercial use taking insights from the prototype that was tested to optimize the coverage and durability of the system. This system is expected to reduce the microbial load during transport when the water is treated with a biocide prior to spraying

A Couples-based Approach to the Problem of Workless Families

The goal of this paper is to evaluate a “couples-based” policy intervention designed to reduce the number of Australian families without work. In 2000 and 2001, the Australian Government piloted a new counseling initiative targeted towards couple-headed families with dependent children in which neither partner was in paid employment. Selected women on family benefits (who were partnered with men receiving unemployment benefits) were randomly invited to participate in an interview process designed to identify strategies for increasing economic and social participation. While some women were interviewed on their own, others participated in a joint interview with their partners. Our results indicate that the overall effect of the interview process led to lower hours of work among family benefit recipients in the intervention group than the control group, but to greater participation and hours in job search and in study or training for work-related reasons. Whether women were interviewed with their partner or not had no effect on the level of economic and social activity of participants.

Taking Chances: The Effect of Growing Up on Welfare on the Risky Behavior of Young People

We analyze the effect of growing up on welfare on young people's involvement in a variety of social and health risks. Young people in welfare families are much more likely to take both social and health risks. Much of the apparent link between family welfare history and risk taking disappears, however, once we account for family structure and mothers' decisions regarding their own risk taking and investment in their children. Interestingly, we find no significant effect of socio-economic status per se. Overall, we find no evidence that growing up on welfare causes young people to engage in risky behavior.youths, welfare, risky behavior, socio-economic disadvantage

Do Military Personnel Feel Excluded and Ignored in Post-Secondary Education

The present study was conducted to investigate whether returning veterans feel ostracized (excluded and ignored) and if they experience its immediate negative impact (reflexive pain response and thwarted basic needs) on university campuses. Additionally, this study was designed to investigate veteran students’ feelings of perceived burdensomeness, and three caveats of student engagement: student faculty engagement, community-based activities, and transformational learning opportunities. Participants in the study were 118 civilian and veteran students at the University of North Florida. All data were collected through a world wide web surveying program that allowed each participant to respond on computers from any location. Both veteran and civilian participants recorded the interactions and feelings they recalled experiencing in the classroom during the month prior to participating in the study. The surveys administered were the Needs Threat Scale, the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS-11), the Wong Baker Faces Pain Rating Scale, the Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire (INQ), the Student Faculty Engagement (SFE) scale, the Community Based Activities (CBA) scale, and the Transformational Opportunity (TLO) scale along with a demographics questionnaire. Results show that participants in the veteran group reported greater thwarted belongingness than civilian students. Military service was also associated with less engagement in CBAs and TLOs. The association with less engagement in CBAs explained the impact of militarily service on thwarted belongingness

The effect of physical and biological site characteristics on the survival and expansion of transplanted eelgrass (Zostera marina L)

Eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) was transplanted at seven sites along the New Hampshire side of the Piscataqua River in 1993 and 1994. The eelgrass transplanting was one component of the New Hampshire Port Authority Mitigation Project, designed to mitigate for impacts to natural resources associated with the expansion of the port facility. Over 2.5 hectares of eelgrass were transplanted using a newly developed transplanting technique, the horizontal rhizome method, and ultimately created eelgrass habitat at several sites. However, transplants did not survive at any of the intertidal areas planted and were greatly reduced at several subtidal sites. The intertidal transplants were lost due to severe ice scouring during the 1993/1994 winter. This dissertation focused on determining which factor(s) caused the loss of subtidally transplanted eelgrass. I investigated the relationship between subtidal transplant survival and various physical and biological site characteristics by analyzing field data and conducting field and mesocosm experiments. The results of my research show that light, current, and sediment characteristics were not limiting at the transplant sites and that transplant growth rates were not significantly different among the range of sediment types found at the transplant sites. My research also showed that belowground growth rates for eelgrass transplanted using the horizontal rhizome method were significantly higher than for eelgrass transplanted with the most commonly used transplanting method, the bundle technique. These results indicate that the variability in the survival of subtidally transplanted eelgrass was not the result of the transplanting technique or physical site characteristics, but was due to some other factor such as bioturbation. I then conducted experiments to quantify the effect of bioturbation on transplant survival. The results of a mesocosm experiment showed that green crabs (Carcinus maenas) can significantly decrease transplant survival when they occur in densities of greater than 4.0 per square meter. Similarly, the results of a field experiment showed that the clam worm ( Neanthes virens) can significantly decrease transplant survival by pulling the tips of the eelgrass blades into the sediment. These results demonstrated that bioturbation by N. virens and C. maenas significantly decreased survival rates of transplanted eelgrass, and that protecting transplants from the bioturbating activity of these organisms significantly increased transplant survival. The final aspect of my research was to create a transplant site selection model by combining all factors that influence transplant survival (as demonstrated by the research conducted for this dissertation and as documented in the literature). The result of this effort was the development of the Preliminary Transplant Suitability Index (PTSI) and Transplant Suitability Index (TSI). The PTSI/TSI methodology provides a framework and quantitative approach for selecting potential transplanting sites. The indices were applied retroactively to the New Hampshire Port Authority eelgrass mitigation sites and correctly differentiated between the successful and unsuccessful sites. The model is now being used as a site selection tool in other estuaries on the East Coast of the United States and will provide natural resource managers with an effective tool for identifying and prioritizing potential seagrass restoration sites

Fostering Organizational Learning: Superintendent and Principal Relationships

Schools have a responsibility to prepare students for the 21st century because the global economy demands a workforce that can adapt to a constantly changing and increasingly complex environment. High-stakes accountability for student learning is the United States’ strategy to ensure that schools adequately prepare students. This high-stakes environment requires school leaders to make curricular and instructional decisions intended to simply prepare students for tests. Yielding to the pressure to perform on tests often neglects students’ opportunities to think critically or engage in complex problem solving, which are both important skills for today’s workplace. Some school and district leaders do not succumb to a narrow curriculum nor do they dictate tight instructional practices in response to high-stakes tests. They realize that they must adapt to external pressures while also preparing students for the challenges they will face. These schools and districts rely on organizational learning to identify problems and develop solutions. All members of the organization engage in a cycle of error detection and correction as a means to better navigate a complex and changing environment. This kind of school and school district work environment requires that the superintendent and principals lead in a way that fosters organizational learning. This case study uncovers the relationship characteristics between three former superintendents and five principals in a central Kentucky school district that fosters organizational learning. The study of this district found that key components of these relationships were (a) decisions based on what is best for kids, (b) a reliance on continuous professional learning, (c) a desire to constantly challenge the status quo, and (d) a genuine respect for each other personally and professionally

That Tall, Skinny, Green Hill

This thesis explores the effects of trauma on relationships with parents, peers, and neighbors. It also looks into plot and scene structures of the fantasy style alongside different world-building techniques. The creative artifact contains excerpts from That Tall, Skinny, Green Hill—a coming-of-age, fantasy, adventure novel. It stars a boy named Cast Klyosov, who looks at the world through a different lens than others, and his mostly even-tempered friend, Dosiner Eldwin Hasden III, who prefers to go by Dox so he can escape comparison to his strict and overbearing grandfather of the same name. Cast Klyosov was only seven-years-old when he first saw the great, green mass of Lalbahadoor’s neck, whose back Cast’s world lives upon, stretching into the clouds above. That Tall, Skinny, Green Hill follows the story of Cast, Dox, and their friends as they try to save their small, kingdom-edge village from the clutches of a malicious creature that has mysteriously appeared in the nearby mountain woods. The boys will learn to face death, come face-to-face with a self-proclaiming god, and work to survive the ongoing traumas they endure