Pragmatic language, or the use of language in social contexts, is critical to developing meaningful social relationships and is a significant contributor to mental health. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), fragile X syndrome (FXS) and Down syndrome (DS) are all genetically based neurodevelopmental disabilities characterized by deficits in pragmatic language, although...
Segregation of polydisperse granular materials remains to be a challenging problem in many industrial processes. However, most studies have focused either on bidisperse (two different particle size species) materials, which are not representative of most real mixtures, or on polydisperse materials in an idealized simple geometry. Additionally, most studies have...
One of the central challenges in solid-state chemistry is synthetic control over structure. Owing to limited reactivity of Pb with transition metals at ambient pressure and high temperature as well as the variety of properties that emerge from the few known binary transition-metal–Pb compounds, this research focuses on accessing and...
This thesis is composed of two major parts. The first major part includes the first two chapters. In Chapter 1, we go over the history and background of spin glass theory and introduce the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick (SK) model and the Ghatak-Sherrington (GS) model. In Chapter 2, we introduce the Thouless-Anderson-Palmer (TAP)...
Two major areas of research in the field of manufacturing are miniaturization and 3D printing. The trend towards miniaturization stems from the desire and need for additional functionality and improved performance for products with ever-smaller footprints. Miniaturization opens manufacturing to new applications such as tissue engineering and surface texturing. Meanwhile,...
In the first chapter I introduce the ideas that link selling information to surplus extraction. In my environment the seller may be uncertain about how much the buyer both has already learned before contracting with the seller (belief types) and is able to learn after contracting with the seller (information...
Over the last decade, a rising trend of corporations publicly acting on social and political issues has come to the fore. The issues and methods have both varied widely—from immigration to abortion, and from advertisements to boycotts. This introduces an interesting puzzle in the realm of strategy research: Where does...
Heterogeneous catalysts based on metal oxides are of significant interest for many industrial chemical reactions. These catalysts, however, often suffer from ill-defined structures that preclude better understanding of the surface phenomena. Thus, structurally well-defined catalysts have received growing attention by making it feasible to understand the kinetics and reaction mechanisms....
Prenatal alcohol exposure is a global health concern. Despite guidelines advising against it, many women continue to drink throughout their pregnancies. Exposure to alcohol can have lifelong medical, social, emotional, and intellectual consequences on a developing fetus. Women in Uruguay have demonstrated consistently high self-reported alcohol consumption during pregnancy, but...
Computer systems supported by photonic interconnects and photonic memory devices can reach performance and energy efficiency levels unattainable through purely electronic means across scales, from processor chips to the data center. However, the promised benefits cannot be realized through a simple replacement process; to reach their full potential, several aspects...