MS, University of Cincinnati, 2001, Engineering : Environmental Engineering

The recent development of less expensive and more efficient ultra-filtration membranes has stimulated a new method of biological waste treatment: membrane bioreactors (MBR). The MBR is a combination of an aeration tank for aerobic biological waste treatment and a membrane unit for physical particulate separation. For wastewater treatment, the MBR process is a modification of the conventional activated sludge process, where a membrane module is used instead of a settling tank to achieve the separation of treated water from the mixed liquor. Wastewater effluent quality is well-monitored for discharge permitting and future regulations will only be more stringent. A treatment system capable of high quality effluent is needed to address future discharge requirements. More recalcitrant compounds such as dyes, pesticides, and other organics are more frequently encountered in treatment processes. Since the ultrafiltration membrane retains these mostly insoluble compounds, their ultimate disposal is controlled and hopefully as less harmful degraded byproducts. The MBR system is capable of effective treatment even for difficult waste streams. In this study, a pilot-scale MBR is operated to investigate the performance of the system in the biodegradation of wastewater containing high molecular weight compounds. Typically, these larger compounds are difficult to treat using conventional methods. Retention of these compounds by the membrane unit improves the chances of microbial degradation. Several solids retention times (SRTs) ranging from 30 days to 2 days will be monitored and the impacts will be evaluated. Biological parameters including microbial diversity, cell viability, and enzymatic activity will be investigated at each SRT. The soluble mixed liquor will be analyzed for several physical/chemical properties throughout the study to evaluate available substrate. Chemical oxygen demand, proteins, and carbohydrates will be analyzed to show the fate of the feed substrates. Ef (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Dr. Makram Suidan (Advisor) Subjects: Engineering, Environmental

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2024, Civil Engineering (Engineering and Technology)

Practical considerations for the design of an AMD treatment plant located in the Sunday Creek watershed were investigated. A mixed culture of bacteria originally from and AMD site located at Wolf Run, Noble County, OH, was enriched under various conditions in AMD from the Sunday Creek site. Following the work of Almomani (2023), the effects of inoculum size (1%, 2%, 5%, and 10%), nutrient enrichment conditions (reagent-grade ammonium and phosphate, no nutrient addition, and commercially available fertilizers), and temperature (8 °C, room temperature, and 32 °C) on the iron-oxidation kinetics of this culture were investigated. Inoculum size had no statistically significant effect on oxidation rates, although the oxidation rate at 5% and 10% inoculum (0.175 and 0.171 h^-1 , respectively) were observed to be nearly twice the oxidation rate at 1% inoculum (0.107 h^- 1 ). There was no significant difference between the oxidation rates of samples containing 0.1 M ammonium sulfate and 5 mM potassium phosphate (0.156 h^-1 ) and samples containing only inoculum (0.108 h^-1 ), and commercial fertilizer was observed to decrease iron oxidation rates (0.0547 h^-1 ), although the total time from inoculation to total iron oxidation was similar to that of the samples containing only inoculum. Iron oxidation rates increased with temperature, and the oxidation kinetics were fitted using the Arrhenius model yielding an activation energy of 70.1 kJ mol^-1 °K^-1 and a pre-exponential factor of 2.21 ∙ 10^11 h^-1 . A pilot-scale batch reaction experiment was conducted in field conditions at the Sunday Creek site in a 1250 gal clarifier. Oxidation rates were observed to be 0.012 h^-1 after the second subculturing, which was lower than any rate observed in the laboratory experiments. This was explained by a combination of suboptimal factors, including low temperatures and inclusion of commercial fertilizer as a secondary nutrient source. Finally, a process optimiz (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Guy Riefler (Advisor); Natalie Kruse-Daniels (Committee Member); Lei Wu (Committee Member); Daniel Che (Committee Member) Subjects: Biogeochemistry; Civil Engineering; Engineering; Environmental Engineering; Experiments; Microbiology

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2023, Civil Engineering (Engineering and Technology)

The effects of pH, nutrients, and organic carbon on iron oxidation rates by mixed cultures of iron-oxidizing bacteria collected from three different extremely acidic AMD sites were investigated for the possibility of remediating the Truetown AMD at the Sunday creek, OH. Four values of pH (2.0, 2.5, 3.0, and 4.0), four concentrations of ammonium (0.01 M, 0.05 M, 0.1 M, and 0.5 M), five concentrations of phosphate (0.1 mM, 0.5 mM, 1.0 mM, 5.0 mM, and 10.0 mM), and three concentrations of glucose (0.05 M, 0.1 M, and 0.2 M) were tested. The best pH, ammonium concentration, and phosphate concentration were found to be 2.5, 0.1 M, and 5.0 mM, respectively, resulting in an iron oxidation rate of 0.570 hr-1, while the organic carbon resulted in approximately 52% inhibition after only one subculture. The iron oxidation rates achieved in this study surpassed the maximum iron oxidation rate achieved in most studies reported in the literature except for two studies where they adopted significantly different operation conditions. The best culture was found to be the one collected from Wolf Run site of predominantly A. ferrooxidans. Applying these results to Truetown AMD achieved a 12-fold increase in biotic iron oxidation rates, and a 1327-fold increase compared to the abiotic iron oxidation rates at Truetown site. In conclusion, iron-oxidizing bacteria, and nutrient addition significantly enhanced iron oxidation rates at very low pH. With further economical and operational optimization, AMD remediation by microorganisms can become a fast, sustainable, and low-cost treatment method exceeding other available AMD remediation techniques.

Committee: Guy Riefler (Advisor); Peter Coschigano (Committee Member); Deborah McAvoy (Committee Member); Issam Khoury (Committee Member) Subjects: Civil Engineering; Environmental Engineering

Master of Science in Biological Sciences, Youngstown State University, 2021, Department of Biological Sciences and Chemistry

The calcaneal (Achilles) tendon is capable of handling tremendous tensile loads during locomotion. However, cases of Achilles tendon ruptures have increased in recent years, requiring long healing times. Repaired tendons are more prone to re-rupture after healing, which may negatively impact patient quality of life. Thus, there exists a need for new methods of treatment aimed to improve and accelerate tendon healing. We studied the effect a combination of collagen, platelet-rich plasma (PRP), and mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) on healing a complete Achilles tendon rupture in a Lewis rat model. The PRP was produced from rat blood collected during exsanguination procedures. MSCs from rat bone marrow met the criteria to be considered stem cells in a rat model, as they were seen to be plastic adherent and capable of tri-lineage differentiation. Rupture was surgically simulated by a full-thickness transection of the tendon, followed by surgical repair. All treatments included a strip of CollaTapeTM wrapped around the repair, acting as a vehicle for the biologics prior to closure of the wound. A single, 100µL subcutaneous injection of MSCs, PRP, or both were administered adjacent to the incision and assigned 1- or 2-week recovery periods before harvesting the operated and unoperated tendons. We observed promising trends which show an increase in gene expression activity in the treated tendons and differences in the expression of Col1a1 and Col3a1 which align with our predicted response to the treatments. However, due to contamination of the GAPDH RT-PCR results, the collagen analysis results remain inconclusive. The biomechanical properties of the tendons were determined using force-extension analysis. When normalized as a percent of the unoperated tendon, a significant improvement was seen in the strain at failure and in ultimate tensile strength after only one week of recovery in the rats who received any biological treatments used in this study, when compared to a sur (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Diana Fagan PhD (Advisor); Gary Walker PhD (Committee Member); Carmen Panaitof PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Biology; Biomechanics; Biomedical Research; Physiology; Surgery

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2020, Pharmacy: Pharmaceutical Sciences

Background: Several biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) have been approved and are available for treating juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Relatively little is known about the prescription patterns, transition from conventional synthetic (cs)DMARDs to bDMARDs. This study addresses the gap in knowledge by examining patterns of initial prescriptions, investigating time to initiation of bDMARDs, and assessing key risk factors associated with the time to first bDMARD. This study also evaluates the persistence and effectiveness of bDMARDs among newly diagnosed JIA patients. Methods: Using longitudinal patient-level data from the electronic medical records (EMR) of a large Midwestern pediatric hospital from 2009 to 2018, all patients with newly diagnosed JIA were identified. We examined the patients' initial prescriptions, prescribing patterns within three months of diagnosis, and corresponding disease activity. Kaplan-Meier analysis and log-rank tests were performed to assess time to initiation of bDMARDs. Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate hazard ratios for covariates that impacted the time to event. Inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) was used to estimate the treatment response, and Kaplan–Meier analyses were conducted to assess persistence. Results: Of 821 JIA patients, most (56.9%) were prescribed NSAIDs as initial medication. The proportion of patients with initial prescription for a csDMARD increased substantially. Nearly half (43.3%) of polyarthritis patients received a bDMARD therapy within three months of diagnosis, 14.4% as monotherapy and 28.3% in combination with a csDMARD. Time to initiation of bDMARD therapy was significantly shorter for patients with a positive rheumatoid factor, long-lasting morning stiffness, worse disease subcategories, and/or public health insurance. The highest hazard ratio for time to initiation of bDMARDs was seen with severe disease subcategory: ERA (HR 4.01, p<.0001) a (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jianfei (Jeff) Guo Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Ana Hincapie Ph.D. (Committee Member); Bin Huang Ph.D. (Committee Member); Esi Morgan (Committee Member); Patricia Wigle Pharm.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Pharmaceuticals

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Wright State University, 2020, Biomedical Sciences PhD

Tumors are heterogeneous systems, whose growth is influenced by intrinsic properties of malignant cells, external systemic factors (i.e. immune, neural, endocrine, etc.), and the dynamic interactions between tumor cells and their microenvironment. Given the inherent complexity of cancers, combined with the continual evolution of tumors and the development of treatment resistance, a precision medicine approach may not provide an optimal clinical response. Exploring a new paradigm that focuses on regulating cancer as a system may not only control tumor progression but also address the extraordinary challenges of tumor heterogeneity and disease recurrence in order to improve clinical outcomes. As a group of discrete, growth-restricted tumor colonies that regulate their own growth and secrete a large number of tumor-inhibitory signals, RENCA macrobeads function as a biological-system, providing the opportunity for a systems-therapeutic approach to cancer management. Previous work has demonstrated that RENCA macrobeads restrict the growth of various cancer cells both in vitro as well as in preclinical and clinical studies; however, the molecular mechanism(s) of this inhibition is unknown. In this study, we demonstrated that factors secreted by RENCA macrobeads significantly altered the transcript levels of multiple MEF2 isoforms in targeted tumor cells. Suppression of various MEF2 isoforms markedly reduced the growth inhibitory effect of RENCA macrobeads and abrogated macrobead induced S-phase arrest. Importantly, we identified an essential role for the MEF2D isoform in mediating RENCA macrobead-induced inhibition. In addition, the cell-surface receptor, EGFR, was shown to be involved in the anti-proliferative response to RENCA macrobeads. Growth inhibition was more robust in cells overexpressing EGFR and was associated with cell accumulation in S-phase. In cell lines with reduced EGFR kinase activity or low-levels of cell-surface receptor, we demonstrated that RENCA (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Lawrence S. Gazda Ph.D. (Committee Co-Chair); Madhavi Kadakia Ph.D. (Committee Co-Chair); Weiwen Long Ph.D. (Committee Member); Michael Markey Ph.D. (Committee Member); David Cool Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Biomedical Research

MS, University of Cincinnati, 2011, Engineering and Applied Science: Environmental Engineering

Membrane technology is a well established method for wastewater treatment with advantages including: relatively easy to operate; low turbidity and BOD in the effluent; and less space required for treatment (Tchobanoglous et al., 2003). However, some of these benefits are offset by a few disadvantages including: higher capital cost; high energy costs; and high maintenance costs (Tchobanoglous et al., 2003). A novel gravity-flow filtration system named a Biomass Concentrator Reactor (BCR), developed by EPA-NRMRL and the University of Cincinnati (Patent No. 6821425 issued Nov. 23, 2004), has been proposed to achieve lower cost membrane filtration while maintaining the benefits of typical membrane bioreactors. The BCR was tested using synthetic municipal wastewater under conditions of typical aerobic degradation, as well as alternating aerobic and anoxic conditions for biological nitrogen removal. Two solids retention times (SRT) were considered, 6 day and 15 day, at 9 hour hydraulic retention time (HRT). The recycle flow for the alternating aerobic/anoxic reactor was twice the reactor flow rate. Under these conditions, the BCR was able to achieve nearly 100% solids separation of mixed liquor with less than 2.5 cm of hydraulic head loss. Total nitrogen (TN) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removals are summarized in the table below for the various operating conditions. Reactor 1 was operated with separate aerobic and anoxic sections while reactor 2 was operated under only aerobic conditions. HRT (hrs) SRT (days) COD removal (%) TN removal (%) Reactor 1 9 6 95 79 15 97 75 Reactor 2 9 6 93 53 15 93 43

Committee: Makram Suidan PhD (Committee Chair); Albert Venosa PhD (Committee Member); George Sorial PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Sanitation

MS, University of Cincinnati, 2010, Arts and Sciences : Biological Sciences

Nitrification in drinking water distribution systems is a problem prevalent throughout the world, and it has become more pertinent since chloramination has become a popular disinfectant technique. Because nitrification requires ammonia, removing ammonia in source waters prior to treatment would benefit both the utility and consumers. Biologically active filtration is a well known technology in Europe but its reliability, and thus implementation, is questioned in the United States. In this study, natural microbial flora from a full-scale treatment plant in Greene County, Ohio was used to seed two pilot scale rapid sand filters. These filters were evaluated for their ability to oxidize ammonia-nitrogen. Molecular techniques, including 16S ribosomal RNA and amoA gene sequencing and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis, were used to phylogenetically identify and fingerprint the isolates. In addition to investigating nitrification, microbial arsenic oxidation was also investigated in pilot-scale filters. Chemical analysis and microbial ecology is compared and discussed in terms of operational changes and water chemistry.

Committee: Ronald Debry PhD (Committee Chair); Jodi Shann PhD (Committee Member); Darren Lytle PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Microbiology

MS, University of Cincinnati, 2007, Engineering : Environmental Engineering

The objective of this project was to evaluate methods for possibly overcoming limitations of methanol addition for full-scale facilities that have limited available anoxic solids retention time (SRT). There is considerable uncertainty associated with the denitrification potential of aerobically grown methylophilic bacteria and its effect on full-scale plant design/operation. It was hypothesized that methanol addition under aerobic conditions (bleeding a small amount of methanol into the aerobic zone of a BNR process) could alleviate anoxic SRT limitations in a full-scale plant by increasing the active methylotrophic biomass content in the process. It is critical to understand denitrification kinetics under these conditions. To perform this research, 3.5 liter sequencing batch reactors were operated to observe methanol acclimation. Data was collected by monitoring the SBRs to determine the specific denitrification rate (SDNR). Once the SBRs stabilized, High Food to Microorganism tests were performed to determine the maximum anoxic growth rate of the methanol denitrifiers.

Committee: Dr. Daniel Oerther (Advisor) Subjects: Engineering, Environmental