Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2017, Civil Engineering (Engineering and Technology)

Low-temperature cracking is a major pavement distress for asphalt pavements in most northern parts of the United States and other colder regions of the world. Pavements exposed to cold conditions are subjected to thermal stresses which can result in cracking when the induced stresses exceed the tensile strength. Local governments and road agencies spend large sums of money annually to repair defects in pavements caused by low-temperature cracking. Researchers need straightforward and routine test devices to characterize asphalt mixture's low-temperature performance in the laboratory. These tools are also required to design pavements that can perform satisfactorily in cold temperatures, and for the prediction of frequency and magnitude of cracks developed in asphalt pavements. The low-temperature performance characteristics of asphalt mixtures can be grouped into two broad components. There is the stiffness and thermal contraction component which accounts for the magnitude of strains or stresses induced in the mixture during cooling. The strength or fracture toughness component accounts for the ability of the mixture to resist the induced stresses and to prevent cracking. The main objective of this dissertation was to develop straightforward and routine tests devices for low-temperature characterization that would account for these two components of mixture's low-temperature performance. The Ohio Coefficient of Thermal Contraction (CTC) device developed as part of this dissertation was shown to produce repeatable test data. Asphalt mixture thermal strains recorded from the CTC device fitted the Bahia-Anderson CTC mathematical model for mixtures with a coefficient of determination (R2) greater than 0.999. Mixture properties such as binder grade, binder content, aging and the inclusion of recycled materials [Recycled Asphalt Pavement (RAP) and Recycled Asphalt Shingles (RAS)] resulted in a significant change in the CTC. Asphalt mixtures prepared with two aggrega (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Kim Sang-Soo Dr. (Advisor); Nazzal Munir Dr. (Committee Member); M. Sargand Shad Professor (Committee Member); Masada Teruhisa Professor (Committee Member); Mark McMills Dr. (Committee Member); Yu Xiong Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Civil Engineering; Engineering; Geotechnology

Doctor of Education, Miami University, 2020, Educational Leadership

Students make a choice to attend the Career Technical Centers (CTC) in Ohio. This choice involves leaving their home school district(s). Students are leaving the known to go to the unknown. The research question is, "Why did students choose to attend a CTC, and how did their career outcome expectations influence their decision to attend?" The data were collected utilizing both a quantitative questionnaire and a qualitative focus group. Utilizing the theoretical framework, Social Cognitive Career Theory, the data were analyzed through the lens of a student's self-efficacy, career interests, and career outcome expectations. The analysis indicated three themes: career education, decision-making, and career and college readiness. The participants in the study were current second year students at the career center, which made them seniors in high school. These students had made the choice to attend a CTC and also made the choice to return and stay for a second year. Participants voluntarily participated and completed an anonymous survey and also volunteered to participate in a focus group. The survey and focus group questions focused on the reasons students enrolled in the CTC. The results indicated a strong influence of a student's self-efficacy in the decision process that included career interests and career outcome expectations. The quantitative data of the questionnaire provided statistical analysis of questions asked; the qualitative questions provided additional details and specific examples. The research project was a problem-in-practice, and the data gathered will be utilized to implement strategies to maintain and grow enrollment at the Ohio CTC. The final analysis indicated five areas of implication to the problem-in-practice. The study collected the research data directly from the students who experienced the decision-making process personally. This is their opportunity to tell their story.

Committee: Kathleen Knight Abowitz Dr. (Committee Co-Chair); Lucian Szlizewski Dr. (Committee Co-Chair); James Swartz Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Vocational Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2017, Chemical Engineering

Cancer is a disease affecting the global population. Especially, cancer becomes truly deadly and unstoppable when it metastasizes. Various cancer biomarkers are being developed and applied into clinical practices, but there are still many different obstacles and challenges in the field that need to be overcome. In this study, two different technologies are used to detect, characterize, and separate cancer cells and various types of cells and organisms. First one is circulating tumor cell (CTC) technology, which is composed of red blood cell lysis, negative depletion method, and integrated staining of immunocytochemical staining and RNA in situ hybridization. The second technology is single cell magnetophoresis (SCM), which measures and analyzes the magnetophoretic mobility induced by the external magnetic field created by the specially-designed magnet. First technology enables us to assess many different markers at once at protein and nucleic acid levels on a single cell basis, whereas the second technology enables us to utilize the intrinsic magnetic susceptibility of the individual cell and use the characteristics in various applications. Applying the CTC technology developed and optimized in our lab, HPV 16 expressions are characterized in HPV-positive squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, and the effects of different PARP-inhibitor dosing levels are investigated in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients. Understanding CTCs, the major key players in metastasis, and using those discoveries as a form of biomarker is important because it can help us understand more about metastasis and cancer and also provide guidance in decision-making and evaluation. Applying the SCM technology, intrinsic magnetic susceptibility of algae and cancer cells are quantitatively analyzed to understand iron and glucose metabolism in cancerous cells. Furthermore, based on the differences in iron regulation in stem-like cells and non-stem tumor cells, label- (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jeffrey Chalmers (Advisor) Subjects: Chemical Engineering

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2017, Biomedical Engineering (Engineering and Technology)

The role mechanical properties play in the interconnected network of cellular control mechanisms is becoming better understood. Specifically, mechanical stiffness has been shown to be a marker capable of distinguishing between malignant and benign cancer phenotypes. Traditional techniques to measure cell stiffness share the commonality of low throughput. Microfluidic technology has been used to attain stiffness related data at a high throughput, however data collection and analysis is almost exclusively reliant on video spectroscopy. Through the use of a serial multi-constriction microfluidic device, cell ease of transit, i.e., agility, can be measured by the transit through the serial network developed herein. This measure of agility has the capability to differentiate cells based on phenotype, specifically phenotypes characteristic of the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, EMT, which occurs in cancer cells upon initiation of metastasis. By developing a compatible microfluidic sensor, the post processing of cell agility data has the potential to be automated and moved toward a non-video spectroscopy dependent system. These improvements push the technology of cellular mechanical property data analysis toward a faster, more convenient platform, thus allowing a better understanding of how mechanical properties correspond with biological behavior of mammalian cells.

Committee: Monica Burdick Dr. (Advisor); Robert Williams Dr. (Committee Member); Douglas Goetz Dr. (Committee Member); Allan Showalter Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Biomechanics; Biomedical Engineering

Master of Science, University of Toledo, 2011, Civil Engineering

Membrane filtration is an effective technique used in water treatment to remove particles, organic pollutants, inorganic compounds, and microorganisms to accomplish a biologically safe and consistently high quality drinking water. One significant challenge to membrane separation technologies is membrane fouling causing pressure drop, flux decline and eventually significant cost of membrane replacement. Specifically, membrane biofouling is considered a major problem due to the capabilities of microorganisms to adapt their growth rate, multiply, and relocate even if they were 99.99% removed from the feed stream. The objective of this research was to determine the impact of metabolic activity of the pure culture of biofoulants on the membrane biofilm metabolic activity, biofilm formation rate, and operational flux decline. In this study, the metabolic activity of Pseudomonas fluorescens in active, inactive, and different growth phases were investigated during cross-flow filtration using a cellulose acetate ultrafiltration (UF) membrane at different sampling times (4, 11, and 24 hours) of filtration. In accordance with previous biofilm studies, ATP was used to determine the metabolical activity of the biomass. Dehydrogenase activity assessment of the membrane biofilm using CTC was also carried out on intact biofilms. Our results showed that after 10-12 hours of filtration, the biofilm ATP levels reach an equilibrium concentration (avg. 8 amol/cell) and do not appear to be related to biofoulant ATP levels from cells harvested in the late exponential growth phase regardless of initial ATP level. However, the bacterial growth phase affected the ATP activity of cells. Membrane biofilms formed from biofoulants in the lag and stationary phase of growth contained similar levels of ATP (avg. 1.8 amol/cell), and the exponential phase cells resulted in significant higher activity. Flux decline does not appear to be related to metabolic activity of the biofoulant or biofilm fol (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Cyndee L. Gruden PhD (Advisor); Youngwoo Seo PhD (Committee Member); Defne Apul PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Civil Engineering; Environmental Engineering

Master of Technical and Scientific Communication, Miami University, 2004, Technical and Scientific Communication

To fulfill one of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Technical and Scientific Communication, I performed a 20-week internship at CTC Parker Automation (CTC) as a technical writer. During the internship, I wrote and edited product communications in the forms of user guides, online help, and installation sheets. I was responsible for all aspects of these communications, including preparing the graphics, coordinating reviews, and preparing the files for printing. I interviewed subject matter experts, such as software, hardware, quality-control, and customer-support engineers, to obtain product and user information. This internship was my first experience in the field of technical communication. I learned the importance of seeking information from experts throughout the company to produce effective user documentation.

Committee: Paul Anderson (Advisor) Subjects:

Master of Technical and Scientific Communication, Miami University, 2001, Technical and Scientific Communication

This report centers on a four-month internship I performed in the Documentation Department of CTC Parker Automation from February to May 1999. My major responsibility was revising previous documentation and writing new material for the company's computer hardware and software products. My largest assignment was writing the online help for a new industrial computer interface, the Shell. The first chapter of this report describes CTC Parker Automation and its documentation department. The second chapter highlights my major internship activities. The third chapter discusses my work writing online help for the Shell computer interface. In the final chapter, I analyze my internship challenges and the lessons I learned facing those challenges. I also discuss how I adapted the Problem-Solving Method for Technical and Scientific Communication to my particular situation.

Committee: Paul Anderson (Advisor) Subjects: