Doctor of Philosophy, University of Akron, 2005, Chemistry

New symmetric and asymmetric types of N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) precursors, grouped into mono-dentate, bi-dentate and tri-dentate chelating ligands, were synthesized. The reaction of the carbene precursors with silver(I) oxide in methanol at room temperature affords the silver(I) N-heterocyclic carbene complexes. The solubility and stability of silver(I) NHC complexes in water depends on the ligand and counter anion. In-vitro test of water soluble silver(I) NHC complex, [AgC17N5O2H21]+ [OH]- 3a shows antimicrobial activity as good as 0.5 % AgNO3 using the same amount of silver on pathogenic bacteria and fungi of clinical importance. The encapsulation of Ag(I) NHC complexes, [Ag2C34N10O4H]2+ 2[OH]-, 6 and [Ag3C54N12O2H]3+[Br]-2[OH]-, 8a respectively by electrospinning technique, delivers bioactive nanosilver ions which improved the antimicrobial activity of the Ag(I) NHC over the un-encapsulated forms. The electrospun mat of 6 sustained the release of bioactive nanosilver ions for at least seven days. Electrospun fiber mat containing 75 % of 6 showed improved antimicrobial efficacies in-vitro over silver sulfadiazine cream (SSD), with the rate of bactericidal activity six fold faster than SSD and ca. the same rate as 0.5 % AgNO3. The amount of silver in the fiber mat is six times lower than SSD and 8 fold lower than 0.5 % AgNO3. The size of the nanosilver ions of electrospun mat of 6 is <20 nm, while that of 8a is in the range of 50-100 nm. Electrospun fiber of 8a is lower in bactericidal activity than that of 6. The NHC precursors also showed antimicrobial activity at higher concentrations than corresponding Ag(I) NHC complex. The thermal stability of NHC precursor salt C26H23Br3N6O, 7a is ca. 304 °C. This is relatively higher than most Ag(I) NHC complexes and imidazolium salts reported. Toxicity assessment of the NHC precursor 5 shows an LD50 of 100 mg/Kg in the rat.

Committee: Wiley Youngs (Advisor) Subjects:

Doctor of Nursing Practice, Mount St. Joseph University , 2023, Department of Nursing

Historically, a visit to the medical director was not consistently provided to each new patient at the TriHealth Outpatient Alcohol Drug Treatment Program (TOADTP). This resulted in patients being dispossessed of access to care such as evaluation and comprehensive treatment of co-occurring mental health diagnoses, the initiation of pharmacotherapy, and initiation of medication-assisted treatment for persons living with substance use disorders. This project centered on development and implementation of a standardized intake process for TOADTP patients with the goal of increasing referrals to the medical director to expand access to these lifesaving interventions. Over an eight-week period, pre-intervention data were collected. During this pre-intervention period, only one of the 12 new patients was referred to the medical director. Development, education, and mobilization of the new standardized intake process included: analyzing the old intake process for variances, educating the direct care team about the benefits of practicing from an evidence-based platform, developing a new intake process that included a hard stop in the electronic health record, and educating the TOADTP team about it. The process then was mobilized. Post-intervention outcome measures were collected over an 8-week period. These measures revealed that 17 out the 24 new patients were referred to the medical director. In sum, the implementation of a standardized referral process to the medical director increased referrals from 8.4% to 70.8%, thus expanding access to life-saving evidence-based care for people living with substance use disorders.

Committee: Rachel Baker Dr. (Advisor) Subjects: Mental Health; Nursing

MARCH, University of Cincinnati, 2021, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Architecture

Affordable housing in the United States is slipping out of grasp for millions of Americans every year. In the past cities used public housing as a powerful tool to provide adequate housing for those that were unable to afford housing in the private market. The downfall of public housing as a tool cities use is a complex story that involves changes in policy, changes in public perception, and changes in the built product. Since 1998 no additional federal public housing units have been built, contributing to the existing housing affordability crisis that millions of Americans suffer from. It is time to reexamine public housing as a tool the city and the federal government can use to address the affordable housing crisis. This document will analyze past failures, identify past successes, and re-imagine how a new public housing system would function to address the issues of today and prevent the issues of tomorrow.

Committee: Michael McInturf M.Arch. (Committee Chair); Elizabeth Riorden M.Arch. (Committee Member) Subjects: Architecture

MARCH, University of Cincinnati, 2021, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Architecture

Rising sea levels caused by the warming of ocean waters, and freshwater from melting ice sheets threaten the California coast. If the global warming trend continues, about two-thirds of Southern California beaches would disappear. There are three possible solutions for endangered communities – retreat, resist, or adapt. This project will examine a combination of techniques that exist and are nonexistent on Beach-Barber Tract, one of La Jolla's sixteen neighborhoods but could be implemented into Fiesta Island's, Mission Bay Park. The proposition is that a combination of existing building solutions might be adapted. Those include walled courtyards varying from residential to civic scale, buildings raised on stilts or piloti, landscape-based solutions and hybrids between built form and landscape, including mat buildings. The mat building might be thought of as a constructed sponge, able to absorb storm surge and both accommodate existing use patterns and offer alternative use of urban space. Case studies of architectural and landscape techniques will support the design thesis and a range of types and urban organizations will be roughly calibrated to anticipate future storms. The proposal will provide both a theoretical and practical set of projections to redesign a more resilient coastal community.

Committee: Edward Mitchell M.Arch (Committee Chair); Vincent Sansalone M.Arch. (Committee Member) Subjects: Architecture

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2020, Earth Sciences

The isotopic composition and mineralogy of modern microbialites provides us with tools useful for interpreting the formation processes and environments of ancient microbialites. Growing in the hypersaline and turbid Storr's Lake on San Salvador Island in The Bahamas today are microbialites with low levels of photosynthesis and high levels of sulfate reduction-in contrast to many of their modern counterparts. Living planktonic, motile microorganisms and suspended algal and bacterial debris create the high turbidity of the shallow lake (<2 m) and rapidly attenuate sunlight in the water column. Within Storr's Lake microbial metabolisms induce precipitation of carbonate within microenvironments of the microbial mats. Both high-Mg calcite (HMC) and aragonite are found within a majority of the microbialites measured leading to the hypothesis that the organomineralization process involves a step where HMC transforms to aragonite. Mineralogy and elemental analysis of a wide sampling of microbialites was undertaken to understand the extent of aragonite within Storr's Lake microbialites. It was found that aragonite occurs at water depths greater than 40 cm within the lake and was present in all but one microbialite measured in this study. New calcium (Ca) stable isotopic analyses from the thermal ionization mass spectrometer using a 42Ca-43Ca double spike provides evidence for exploring the systems fractionating Ca within Storr's Lake water and microbialites. In contrast to geochemical data and previous Mg stable isotopic measurements on the same waters, the Ca stable isotopic value (δ44/40Ca) of water in Storr's Lake is not homogeneous. While the northern sector is primarily influenced by seawater, the southern sector δ44/40Ca is shifted away from seawater to lower values, suggesting internal variability within the lake. In both microbialites measured, δ44/40Ca is strongly correlated to mineralogy and trace elements in the carbonate. To explore the potenti (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Elizabeth Griffith PhD (Advisor); Matthew Saltzman PhD (Committee Member); Thomas Darrah PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Biogeochemistry; Earth; Geobiology; Geochemistry; Geological; Geology; Morphology; Petroleum Geology

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, 2018, Chemistry

The enzymatic machinery for S-adenosylmethionine (AdoMet) synthesis is present in almost every known organism, with the only exceptions being some infectious agents and parasites that acquire AdoMet from their hosts. AdoMet is a biologically active metabolite, with a sulfonium center that activates each of the attached carbons for nucleophilic attack, making AdoMet able to participate in a wide variety of essential biochemical processes. AdoMet is involved in group transfer reactions, including the provision of methyl groups in most transmethylation reactions, and of aminopropyl groups for polyamine synthesis. Other important AdoMet-dependent processes include the biosynthesis of cyclopropyl fatty acids, modified nucleosides of tRNA and biotin, as well as some radical-mediated biochemical reactions. This versatility places AdoMet in a pivotal role in cellular metabolism. It is therefore not surprising that impaired or disrupted AdoMet synthesis leads to cessation of cell growth and developmental defects and chronic disorders. The only known route for the biosynthesis of AdoMet from L-methionine and ATP is catalyzed by S-adenosylmethionine synthetase/Methionine adenosyltransferase (MAT, MetK; EC 2.5.1.6). This unique role puts the family of AdoMet synthetases in a powerful position in the regulation of primary metabolic processes through AdoMet production and, at the same time, opens new possibilities for the development of novel antimicrobial agents. AdoMet is also required for the synthesis of quorum sensing (QS) bacterial signaling molecules. There is significant interest in reducing pathogenicity by QS disruption because of the absence of growth inhibitory effects, thereby reducing the strong selective pressure for the development of antibiotic resistance. The first project in this dissertation presents an alternative approach to QS inhibition through L-methionine analogs that are alternative substrates for the bacterial enzyme, but generate AdoMet analog (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Ronald Viola PhD (Committee Chair); Robert Blumenthal PhD (Committee Member); John Bellizzi PhD (Committee Member); Donald Ronning PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Biochemistry; Chemistry

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Akron, 0, Chemical Engineering

The motions of droplets on fibers are important to many industrial applications. In particular, the movements of drops control the performance of fibrous filters. Fibrous filters are widely used in the petrochemical industries to separate aerosol droplets from air to protect the environment and worker health. The performance of a filter medium depends on factors like fiber size, droplet, face velocity, liquid properties and gas conditions. In the operation of a fibrous filter, the droplets carried by a flowing gas are captured by the filter medium due to collisions with the fibers of the medium. Liquid droplets can deform when forces are applied and, when captured on fibers, the droplets can spread over the fiber surface, coalesce into larger drops, and can migrate within the filter as drops or as a flowing film. The movements of the drops on the fibers after they are captured require study to develop theory, correlations, and data to validate models. The overall goal of this dissertation work is to develop new generalized theory for design and manufacture of gas-liquid separation media by developing correlations for gas flow conditions and movements of liquid drops in fibrous media. These relationships will enable the design and development of the next generation of fibrous filtration/separation media with superior performance. There are four experimental tasks to achieve this goal. Experiments on droplet interactions with single fibers, crossing fibers, thin and thick mats. These experiments were conducted to study the shape and migration of drops on fibers and provide fundamental understanding and insight as to how drops attach to, move on and detach from fibers. Different liquids with different drop sizes were tested that give a range of contact angles on the fibers. Different fiber materials with different fiber diameters were evaluated that give a range of surface properties. The liquids, fibers materials and sizes, and droplet sizes were selected as those (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: George Chase (Advisor) Subjects: Chemical Engineering

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2016, Geological Sciences

The Waukesha Lagerstatte in the Brandon Bridge Formation (Silurian: Llandovery Series, Telychian Stage) hosts a diverse, exceptionally preserved fauna. Similar to a number of other Silurian Lagerstatten in Laurentia, it was deposited on a warm, shallow-marine carbonate platform. The Waukesha Biota includes an interesting assemblage of organisms, some of which are characteristic of Silurian epeiric seas, others of which are expected but rare in the Silurian, and still others that could be considered “holdovers” of groups more characteristic of the Cambrian. The Waukesha Lagerstatte hosts a diverse biota of metazoans that are mostly marine but also probably some terrestrial forms. Taxa include biomineralized trilobites, conulariids, Sphenothallus, and a variety of non-biomineralized or lightly skeletonized arthropods, lobopodians, `worms,' a cubozoan, chordates, and graptolites. Echinoderms, cephalopods, brachiopods, gastropods, bivalves, bryozoans, and corals, which are biomineralized and normally common in Silurian shelf lithofacies, are rare or unknown. The Waukesha Lagerstatte substantially increases our understanding of the biota of Silurian carbonate platform ecosystems. Many of the taxa are represented by similar organisms in other less well-known Silurian Lagerstatten. The existence of the diverse Waukesha Biota is the result of specific taphonomic processes related to localized and atypical depositional conditions. Microbial processes contributed in important ways to exceptional preservation in this deposit.

Committee: Loren Babcock PhD (Advisor); William Ausich PhD (Committee Member); Hunter John PhD (Committee Member); Lower Steven PhD (Committee Member); Feldmann Rodney PhD (Other) Subjects: Biology; Earth; Ecology; Geology; Microbiology; Paleontology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2015, Chemical Physics

Resolution and sensitivity in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) can be improved by eliminating the anisotropic influences from the spectrum, but this destroys useful information about the sample. Described in this thesis are methodological advances for enhancing the sensitivity and resolution of solid-state NMR in experiments that correlate or separate the anisotropic interactions. The symmetry pathway formalism is used to describe the invention of a new 2D correlation experiment called the shifting d-echo. It is twice as sensitive and more resistant to spectral artifacts than similar experiments in its class. The resolution exceeds that of experiments that do not correlate interactions. The capabilities of the shifting d-echo experiment are demonstrated by experiments probing the local structure, bonding, and magnetic properties of the iron group chloride dideuterates. The accuracy of the shifting d-echo measurements leads to a refined point-dipole model of the paramagnetic shift tensor in which the positions of the dipole sources are not restricted to the nuclei. Another new technique called Phase Incremented Echo Train Acquisition (PIETA) is introduced for enhancing the sensitivity of inhomogeneously broadened NMR spectra. With PIETA one can ensure coherence pathway selection over an entire train of echoes and collect information on the behavior of NMR interactions that are not refocused by the echo train. The ability of PIETA to enhance the sensitivity of a specific class of experiments designed to separate and correlate the information present in spinning sidebands is described extensively. The document concludes with a brief demonstration of how ideas behind phase cycling and symmetry pathways can be used to understand proton line narrowing magic echo train experiments. Pursuing this understanding has led to the invention of a new experiment for ensuring artifact free signal in magic echo train acquisition.

Committee: Philip Grandinetti Prof. (Advisor); Christopher Jaroniec Prof. (Committee Member); Ezekiel Johnston-Halperin Prof. (Committee Member) Subjects: Physical Chemistry

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, 2010, Curriculum and Instruction: Special Education

This study provided a preliminary analysis of concurrent and discriminative validity for the Early Literacy Progress Monitoring Assessment Tool (ELP-MAT; Kaderavek, 2009). Sixty preschool students between the ages of 3 years, 6 months and 5 years of age, from early childhood programs in Northwest Ohio, participated in the study. The students were assigned to one of two groups based on the presence of identified language impairments. Concurrent validity measures were established by assessing the participants with the ELP-MAT and two well-established norm-referenced measures, the Test of Early Reading Ability, Third Edition (TERA-3; Reid et al., 2001), and the Test of Preschool Early Literacy (TOPEL; Lonigan et al., 2007) phonological awareness (PA) subtests. Data demonstrated that there were substantial positive correlations between the overall raw scores on the ELP-MAT and TERA-3 as well as between individual ELP-MAT and TERA-3 subtests. A substantial positive correlation was also present between the ELP-MAT phonological awareness domain and the TOPEL PA subtests. Discriminative validity for the ELP-MAT was established using an independent t-test to compare the group means of the typically developing students to those of the language impaired students. Data analysis indicated significant differences in all domains, demonstrating that the ELP-MAT is able to effectively differentiate typically developing children from those with language impairments. Results of this early study suggest that the ELP-MAT demonstrates strong psychometric properties with respect to concurrent and discriminative validity. The results are encouraging, suggesting that the ELP-MAT is a valid progress-monitoring tool, worthy of further research for use in early childhood settings.

Committee: Joan N. Kaderavek PhD (Committee Chair); Laurie Dinnebeil PhD (Committee Member); William McInerney PhD (Committee Member); Noela Haughton PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication; Early Childhood Education; Education; Educational Psychology; Language; Literacy; Literature; Preschool Education; Psychological Tests; Reading Instruction; Special Education; Speech Therapy; Teaching

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2010, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

Since axons do not regenerate appreciably in their native extracellular environment in the central nervous system (CNS); some researchers tried to help patients to restore their lost neural function by integrating prosthetics with their nervous system. However, achieving stable, long-term performance of implanted neural prosthetic devices has been challenging because of implantation related neuron loss and a foreign body response that results in encapsulating glial scar formation. To improve neuron-prosthesis integration and form chronic, stable interfaces, we investigated the potential of neurotrophin-eluting hydrogel-electrospun fiber mat (EFM) composite coatings. We first synthesized and characterized diacrylate poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(ε-caprolactone) (PEGPCL) and poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(lactic acid) (PEGPLA) block copolymers as hydrogel materials. Then, we fabricated and evaluated poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) EFMs with different thicknesses and hydrophobicity. Followed, we constructed PEGPCL hydrogel-PCL EFM composite materials in two different configurations using UV photo-polymerization, and compared the release kinetics of these composites using bovine serum albumin (BSA) as a model protein. The aggregation status and bioactivity of eluted proteins were also investigated. To better understand the interaction between the eluted protein and composite material, PEGPLA hydrogel-EFM composite materials were formed, comprising of EFMs with different thicknesses and hydrophobicity. The results of composite materials' swelling and release behaviors demonstrated that both EFM's thickness and hydrophobicity had significant impact on therapeutics release profile. In addition, we studied the cell adhesion of SK-N-SH neuroblastoma cells and rat cortical cells to hydrogel-EFM composite materials. The incorporation of external EFMs significantly enhanced cell attachment on composite materials, when compared with PEG and PEGPCL hydrogels. And RNCs preferred to adhere (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jessica O. Winter (Advisor); John J. Lannutti (Committee Member); Jeffrey J. Chalmers (Committee Member) Subjects: Biomedical Engineering; Chemical Engineering

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 1987, Physical Activity and Educational Services

Committee: Jack Naglieri (Advisor) Subjects:

Master of Science, Miami University, 2011, Microbiology

The psychrophilic green alga, Chlorella BI sp. was isolated from a transient Antarctic pond as part of a mat consortium. Previous research on Chlorella BI sp. showed that the organism was able to utilize inorganic and organic forms of carbon and alter its photosynthetic apparatus in response to varying trophic growth states. Based on these early results, the goals of this thesis project were to: (1) characterize the photosynthetic apparatus of Chlorella BI sp. under different trophic states in comparison to the mesophilic species, Chlorella vulgaris; and, (2) determine the effect on the photosynthetic apparatus of Chlorella BI sp, when it is shifted from dark to light conditions. Chlorella BI sp. grew exponentially under the three tested trophic states. The photosynthetic apparatus exhibited functional and structural alteration. It is concluded Chlorella BI sp. has retained the ability to alter its photosynthetic apparatus in response to adaptation to a variable habitat.

Committee: Rachael Morgan-Kiss PhD (Advisor); D.J. Ferguson PhD (Committee Member); Gary R. Janssen PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Microbiology

Master of Science, University of Akron, 2008, Computer Science

Microarray is a technology that has been widely used by the biologists to probe the presence of genes in a sample of DNA or RNA. Using the technology, the oligonucleotide probes can be massively parallel immobilized on a microarray chip. It allows the biologists to check the expression levels of thousands of genes together. This thesis develops a software system that includes a database repository to store different microarray datasets and a microarray data analysis tool for analyzing the stored data. The repository currently allows datasets of GenepixPro format to be deposited, although it can be expanded to include datasets of other formats. The user interface of the repository allows users conveniently upload data files and perform preferred data preprocessing and analysis. The analysis methods implemented includes the traditional k-nearest neighbor (kNN) methods and two new kNN methods developed in this study. Additional analysis methods can be added by future developers. The system was tested using a set of microRNA gene expression data. The design and implementation of the software tool are presented in the thesis along with the testing results from the microRNA dataset. The results indicate that the new weighted kNN method proposed in this study outperforms the traditional kNN method and the proposed mean method. We conclude that the system developed in the thesis effectively provides a structured microarray data repository, a flexible graphical user interface, and rational data mining methods.

Committee: Dr. Zhong-Hui Duan PhD (Advisor) Subjects: Bioinformatics; Computer Science

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Akron, 2006, Polymer Engineering

The advantages of conducting materials in the non-woven nanofiber-mat form prepared by the electrospinning technique are proposed for sensing nanocomposite applications. Due to the sub-micron size of electrospun conducting fibers, a large specific surface area is generated, while the fiber web contains high fiber aspect ratio and high interconnecting network compared to the same materials in film and short fiber forms. Consequently electrospun lithium perchlorate doped polyethylene oxide (LiClO4-doped PEO) fibers and electrospun carbon black filled LiClO4-doped PEO composite fibers were prepared to be used as humidity sensors. The measurements of humidity dependent resistance of these conducting fibers were carried out for different humidity changes. Electrospun camphosulfonic acid doped polyaniline-polystyrene (HCSA doped PANI-PS) fibers were also produced for glucose sensing measurements. Glucose oxidase (GOX), an enzyme, was immobilized on as-spun fiber surfaces prior to glucose sensing detection. Pristine H2O2 solution was used for testing the glucose sensing electrode composed of HCSA doped PANI-PS fibers. The cyclic voltammetry method was used to detect the redox currents for varied glucose concentrations at the oxidative potential of the glucose oxidation. The surface morphology before and after sensing measurements of as-prepared fibers for both types of sensors were investigated. Sensitivity comparison was performed between the fiber and film-type sensors as indicated by the slopes of humidity versus logarithm of resistance lines and glucose concentration versus redox current lines. Electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fiber precursor based carbon fiber (CNF) as well as electospun nickel (Ni) nanofiber-based mats were also produced and impregnated with epoxy resin. The electrical and mechanical properties of as-prepared nanofibers in the mat and short fiber filled epoxy nanocomposite forms were determined to demonstrate the effect of fiber aspect ratio and i (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Erol Sancaktar (Advisor) Subjects: Engineering, Materials Science