Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2017, Agricultural, Environmental and Developmental Economics

Recent innovations in hydraulic fracturing methods and micro-seismic technology along with rising oil and gas prices have led to oil and gas booms in various U.S. shale plays. While this appears to be a positive step forward, it is still unclear whether directly impacted local communities benefit from unconventional gas development. The three essays in this dissertation model and analyze the relatively unexplored short- and long-term externalities associated with energy-related economic booms on local labor market outcomes, human capital migration, and occupations, providing valuable insights on how local communities are impacted by oil and gas development. The first chapter analyzes the short- and long-run economic impacts of oil and gas boom on local labor market outcomes. I use a unique dataset with annual employment at 4-digit North American Industry Classification System codes to estimate the direct demand effects of shale gas development in the 2000s. For the long-run, I exploit the multiple booms and busts from the 1970s to 1990s to address the existence of resource curse in resource-intensive economies. Using a difference-in-difference methodology, this paper accounts for the heterogeneity in energy experience over time and across regions. It also explores whether pre-boom level of locally available human capital and history of energy extraction influence how a region responds to the energy boom. The results suggest that oil and gas developments have positive multiplier effects on the short- and long-run job and income growth. The modest positive multiplier effect in the long run implies that the benefits of oil and gas production might decline in the long run, suggesting that increased reliance on natural resources over time could make communities more vulnerable. The second chapter uses individual-level data from the American Community Survey to estimate the impact of shale booms on U.S. interregional migration, while considering both origin and d (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Mark Partridge (Advisor); Alessandra Faggian (Advisor); Ani Katchova (Committee Member) Subjects: Economics; Energy; Labor Economics; Regional Studies

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2016, Food Science and Technology

In a multi-component chocolate product, oil migration, from high oil content filling into the chocolate is one of the major contributors to quality loss. Five different cocoa butter samples were used to model and study the effects of chemical composition and processing conditions on oil migration. Samples were crystalized under two different processing conditions. Control samples were crystalized under 0 shear rate and 0.5 °C/min cooling rate. Processed samples were crystalized under 250s-1 shear rate and 4.5 °C/min cooling rate. Crystalized cocoa butter samples were placed in contact with a cream as a source of liquid oil. Using magnetic resonance imaging, the movements of liquid oil into samples were investigated. The sample oil diffusivity was analyzed based on the Fickian diffusion model. Slightly different chemical composition affected cocoa butter's melting point, solid fat content, microstructure, and resulted in different oil migration rate in the samples from five different origins. Additionally, processing conditions significantly retarded the oil migration rate in cocoa butter system. However, identical trends observed in control and processed samples indicated that different processing conditions would not eliminate the effects of chemical composition in cocoa butter on oil migration kinetics. Overall, minor differences in chemical composition of cocoa butters from different origins affect the oil diffusivity. Processing conditions can help slow down the rate of oil migration in cocoa butter system. However, it would not overcome the effects of chemical composition on oil migration kinetics.

Committee: Farnaz Maleky (Advisor); Melvin Pascall (Committee Member); Christopher Simons (Committee Member) Subjects: Agricultural Chemicals

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2008, Medicine : Pathobiology and Molecular Medicine

Fibrinogen, a plasma protein central to clot formation, has long been considered to play a role in inflammation and immunity. Fibrin(ogen) interactions with various immune cells have been heavily investigated; lacking is an understanding of the protein's influence on dendritic cell activity. Results from Chapter 2 demonstrate that fibrinogen initiates human dendritic cell production of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. Adsorbed fibrin(ogen) has increased stimulatory capacity over fibrin(ogen) free in solution, indicating the bound protein, acting through the ß2-integrins, is the active species. Adsorbed fibrin(ogen) also stimulates the focal accumulation of dendritic cells. This is likely due to ß2-integrin-mediated chemotaxis of dendritic cells toward released chemokines and fibrin(ogen) degradation fragments. Because studies suggested adsorbed fibrinogen might be exploited to enhance vaccine adjuvanticity, fibrinogen-coated olive oil droplets were investigated as vaccine adjuvant. Results from Chapter 3 demonstrate the importance of surface in adjuvant activity, and the possible use of olive oil droplets as a safe and effective vaccine adjuvant. Having investigated the interactions between fibrinogen-coated particles and human dendritic cells, Chapter 4 describes the existence of a not yet recorded phenomenon: extracellular transport of cell-sized particles by dendritic cells. Results presented in that chapter not only demonstrate particles can be carried extracellularly by dendritic cells, but also that the process can be directed. Adsorbed fibrin(ogen) appears to enhance particle/dendritic cell interactions mediated through the ß2-integrins. The influence of adsorbed fibrin(ogen) on dendritic cells provides new knowledge into the protein's involvement in initiating inflammatory and immune responses, knowledge that may be applied to the development of new therapeutics to treat and prevent disease.

Committee: Gregory Retzinger MD,PhD (Committee Chair); Alison Weiss PhD (Committee Member); George Deepe MD (Committee Member); Judith Rhodes PhD (Committee Member); Philip Howles PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Immunology; Pathology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2010, Geography

This research examines the human capital dimensions of structural change in oil ‎economies, with a focus on the case of the Arab Gulf States: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, ‎Qatar, Saudi Arabia the United Arab Emirates (UAE). These oil-abundant, labor-‎deficient countries have undertaken numerous efforts over the past four decades to ‎diversify their economies beyond oil, with varying levels of success. Oil-generated capital ‎‎(rent) accumulation, however, has generated severe labor market distortions in the region, ‎with private sector work dominated by majority foreign workforces and a high-wage ‎public sector providing employment for the minority citizenry. The resulting human ‎capital mix presents a structural barrier to developing the local capacity required for ‎creating or sustaining a post-oil economy. Accordingly, this project examines the ‎evolution of the Gulf labor markets in response to the region's economic diversification ‎efforts, from the first oil boom (1973-1986) through the second oil boom (1998-2008). ‎The goal is to determine the conditions under which natural capital (oil) is converted to ‎non-oil human capital (knowledge) or, conversely, the conditions under which oil ‎abundance crowds out sustainable development capacity. ‎ Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, this project consists of a four-decade ‎analysis of historical and other secondary data analysis, a large-scale employment and ‎human capital survey of foreign and local companies in the region, and key-informant ‎interviews with human resource professionals in the UAE. Secondary data analysis ‎identified a number of promising diversification efforts in the region, especially during ‎the recent oil boom. Yet, these efforts have also stimulated demand for new forms of ‎labor, knowledge and technology. In order to meet these demands, the region has ‎deployed its oil wealth to attract foreign factors of production. Indeed, the Gulf States ‎have sought to leverage their ability to access global hum (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Edward J. Malecki PhD (Committee Chair); Lawrence A. Brown PhD (Committee Member); Mathew Coleman PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Geography