MS, University of Cincinnati, 2009, Engineering : Computer Engineering

The bottle neck problem of “erase before write” in NAND-based flash memory and its lifetime are the most important issues in today's flash design. This paper offers different approaches on improving the lifetime and performance of current generation solid state disks including cache algorithms and SRAM-based log buffer scheme with careful study and discussion on several design issues as well as the control logic of flash memory array. Both block level associative sector translation scheme and fully associative sector translation scheme are discussed in detail in the paper.

Committee: Yiming Hu (Committee Chair); Carla Purdy (Committee Member); Karen Davis (Committee Member) Subjects: Engineering

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2022, Earth Sciences

Despite efforts to mitigate and reduce contamination of surface water resources, water quality remains impaired in many places worldwide, primarily due to nonpoint source pollutants including agriculture and urbanization. These both introduce excess sediment and nutrients, various types of chemicals, and more to surface waters. The Scioto River in the Upper Scioto River Basin in central Ohio was studied to assess the influence of large-scale agriculture and urbanization/suburbanization on river geochemistry. The Scioto River has its headwaters in land dominated by row-crop agriculture, then flows through the expanding metropolitan Columbus area, then again through suburbs and agricultural land south of downtown Columbus. Additionally, the river is dammed in two places, providing another means of assessing how modification of natural river systems impacts river geochemistry. The Scioto River was sampled in five locations with varying degrees of surrounding agricultural and urban land use. Samples were collected weekly at three locations from February 2021 to August 2021, then monthly through December 2021. The other two locations were sampled monthly for the entire study period. Samples were analyzed for major ions, nutrients, select trace elements, and stable water isotopes. Results revealed that concentrations of many analytes were generally highest at the most upstream location, decreased until downtown Columbus, and increased at the location furthest downstream. Because much of the study area is underlain by carbonate bedrock, correlations with Ca and/or Mg were thought to indicate a primarily geogenic source of the solute. Elements with moderate to strong positive correlations with Ca and/or Mg included Na, HCO3, Cl, SO4 F, Br, Li, U, Ni, Rb, Mo, Ba, and Sr. Additionally, many of these elements had moderate to strong negative correlations with NO3+NO2, which is primarily from agricultural inputs. Further, log C – log Q relationships of these data revealed c (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: W. Berry Lyons (Advisor); Thomas Darrah (Committee Member); Nicholas Basta (Committee Member); Susan Welch (Committee Member) Subjects: Earth; Environmental Geology; Environmental Science; Geology; Hydrologic Sciences; Hydrology

Master of Science, Miami University, 2022, Chemical, Paper and Biomedical Engineering

The need for more efficient drug design and development has become more prevalent in just the last few years, leading to the development of the SAMPL challenges to promote exploration of methods to compute physical properties key to drug development. Blind predictions of octanol/water partition coefficients at 298.15 K for 22 drug-like compounds were made for the SAMPL7 challenge. The octanol/water partition coefficients were predicted using solvation free energies computed using molecular dynamics simulations, wherein we considered the use of both pure and water-saturated 1- octanol to model the octanol-rich phase. Water and 1-octanol were modeled using TIP4P and TrAPPE-UA, respectively, which have been shown to well reproduce the experimental mutual solubility, and the solutes were modeled using GAFF. After the close of the SAMPL7 challenge, we additionally made predictions using TIP4P/2005 water. We found that the predictions were sensitive to the choice of water force field. However, the effect of water in the octanol-rich phase was found to be even more significant and non-negligible. The effect of inclusion of water was additionally sensitive to the chemical structure of the solute.

Committee: Andrew Paluch (Advisor); Alim Dewan (Committee Member); Jason Boock (Committee Member) Subjects: Chemical Engineering

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2021, Public Health

Outpatient portal technology (OPP) can improve patient engagement. For pregnant women, this high level of engagement could have important implications for maternal and infant outcomes. There is a dearth in studies that characterize OPP use among pregnant women. Our academic medical center (AMC) implemented a system-wide OPP in 2011. The OPP includes functions that allow patients to access their personal health information (PHI), view and schedule appointments, and message their providers. Our study is among the few studies that characterizes OPP use in a historically understudied patient population. We built upon existing research using OPP server-side log files by executing a hierarchical clustering algorithm to group 7,663 pregnant women based on the proportion of use for each OPP function. We calculated proportions of use for each OPP function a woman engaged with and used these proportions as inputs for our cluster analysis. Women who visited a Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM) provider for pregnancy were regarded as having high pregnancy-related risk, while those who only visited an Obstetrics and Gynecology (OB/GYN) provider were considered as having normal pregnancy-related risks. Post-hoc analyses were performed using one-way ANOVA to further assess OPP use on key encounter characteristics. Use of the following OPP functions was examined within the cluster analysis: Visits (manage appointments), MyRecord (access PHI), Messaging (send/receive messages), and Billing (view bills, insurance information). Our study sample was predominantly represented by non-Hispanic white women between the ages of 25 and 34. The most frequently used functions at the patient level were MyRecord, Visits, Messaging and Billing, with frequency of use similar between pregnancy risk groups. Median OPP function use plateaued by the third trimester for each pregnancy risk group, with significantly more use among women with a high-risk pregnancy compared to those with a normal pregn (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Fareed Naleef PhD, MBA (Advisor); Hebert Courtney MD, MS (Committee Member); Schnell Patrick PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Biomedical Research; Health Care Management; Information Science; Obstetrics; Public Health; Systems Design; Systems Science

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 1994, Engineering Mechanics

Committee: Vernal Kenner (Advisor) Subjects:

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), University of Dayton, 2023, Engineering

Given a set of video imagery from unknown device provenance, video-based source camera identification (V-SCI) refers to a task of identifying which device collected the imagery. V-SCI techniques predominantly leverage photo response non-uniformity (PRNU) patterns extracted from digital video for device identification decisions. PRNU patterns function as device fingerprints and SCI methods using PRNU from digital still imagery (I-SCI) are relatively mature; however, advancements in video processing, namely electronic image stabilization (EIS) algorithms, degrade video extracted PRNU distinctiveness yielding a significant obstacle toward extending I-SCI performance to EIS processed video datasets. We provide a new, more relevant PRNU dataset, UDAYTON23VSCI, for V-SCI benchmarking in contrast to current publicly available datasets. To address the EIS V-SCI challenge, we present a data-driven approach to exploit PRNU signals derived from EIS video via ``device-specific'' neural networks implemented with a novel PRNU image training and transfer learning strategy. Results implementing our device-specific network approach on UDAYTON23VSCI and a leading publicly available dataset confirm the advantages of our approach over state of the art SCI methods. We provide a new PRNU computation approach via Log-noise PRNU estimation which overcomes multiplicative noise constraints inherent to PRNU patterns in imagery. We show our Log-noise PRNU estimation approach outperforms the current widely accepted PRNU estimation approach based on maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) in V-SCI task thus eliminating the need for MLE in computing PRNU. Lastly, by removing MLE PRNU computation requirement, we show our Log-noise PRNU estimation approach is a key contribution toward realizing a fully data driven end-to-end (E2E) network design for tackling EIS V-SCI.

Committee: Keigo Hirakawa (Advisor); Barath Narayanan (Committee Member); Partha Banerjee (Committee Member); Vijayan Asari (Committee Member) Subjects: Artificial Intelligence; Electrical Engineering

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2021, Earth Sciences

Log jams are natural features in mountain streams that promote stream-groundwater interactions, or hyporheic exchange, through a variety of mechanisms. Log jams alter gradients in hydraulic head, increase the area available for exchange by creating backwater areas, and lead to the formation of branching channels and bars that drive additional exchange. Here, I numerically simulated stream-groundwater interactions for two constructed flume systems—one without jams and one with a series of three jams—to understand the effects of interacting jam and channel structures on hyporheic exchange. Jams increased stream-groundwater connectivity, or decreased the turnover length that stream water travels before it enters the hyporheic zone, by an order of magnitude and drove long flow paths that connected multiple jams and channel threads. The increased turnover of stream water through the bed was due mainly to the increase in the average hyporheic exchange rate, though the wetted surface area available for exchange also increased slightly. Jams with larger volumes had longer hyporheic residence times and path lengths that exhibited multiple scales of exchange. Additionally, the longest flow paths connecting multiple jams occurred in the reach with multiple channel branches. These findings suggest that large gains in hydrologic connectivity can be achieved by promoting in-stream wood accumulation and the natural formation of both jams and branching channels.

Committee: Audrey Sawyer (Advisor); Michael Durand (Committee Member); Joachim Moortgat (Committee Member) Subjects: Geomorphology; Hydrologic Sciences; Hydrology

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2021, Theatre and Film

In Toward the Horizon: Contemporary Queer Theatre as Utopic Activism, I pursue two intersecting goals. First, I offer close readings of theatrical representations of queerness that expand beyond the shallow representations of the not-so-distant past, including the trope of the gay best friend (G.B.F.) and so-called “homosexual problem plays.” Second, I engage with dramaturgies of theatre for social change, reading those dramaturgical possibilities into scripted drama in support of my argument that contemporary queer theatre creates utopic activist potential within viewing and/or reading audiences. Over five chapters, I explicate and critically consider queer theatrical works that deploy dramaturgies and pedagogies of theatre for social change, including Bull in a China Shop by Bryna Turner, Significant Other by Joshua Harmon, Choir Boy by Tarell Alvin McCraney, Scissoring by Christina Quintana, Log Cabin by Jordan Harrison, The Prom by Chad Beguelin and Matthew Sklar, A Strange Loop by Michael R. Jackson, and The Inheritance by Matthew Lopez. I build upon the queer theory legacies of Jose Esteban Munoz and his conceptualizing of utopia on the horizon, and Jill Dolan's notion of utopic performatives, to argue that these pieces hold the potential to lead audiences towards what I term “utopic activism.” Utopic activism concerns the potential to create change through the application of pedagogies and dramaturgies of theatre for social change to scripted drama, and in turn prompt audiences toward envisioning, embracing, and enacting a better future. Individual chapters draw on a variety of critical modes of investigation including history, historiography, and historicization, empathy, relationships and friendships, and genre conventions to investigate the ways queer theatre creates meaning. My study finds queer representation in contemporary theatre is steadily changing and consistently embracing more complex and affirming visions of queerness. Indeed, while there (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jonathan Chambers PhD (Advisor); Mieses Nermis DMA (Other); Ahlgren Angela PhD (Committee Member); Nees Heidi PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Glbt Studies; Theater; Theater Studies

MS, Kent State University, 0, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Health Sciences

The purpose of this study was to determine the differences between nutritional knowledge of mothers of preschoolers and the growth status and dietary intake of preschoolers who attend the Child Development Center at Kent State University for which two hypotheses were stated. The independent variable of this study was knowledge of the mother and the dependent variables was the growth status of the child measured by plotting the child's BMI-for-age and the dietary intake of the child which was assessed by taking a 24-hour food log and by evaluating macronutrient (energy, carbohydrate, protein, total fat, saturated fat) intake of the child. The data was collected by a paper-pen survey. Mothers were asked to fill the first four sections of the survey at the CDC and were given the 24-hour-food log to be filled in at home. Total 29 mothers participated in the survey from which 13 mothers turned in the food log of the child. One-way analysis of variance was used in SPSS version 24.0 to analyze the quantitative data and themes and patterns were formed to analyze the qualitative data. The results indicated that there was no significance found (p>0.05). The overall education level of the mothers was observed to be high with the majority of them having a Masters or a Ph.D. degree, but their nutrition knowledge in general was found to be extremely low. While the current study provided beneficial insights into mother's nutrition knowledge, the results indicated an overall lack of impact of mother's nutrition knowledge on the growth status and dietary intake of the child (p>0.05). Despite previous research supporting the influence of mother's nutrition knowledge on a child's development and dietary intake, this study lacked many positive outcomes previously obtained, indicating that additional research is necessary to assess the impact of mother's nutrition knowledge on growth status and dietary intake of the child.

Committee: Natalie Caine-Bish (Advisor); Karen Lowry Gordon (Committee Member); Emily Baker (Committee Member) Subjects: Nutrition

Master of Science in Electrical Engineering (MSEE), Wright State University, 2019, Electrical Engineering

This study focuses on the use of microstrip antenna technology for designing an ultra-wideband antenna to meet low size, weight and power requirements. Based on the recent literature for such antennas, a quasi-log periodic microstrip antenna array is designed to operate from 8 to 40 GHz (radar bands X, Ku, K and Ka). The array consists of 33 co-linear, inset-fed, square patches on a Roger's Duroid substrate, and is modeled using the Advanced Design System software from Keysight. The simulated results show the antenna has pass-band gains greater than 5 dB, a half-power beamwidth of 30 degrees, and linear polarization with a broadside radiation pattern. In addition, the fractional voltage standing wave ratio is less than 1.8 for 18 GHz of the pass-band, and the antenna has an efficiency greater than 60 percent over the entire pass band.

Committee: Michael A. Saville Ph.D., P.E. (Advisor); Yan Zhuang Ph.D. (Committee Member); Saiyu Ren Ph.D. (Committee Member); Josh Ash Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Electrical Engineering; Electromagnetics; Technology

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2018, Arts and Sciences: Mathematical Sciences

In epidemiology and clinical research, the relative risk (RR) is commonly used as a measure of the risk of developing a disease. The log-binomial regression is a preferred statistical model to estimate RR as it provides a convenient form of RR. However, the constrained parameter space of the log-binomial model often causes numerical difficulties in applying this model for data analysis. In this dissertation, we conduct model selections for the log-binomial regression where three objectives are addressed. Firstly, we develop Bayesian variable selection methods for log-binomial model, where the Bayes factor is used as the selection criterion and five Monte Carlo methods are utilized to compute the Bayes factor while dealing with the constrained parameter space. These Monte Carlo methods are then assessed for computational accuracy and efficiency. Secondly, we study the sensitivity of Bayes factor to the prior distributions of the regression parameters by evaluating the performances of five popular priors in the log-binomial variable selection, i.e. independent Gaussian prior, independent t prior, independent Cauchy prior, the g-prior (g=n) and the Zellner-Siow Cauchy prior. Finally, we perform Bayesian model selection between the log-binomial and the logistic regressions where the Bayes factor, the fractional Bayes factor, LPML, DIC and BIC are used as the model selection methods. In addition, four prior densities of the regression parameters are considered: the flat prior, Cauchy prior, Jeffreys prior and an elicited proper prior. The theoretical properties of these priors are also investigated. These methods and priors are compared via simulations on their capabilities of distinguishing between the log-binomial and logit models.

Committee: Siva Sivaganesan Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Emily Kang Ph.D. (Committee Member); Seongho Song Ph.D. (Committee Member); Xia Wang Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Statistics

Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, 2018, Geology

The Cambrian Eau Claire Formation in western Ohio was examined using depositional systems analysis. This study investigated whether the transgressive barrier depositional model of Banjade (2011) for the adjacent Conasauga-Kerbel Formations also applies to the Eau Claire Formation. This research has determined that Cambrian estuarine/lagoonal deposits are present in western Ohio. This research found a systematic upward change in the Eau Claire Formation from siliciclastic deposits to carbonate deposits. As such, the Eau Claire Formation represents a transition between siliciclastic deposition of the underlying Mt. Simon Sandstone to the carbonate deposition of the overlying Knox Dolomite. This study also found that the contact between the Mt. Simon Sandstone and Eau Claire Formation to be a ravinement surface, and a probable transgressive surface of erosion, in the key study well. Two cores of the Eau Claire Formation were examined: one core contains 184-m of section from well DGS-2627 (Warren County, OH) and the other contains 134-m of section from well BP- 4 (Core 3502) (Allen County, OH). Microfacies analysis was conducted from each core as well as paleontology (cryptospore) analysis. Gamma-ray logs were obtained in LAS format from the Ohio Geological Survey for Warren (DGS-2627), Allen (BP-4), Miami (Walker Ella-1), Auglaize (Hoelscher D&B Comm-1), Defiance (Haver Pearl A-1), and Shelby (Borland-1) counties in Ohio. Once the data was constructed into log format, the BP-4 (Allen County) core data could be correlated with the log data, in other words, lithofacies observed in the core could be matched to the respective geophysical profile. Based on the relationships described above, a geophysical log model was constructed for BP-4. This log model is used to predict depositional facies from other wells that have only geophysical log data. The model was calibrated using both core and geophysical log data from core DGS 2627 in Warren County by predicting d (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: James Evans Ph.D. (Advisor); John Farver Ph.D. (Committee Member); Jeffrey Snyder Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Geology

Master of Science (MS), Wright State University, 2018, Earth and Environmental Sciences

In August 2017, a dynamite-sourced 2D seismic reflection survey was conducted along a gravel road northwest of Portland, Indiana. The main focus of the survey was to determine the orientation of a lithologic unit previously identified by Welder (2014) on a similar 2D seismic reflection survey in the same area. Drillers logs of two wells within this area identified a limestone layer below the Mt. Simon Sandstone, and a similar limestone layer was identified in a well drilled in Clark County, Ohio. As the focus of this study, this limestone layer will be informally named the `Votaw limestone'. The seismic line studied by Welder (2014) was oriented west-east; the seismic line utilized in this study is oriented north-south and crosses the previous one. Together, these seismic lines allow the true orientation of the Votaw limestone to be determined. Geophysical logs from nearby wells and two distant ones (north central Indiana and western Ohio) were used to produce synthetic seismograms which together with drillers logs were used identify the top of Eden, Trenton, Knox, Eau Claire, Mt. Simon, and Middle Run formations. The top of the Votaw limestone was associated with a reflection in the seismic data using the synthetics and the driller's logs for the nearby wells. Importantly, where the Middle Run Formation exists, the Votaw limestone occurs below the top of the Middle Run. The Votaw limestone is horizontal in both north-south and west-east seismic lines, confirming that it is truly horizontal in this area. This limestone could be present beneath the Middle Run in Warren County, Ohio, based on similar seismic characteristics of reflectors. The pre-stack CDP's were used to analyze the Amplitude Variation with Offset (AVO) response of the limestone layer. The limestone reflector primarily exhibited a negative gradient with some variations suggesting an impurity of the limestone. The limestone reflector in the area is parallel to the overlying Paleozoic reflect (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Ernest Hauser Ph.D. (Advisor); Doyle Watts Ph.D. (Committee Member); David Dominic Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Geology; Geophysics

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2017, Computer Science and Engineering

Students who can link algebraic functions to their corresponding graphs perform well in STEM courses. Increasingly, early algebra curricula teaches these concepts in tandem. However, it is challenging to assess whether students are linking the concepts. Tests, video analyses, interviews and other traditional methods that aim to quantify how students link the concepts taught in school require precious classroom and teacher time. In this paper, we use web logs collected by a smart classroom web server to infer learning. Compared to traditional methods, web logs are widely available, voluminous and amenable to data science. However, web logs are constrained by factors such as data collection practices by system managers and the design of the web interface. Our approach partitions the web interface into components related to data and graph concepts. We collect click and mouse movement data as users interact with these components. We used statistical and data mining techniques like k means clustering, principal component analysis and frequent sequence patterns to model their learning behavior. We compared our models with traditional methods to assess learning behavior for a workshop presented in Summer 2016. Students in the workshop were middle-school math teachers planning to use a new early algebra curriculum in their own classrooms. First, we used our models to assess participation levels, a prerequisite indicator for learning. Our models aligned with ground-truth traditional methods for 17 of 18 students. The results from machine learning models which do not consider the computational thinking aspect of the web components aligned with ground-truth methods in only 10 of 18 students. Unlike traditional methods, our models were computed in minutes and not days. The results of the models w.r.t the two types of components of the web portal have been used to infer possible data or graph oriented cognitive bias in the students.

Committee: Christopher Stewart Dr (Advisor); Arnulfo Perez Dr (Committee Member); Alan Ritter Dr (Committee Member) Subjects: Computer Science

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Wright State University, 2016, Computer Science and Engineering PhD

Understanding users' latent intents behind search queries is essential for satisfying a user's search needs. Search intent mining can help search engines to enhance its ranking of search results, enabling new search features like instant answers, personalization, search result diversification, and the recommendation of more relevant ads. Hence, there has been increasing attention on studying how to effectively mine search intents by analyzing search engine query logs. While state-of-the-art techniques can identify the domain of the queries (e.g. sports, movies, health), identifying domain-specific intent is still an open problem. Among all the topics available on the Internet, health is one of the most important in terms of impact on the user and forms one of the most frequently searched areas. This dissertation presents a knowledge-driven approach for domain-specific search intent mining with a focus on health-related search queries. First, we identified 14 consumer-oriented health search intent classes based on inputs from focus group studies and based on analyses of popular health websites, literature surveys, and an empirical study of search queries. We defined the problem of classifying millions of health search queries into zero or more intent classes as a multi-label classification problem. Popular machine learning approaches for multi-label classification tasks (namely, problem transformation and algorithm adaptation methods) were not feasible due to the limitation of label data creations and health domain constraints. Another challenge in solving the search intent identification problem was mapping terms used by laymen to medical terms. To address these challenges, we developed a semantics-driven, rule-based search intent mining approach leveraging rich background knowledge encoded in Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) and a crowd-sourced encyclopedia (Wikipedia). The approach can identify search intent in a disease-agnostic manner and has been eva (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Amit Sheth Ph.D. (Advisor); Krishnaprasad Thirunarayan Ph.D. (Committee Member); Michael Raymer Ph.D. (Committee Member); Jyotishman Pathak Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Computer Science

Master of Science (MS), Wright State University, 2015, Earth and Environmental Sciences

In July 2013, an industry-scale seismic reflection survey was conducted at a site in northern Jay County, Indiana, by geophysics students and faculty of Wright State University. As a part of that effort, a separate near-surface seismic dataset was collected to examine the Vp, Vs, and Poisson's Ratio of the glacial drift and upper bedrock. This near-surface study successfully used a common dataset that was separately analyzed for both Vp (seismic refraction) and Vs (MASW) to calculate the Poisson's Ratio of the glacial drift and underlying bedrock. The driller's log for a water well near the east end of this near-surface survey indicates glacial drift (unconsolidated clay and sand) overlies limestone bedrock at a depth of 110 feet. Water wells in the broader area show bedrock depth varying from 110 to 122 feet, but locally as much as 140 feet. The near-surface seismic data were acquired using a Bison EWG (Elastic Wave Generator) assisted weight drop source that shot every station through a stationary spread of 48 channels using a pair of 24-channel Geode seismographs. Each channel recorded a a single vertical 4.5 Hz geophone at a station spacing of 10 feet. Four weight drop records at each source point were summed to enhance the S/N ratio. The same data volume was processed both for Vs using SurfSeis3 MASW (Multichannel Analysis of Surface Wave) software and for Vp using IXRefrax3 refraction software. The MASW results suggest that the depth to bedrock at the survey location ranges from 115-120 feet (~35 m) with Vs of 1,200-2,000 ft/sec (366-610 m/s) for glacial drift and 2,400-2,700 ft/sec (730-823 m/s) for bedrock. The P-wave refraction results suggest the depth to bedrock ranges from 118-122 feet (36-37 m) with average Vp of ~5,000 ft/sec (1,524 m/s) for glacial drift and ~17,000 ft/sec (5180 m/s) for limestone bedrock. The Poisson's Ratio for the glacial drift calculated using the Vp and Vs at common locations in this study is 0.470-0.473, which i (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Ernest Hauser Ph.D. (Advisor); Doyle Watts Ph.D. (Committee Member); David Dominic Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Energy; Geophysical; Geophysics

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2015, Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering

Leafy green vegetables are gaining popularity due to the health benefit. However, the safety of fresh produce has been a major issue in recent years. So the elimination of microorganisms during the post-harvesting processing is significant. As a strong oxidizing agent, chlorine dioxide (ClO2) gas is an effective sanitizer for reducing bacteria on fresh produce. However, gaseous chlorine dioxide usually causes both the inactivation of bacteria and color damage of leafy greens. Consumers desire safe and high quality fresh produce with long shelf-life. Therefore, optimizing the conditions including ClO2 concentration and exposure time is critical. The effect of gaseous ClO2 at concentrations 2.05, 3.10, 4.73, and 5.86 mg/L on inactivating E. coli K-12 inoculated on spinach leaves were determined in this study. The inactivation of E. coli O157:H7 by ClO2 treatments with concentration 2.05 mg/L and exposure time 12 and 20 min was also studied. A kinetic model describing the inactivation of E. coli K-12 as a function of time and ClO2 concentration was developed. The morphological changes of inoculated bacteria caused by ClO2 treatment were obtained using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The fresh spinach was dip-inoculated with E. coli K-12 resistant to nalidixic acid. After ClO2 treatments, the populations of survived bacteria were determined by plate counting and the survival ratios of bacteria, N(t)/N0, were calculated as a function of time. Two models were fitted to N(t)/N0 data. A semi-logarithmic survival model, log[N(t)/N0] =-k(C)t, with sanitizer concentration dependence k= k0 eP C was compared to the Weibull model, log [N(t)/N0] =-b(C) tn(C), with concentration dependence b(C) = a + g C. The optimal value of parameters in two models were obtained by using Matlab. Log reduction as high as 2.79 log CFU/g was achieved by the treatment with ClO2 concentration of 4.73 mg/L and exposure time of 14min. Weibull model was showed to describe the bacterial inactivati (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Kaletunc Gonul Dr. (Advisor) Subjects: Agricultural Engineering

Master of Science (MS), Wright State University, 2014, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Wright State University acquired two vibroseis-sourced seismic reflection lines over the Dominion East Ohio Gabor Gas Storage field near Canton, Ohio. The data were gathered over a fully charged reservoir within the Clinton interval. Seismic attributes were applied to the seismic data for interpretation. The seismic response of nearby wells was modeled for comparison with the seismic lines. Within the seismic data a gas shadow was observed. The gas shadow coincides with an area of high initial production of wells targeting the Clinton interval for production. The gas shadow is also associated with broadening of the Packer Shell sidelobe. Modelling of the seismic response of well API# 3416925010000 shows a broadening effect of the Packer Shell sidelobe similar to that seen in the seismic data. This broadening is also associated with low porosity, implying that broadening of the Packer Shell sidelobe is indicative of a poor hydrocarbon reservoir.

Committee: Doyle Watts Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Ernest Hauser Ph.D. (Committee Member); David Dominic Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Earth; Energy; Geology; Geophysics; Petroleum Geology

Master of Science (MS), Wright State University, 2014, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Using well logs and AVO gradient analysis, I identify and characterize a package of reflectors associated with the Utica Shale from vibroseis data collected by Wright State University at the Gabor Gas Storage field near Canton, Ohio. I also correlate TOC measurements from wells to densities and velocities at the same depths. On the seismic data, I interpret prominent reflections from the top and bottom of the Utica Shale and an intra-Utica reflector of varying frequency content associated with a velocity/density low in well log data. I investigate the possibility that the lateral variation in frequency content and change in wavelet character of these reflections is influenced by velocity gradients, termed Wolf Ramps. A Matlab software script was written in order to approximate this behavior using synthetic wavelets, and the resulting model matched well with the seismic data. Additionally, I note a possible reverse fault within the Utica that could create fracture porosity and a migration pathway. To model the AVO response, an AVA volume was created from prestack data and reflection coefficients up to 30 degrees of incidence were calculated using the two-term Aki-Richards approximation. Large negative normal incidence reflection coefficients attenuated at higher angles of incidence (Class IV anomalies) were observed at the top of Utica reflector, a response consistent with a change from silica-rich nonsource shale to black source shale. Large positive normal incidence reflection coefficients decreasing at higher angles of incidence (Class I anomalies) were noted at the bottom of Utica reflector, consistent with a shift from low impedance source shale to higher impedance calcareous shale. To perform forward modeling, I used geophysical well logs and NS-EW vibroseis line data. Using Hampson Russell commercial software, acoustic impedance and reflectivity were computed from sonic and density logs. An average wavelet at the Utica two-way travel time was extracte (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Doyle Watts Ph.D. (Advisor); Ernest Hauser Ph.D. (Committee Member); David Dominic Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Geology; Geophysics

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2014, Mathematics

This dissertation deals with topics in convex geometric analysis. In particular, it deals with entropy inequalities for log concave functions and their relations with inequalities from convex geometry involving convex bodies. In recent years, many notions and results in convex geometry have been generalized from the class of convex bodies to larger domains, such as the class of log-concave functions. In this dissertation, we work in the same direction and as a result we obtain analytic versions of several geometric notions and inequalities. First, we introduce a definition for a functional version of Lp-affine surface area from convex geometry. We establish their basic properties, such as the affine invariant valuation property. The definition of this functional version of Lp-affine surface area leads to functional versions of many geometric inequalities. Among them are affine isoperimetric inequalities for log concave functions. Second, this definition leads naturally to a concept of f-divergence and, in particular, to a notion of relative entropy for log concave functions. In this way, we establish yet another link between information theory and convex geometric analysis. We prove new entropy inequalities for these concepts. They strengthen and generalize recently established reverse log Sobolev and Poincare inequalities for such functions. We also prove a duality relation for f-divergences which generalizes a duality relation for convex bodies. Third, we give applications in the theory of convex bodies. These applications show that the definitions and inequalities we have obtained for log concave functions are, indeed, appropriate and meaningful generalizations of the ones that hold for convex bodies. A recent result shows that the affine isoperimetric inequality from convex geometry corresponds to a reverse logarithmic Sobolev inequality for entropy. The original proof of this inequality was quite technical and long. Here, we also obtain a short and (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Elisabeth Werner Dr. (Advisor); Stanislaw Szarek Dr. (Advisor); Mehmet Koyuturk Dr. (Committee Member); Colin McLarty Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Mathematics