DNP, Kent State University, 2023, College of Nursing

The purpose of this scholarly quality improvement project was to increase utilization of current evidence-based interventions to improve mobilization with instrumentation of visible goal targets, documented mobility goals, continuous feedback, and nurse education. This project was designed to enhance nursing knowledge of current evidence-based practice and clinical practice guidelines regarding initiation of mobilization in populations of critically ill adult patients receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation therapy. Data was collected over three periods of time. During the first data collection period, nurses used a visual confirmation tool to record the number of times per day a patient on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation was mobilized, as defined by any nursing-initiated incidence of mobilization qualifying as a 2 or greater on the Johns Hopkins Highest Level of Mobility Scale. Nurses indicated on the Mobility Tracker the number of mobility events initiated by the nurse, or patient-initiated events with nursing assistance. Physical and occupational therapy providers were responsible for tracking events initiated by physical and occupational therapists. After the first data collection period, an evidence-based educational program for nurses was deployed followed by data period collection 2.and 3. Results: During data collection periods 1, 2, and 3, patients were mobilized to a level 2 on the Johns Hopkins Highest Level of Mobility scale at least three times daily, 40% by physical therapy, 25 % by occupational therapy, and 27% by nurses. Total mobility scores for data collection periods 1, 2, and 3, averaged 3.01, 1.75, and 1.89, respectively. Total mobility between D1 and D3 reported a change of 35.14%. Nurse-led mobilization accounted for at least two of the daily mobility counts during data collection periods 1, 2, and 3, reporting a total of 12, 5, and 2 times, respectively. No patient data was collected on five nonconsecutive days of the three data (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Amy Petrinec (Committee Chair); Lisa Cascarelli (Committee Member); Kimberly Cleveland (Committee Member); Lisa Onesko (Committee Member) Subjects: Nursing

Master of Business Administration, The Ohio State University, 1950, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

DNP, Otterbein University, 2025, Nursing

With patients living longer, the orthopedic sector has given rise to joint prostheses as a treatment for those experiencing osteoarthritis (OA). With the increase of these procedures, there is also an increased risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and subsequent pulmonary embolus (PE) following these surgical procedures. The orthopedic medical community and anesthesia providers aim to decrease DVT and PE risk through multiple modalities. The anesthesia focuses on reducing DVT, and PE involves a multimodal approach to each anesthetic. Modalities used for the multimodal approach involve peripheral nerve blocks (PNB), neuraxial spinal anesthesia, early mobilization, postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) reduction, and tranexamic acid to prevent bleeding during these procedures. This study's research has concluded that tranexamic acid does not increase the risk of DVT following total hip (THA) or total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in appropriate populations. Muscle-sparing PNB or spinal anesthetics allow for earlier ambulation in THA and TKA patients. A multimodal approach to PONV allows patients to mobilize faster and allows a short post-anesthetic care unit (PACU) stay. Combined and coupled with educating the patient on the importance of early mobilization participation, it decreases the risk of DVT and PE following THA and TKA.

Committee: Dr. Brian Garrett (Advisor); Dr. Danielle Winch (Committee Member); Dr. Amy Bishop (Committee Member) Subjects: Nursing

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2023, Political Science

Prior to the commodities boom in the mid-2000s, ethnicity was rarely an important vehicle for social mobilization in Mexico. And yet, today, after 300 years of assimilation policies that forced many groups to suppress their indigeneity, ethnicity is increasingly used as a mechanism of social resistance in the context of battles over resource extraction. Importantly, not all emergent resource conflicts are framed in ethnic terms. Rural communities in some municipalities mobilize against resource extraction using ethnic claims, while in others, commodities conflicts continue to be articulated in class terms. My dissertation examines this important and unexplored variation in the salience of ethnicity among rural groups in Mexico and asks: under what conditions do conflicts over natural resources lead to the use of ethnic identity as a mode of resistance? How are different communities using the ‘ethnicity card' as a mechanism for participation and inclusion? And, when are different identity discourses for mobilization and claims-making adopted? I argue that the geographically patterned rise of ethnically-based resource conflict in Mexico is the result of two intersecting dynamics: first, the rise in commodity-based exploitation and, second, the institutionalization of indigenous rights. While the rapid increase in extraction concessions granted by the state during the commodities boom created a motive for mobilization, the new indigenous legal regime altered the incentives for different strategies of resistance: class vs ethnically-based. To better understand these dynamics, I utilize a mixed-methods design. The first part of my empirical examination is centered on a statistical analysis of an original dataset on concessions and commodities-based conflict in Mexican municipalities from 2000 to 2020. Through fixed effects panel models as well as matching and diff-in-diff techniques, I explore linkages between resource extraction, institutions, and the nature of rural (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Sara Watson (Committee Chair); Jan Pierskalla (Committee Member); Sarah Brooks (Committee Member) Subjects: Political Science

Master of Science, Miami University, 2022, Biology

The Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) is an excellent model to study migratory physiology because of its life-history. Conceptually, life-history tradeoffs around migration and adipose accumulation are not novel, but questions remain regarding the regulation of life-history transitions. One possible mechanism for adipose changes is PPARγ. This study assesses change in the migratory phenotype associated with photoperiod manipulation and pharmaceutical PPARγ agonist/antagonist drugs. We hypothesize that PPARγ activity is necessary to prepare for migration and is sufficient to induce the migratory phenotype. Catbirds in summer conditions were surgically implanted with osmotic pumps that released a PPARγ agonist drug, while birds in fall conditions were given a PPARγ antagonist drug. Two experiments were done, first in an animal care facility and, second, in aviaries. We found that in the facility-housed catbirds there was no significant change in body weight or composition. However, in the aviary-housed catbirds, there were changes in body weight and composition that challenged our predictions. This suggests that PPARγ may not play as large of a role in fat accumulation and mobilization in these migratory birds as hypothesized.

Committee: Paul Schaeffer (Advisor); Paul Harding (Committee Member); David Russell (Committee Member) Subjects: Animal Sciences; Biology; Ecology; Physiology

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2022, Sociology

While the long-term consequences of pandemic-informed economic instability are still playing out, scholars and citizens alike have begun grappling with the question of how cities, states, and national actors are mobilizing in the face of increased housing insecurity. Building on preliminary COVID-related research in social movements as well as previous literature on unhoused mobilization, this project asks whether and how those affected by large-scale increases in housing insecurity are mobilizing to protect housing rights during the pandemic. Qualitative interviews with 10 housing service providers and advocates, 5 unhoused citizens, and 5 housing insecure citizens in the city of Columbus, Ohio reveal varied capacities for mobilization, or a capacity continuum, across these populations. While pandemic-related strain has caused almost insurmountable barriers to mobilization for the unhoused, the same strain has resulted in a sense of solidarity among the housing insecure. I also find that service providers and advocates have increased collaboration and remote communication, resulting in tangible policy-level gains in housing rights. This paper has three broad goals: 1) to bridge understanding of unhoused mobilization between the past and present, 2) to build on knowledge of identity as it relates to social movements, and 3) to bring the topic of housing mobilization back to the United States and back to the discipline of sociology.

Committee: Townsand Price-Spratlen (Advisor); Michael Vuolo (Committee Member); Madhumita Dutta (Committee Member) Subjects: Sociology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2021, Political Science

What are the social origins of conflict? In a three article dissertation, I analyze how social relations can help explain the spread of suicide terrorism over social ties, historical and contemporary group grievances can explain the onset of transnational political violence, and show that state socialization can help explain the diffusion of political institutions and conflict among groups of states. Article 1: Previous research has attributed the motivations of suicide bombers to religious fervor, political engagement, and organizational strategic goals, among others. However, the processes underlying suicide bomber mobilization may also be related to primary and secondary socialization through family and peer network ties. To better understand the association between kin and peer ties and suicide bomber mobilization, I use a data set of 2,923 individual fighter-level observations of combatants for the Islamic State. These data include individual demographic data and if a combatant volunteered to be a suicide bomber. Through these data, I assess ideational, material, and the social origins of suicide bomber mobilization. I find that a one unit increase in kin or peer network ties is positively associated with a combatant's odds of volunteering to be a suicide bomber. Article 2: Researchers and policymakers have increasingly recognized foreign fighter mobilization as a national security threat to foreign states and domestic populations. Yet, scholars remain divided on the motivations of foreign combatants, arguing that fighters may be motivated by material incentives, grievances, or opportunity. The motivations of foreign fighters may be especially complex, as they are engaging in a conflict outside of their home country. In this article, I analyze how historical and present-day group exclusionary policies affect contemporary patterns of conflict. To do so, I leverage novel data consisting of 4,101 individual fighter data of Islamic State volunteers fighting (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Skyler Cranmer (Committee Chair); Bear Braumoeller (Committee Member); Sarah Brooks (Committee Member); Hollie Nyseth Brehm (Committee Member) Subjects: Political Science

Artium Baccalaureus (AB), Ohio University, 2020, Political Science

Maternalism as a political strategy has been frequently used in US politics. I analyzed maternalism through its use in two groups from the 1960s and 1970s: Women Strike for Peace and the National Welfare Rights Organization. In analyzing these groups, the limitations of maternalism are revealed. Maternalism proves to be an exclusive, sometimes racist strategy that allows white women more success in using it. However, maternalism also offers some benefits in creating a pathway into politics for people otherwise excluded, as well as mobilizing large groups as WSP and NWRO both demonstrate. To conclude, I discuss the ways maternalism can adapt to include an ethic of care that allows for the maintenance of the benefits of maternalism while discarding the problematic gendered and racist elements.

Committee: Kathleen Sullivan Dr. (Advisor) Subjects: Political Science

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2017, Sociology

Today, democracy in the United States is facing a major challenge: Wealthy elites have immense power to influence election outcomes and policy decisions, while the political participation of low-income people and racial minorities remains relatively low. In this context, non-profit social movement organizations are one of the key vehicles through which ordinary people can exercise influence in our political system and pressure elite decision-makers to take action on matters of concern to ordinary citizens. A crucial fact about social movement organizations is that they often receive significant financial support from elites through philanthropic foundations. However, there is no research that details exactly how non-profit social movement organizations gain resources from elites or that analyzes how relationships with elite donors impact grassroots organizations' efforts to mobilize people to fight for racial and economic justice. My dissertation aims to fill that gap. It is an ethnographic case study of a multiracial statewide organization called the Ohio Organizing Collaborative (OOC) that coordinates progressive social movement organizations in Ohio. Member organizations work on a variety of issues, including ending mass incarceration, environmental justice, improving access to early childhood education, and raising the minimum wage. In 2016, the OOC registered over 155,000 people to vote in Ohio. I conducted 55 semi-structured interviews with staff members of OOC and allied organizations, including funders. I also observed 330 hours of OOC meetings and events and collected over 1300 documents pertaining to OOC's history and fundraising. Using funds from foundations, the OOC has made progress toward their goal of building social movement infrastructure in Ohio. However, the OOC faces tension between the demands of its elite funding sources on one hand and its mission to organize communities on the other. This work illuminates the mechanisms through which el (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Korie Edwards (Advisor); Andrew Martin (Committee Member); Lopez Steve (Committee Member) Subjects: Sociology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1971, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: History

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2014, Leadership and Change

Wadla Woreda is located in North Wollo Zone, Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia. The woreda is predominantly agrarian and the population produces mainly subsistence food crops with small amounts of cash crops. Access to basic social and economic services such as health, education, and employment for rural communities is limited due to poor development of rural infrastructure. Wadla is one of the food insecure woredas in the region. As a result some of the people are internally displaced and a portion of the population is included in safety-net programs. The Wadla Woreda is prone to famine due to severe droughts, soil degradation, primitive modes of production, religious and cultural attitudes toward work, and bad governance. Due to male domination, women are victims of social discrimination, gender-based violence, and other socio-economic barriers. In the woreda women have limited access to resources. Their employment rate and representation in local government are low. Their economic status is marginal. At times, their income generation is negative, meaning their returns are less than what they invested, leading them into absolute poverty. To redress existing economic problems and tendencies in relation to women, there are some initiatives organizing women in the woreda into groups and clusters so they can better tackle poverty themselves. The purpose of the study is to add empirical evidence to existing knowledge on Income Generating Activities (IGA) by identifying opportunities for women in the woreda and by sharing success stories of women's advancement while also identifying barriers. It is hoped that the results of this study will provide information to concerned stakeholders for scaling up IGAs and for enhanced social mobilization. The dissertation builds upon an earlier project I conducted that included income generating activities and advancement among the women. In this follow-up research study a qualitative methodology is used based on case study interviews (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Philomena Essed Ph.D (Committee Chair); Laura Morgan Roberts Ph.D (Committee Member); Norma Romm Ph.D (Committee Member) Subjects: African Studies; Area Planning and Development; Economics; Finance; Gender Studies; Womens Studies

MS, Kent State University, 2014, College of Arts and Sciences / School of Biomedical Sciences

A critical dendritic cell (DC)-produced factor for polarizing Th1 immunity is the heterodimeric cytokine IL-12. Although IL-12 production can be triggered by stimulation of DC with single Toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands, optimized production requires that multiple signals be delivered to the DC. These include dual TLR ligands, single TLR ligands paired with the cytokine interferon gamma or CD40L combined with these other signals. Although calcium mobilizing signals have been shown to induce phenotypical maturation of DC, they have never been shown to synergize with TLR or cytokine signals to enhance IL-12 production. Murine bone marrow-derived DC treated with calcium ionophore and TLR ligand significantly enhance IL-12p70 production by DC. Thapsigargin, a compound that enhances intracellular calcium levels by a different mechanism, had similar effects. The drugs cyclosporine A and ascomycin, which antagonize the activity of the calcium-dependent serine-threonine phosphatase, calcineurin, suppressed the IL-12-enhancing activity of calcium mobilization. When murine T cells were co-cultured with allogeneic DC activated with calcium ionophore, TLR ligands, or both, paired activation stimulation induced DC with superior T cell stimulatory capacity as measured by IFN gamma output (ELISA). Calcium mobilization may therefore provide a method for superior activation of Th1-polarizing DC for clinical testing.

Committee: Gary Koski PhD (Advisor) Subjects: Biomedical Research

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2014, Comparative and Veterinary Medicine

Ehrlichia chaffeensis, the agent of human monocytic ehrlichiosis (HME), is an obligatory intracellular rickettsial pathogen that replicates in the membrane-bound compartment (inclusion) in monocytes/macrophages. Entry into mammalian host cells is essential for an obligatory intracellular pathogen to sustain its life and consequently to manifest disease associated with the infection. Although some information regarding the host cell invasion of E. chaffeensis have been known, crucial information about the identity of its invasive ligand or cognate host cell receptor used for binding and entry was unknown. In this study, we report, a novel entry triggering protein of Ehrlichia named EtpE that functions as an invasin. Antibody against EtpE (the C-terminal fragment, EtpE-C) greatly inhibited E. chaffeensis binding, entry, and infection; EtpE-C-immunization of mice significantly inhibited E. chaffeensis infection. EtpE-C-coated beads entered both phagocytes and non-phagocytes, and the entry was blocked by compounds that block E. chaffeensis entry. Furthermore, yeast two-hybrid screening revealed that DNase X, a glycosylphosphatidyl inositol-anchored mammalian cell-surface protein binds EtpE-C. Antibody against DNase X or reduction of DNase X by small interfering RNA impaired E. chaffeensis binding, entry, and infection. In experimentally infected DNase X-/- mice, E. chaffeensis load in peripheral blood was significantly lower than in wild-type mice. Using affinity pull-down of host cell lysates with rEtpE-C followed by LC-MS/MS analysis, we identified two additional interacting mammalian proteins: a transmembrane glycoprotein CD147 and a cytosolic protein hnRNP-K. Far-Western blot and immunofluorescence analysis showed that CD147 interacts with rEtpE-C and is recruited to E. chaffeensis entry foci. Functional neutralization of surface-exposed CD147 with monoclonal antibodies or knock-down of CD147 using shRNA inhibited E. chaffeensis internalization and infection, bu (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Yasuko Rikihisa PhD (Advisor); Michael Oglesbee DVM, PhD (Committee Member); Xin Li PhD (Committee Member); Mingqun Lin PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Immunology; Medicine; Microbiology

Master of Arts (MA), Wright State University, 2012, International and Comparative Politics

Theories of social movements suggest that ‘objective' changes in the structure of political opportunities and their interaction with mobilizing and framing mechanisms render a system vulnerable to mass protest. By examining the variables relevant to such interaction, this study seeks to account for the emergence and form of the 2009 Green Movement in Iran. This research uses the congruence method and process traces the movement adherents' activities, mainly their use of Information Communication Technologies, and investigates the so-called opposition leaders' activities and statements.The study argues that in accounting for emergence and form of the Green Movement, we need to attribute the central role to the bottom-up framing processes that gave value and meaning to the movement's goals and strategies. Political opportunity structures only appear in terms of ‘perceptual' rather than ‘objective' changes in the structure of the system. Further, the research investigates implications for other authoritarian settings and, more generally, for theories of social movements.

Committee: Laura Luehrmann PhD (Committee Chair); Donna Schalgheck PhD (Committee Member); Vaughn Shannon PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Political Science

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2011, Medicine: Developmental Biology

Cdc42 is a member of Rho GTPase family. Cdc42 integrates signals from multiple cell surface receptors including c-kit, CXCR4 and ß1-integrin, thus regulating cytoskeleton dynamics which impacts on cell adhesion and migration properties. All these are crucial for the retention of hematopietic stem cells (HSCs) in their bone marrow (BM) microenvironment. Our laboratory has shown that conditional deletion of Cdc42 in BM led to massive egress of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) into circulation, a phenotype of HSPC mobilization, attributable to deficiencies of Cdc42-/- BM HSPCs in F-actin polymerization, adhesion and migration. This and other related studies allow us to hypothesize that Cdc42 might be a valid target for HSC mobilization. In chapter 2, we characterize a Cdc42-specific inhibitor, termed CASIN (Cdc42 Activity-Specific Inhibitor). CASIN inhibits Cdc42 activity of BM progenitors specifically and reversibly. Administration of CASIN in mice and a mouse model of human xenograft leads to significant mobilization of HSPCs transiently. Serial transplantations of CASIN-mobilized peripheral blood stem cells (PBSCs) demonstrate a better long-term reconstitution capacity than those mobilized by AMD3100. Recent studies have suggested that mobilization can be used as a preparative regimen for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) without myeloablation. This allows us to further hypothesize that deletion/inhibition of Cdc42 might be able to facilitate the engraftment of transplanted HSPCs without myeloablation. In chapter 3, we demonstrate that both genetic deletion and pharmacological inhibition of Cdc42 allow efficient engraftment of murine HSPCs and human cord blood progenitors in mice. This CASIN-facilitated engraftment can be applied to FA model of Fanca-/- mice in settings of both allogeneic HSCT and gene therapy using autologous HSCs. Taken together, our studies identified a lead Cdc42-specific inhibitor that is efficient in HSC mobilizatio (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Yi Zheng PhD (Committee Chair); Hartmut Geiger PhD (Committee Member); Jose Cancelas-Perez MD (Committee Member); Tim Cripe MD, PhD (Committee Member); James Mulloy PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Surgery

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2010, Arts and Sciences : Political Science

Despite historically low turnout rates youth showed up in the 2004 presidential election at a rate 13 percent higher than in the 2000 presidential election. This study explores the factors related to the increase in turnout specifically in terms of mobilization in the form of political ads through a comparison of political ads sponsored by candidates, parties and interest groups in 2000 and 2004 presidential elections. The findings indicate that in the 2004 presidential election youth issues were given greater attention than in 2000. This increase in activity towards youth issues was associated with an increase in youth interest in the election and thus an increase in youth turnout.

Committee: Barbara Bardes PhD (Committee Chair); Stephen Mockabee PhD (Committee Member); Michael Margolis PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Political Science

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2012, East Asian Languages and Literatures

China's sociological world is somewhat lacking of research that explores the collective consciousness during collective rights defense of the manufacturing industry's internal migrant workers. This is even truer of research that looks at the collective consciousness of Qingdao's internal migrant workers. Additionally, Chinese civil society organizations are in their infancy, and there are few organizations that aid internal migrant workers in their rights defense, especially in China's northeast region. There is even less research that attempts to understand the effectiveness of these organizations in aiding workers' right defense. Using Political Process Theory as its analytical framework, this study has two main aspects: 1) survey methodology that explores the collective consciousness in rights defense of internal migrant workers in Qingdao's manufacturing sector and 2) case analysis methodology that seeks to understand effects of Qingdao's LMN Organization on Internal migrant workers' rights defense. This study has found that the regional consciousness of Qingdao's internal migrant workers possesses a dualistic quality, they have a strong rights defense consciousness, and their collective action has shown a trend toward cross-factory cooperation. LMN Organization, the subject of the case analysis, has not only played a large role in the success of internal migrant workers' right defense, but it has also played a role in mobilizing workers for rights defense. However, LMN Organization exists in an exploitable crack in the surrounding political environment, and because of this, its future development is uncertain.

Committee: Galal Walker (Committee Chair); Xiaobin Jian (Committee Member) Subjects: Sociology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2011, Political Science

Every election witnesses the exit of many habitual voters from the electorate through the natural completion of the life-cycle, making the new voters who fill this electoral void integral to sustaining the democratic system of government. As turnout in American elections dipped to historically (and some say dangerously) low levels in recent decades, a “crisis of democracy” literature emerged to sort out the root causes of this decline and its consequences. Scholars blamed psychological deterrents, institutional barriers, and societal changes for this growing civic disengagement. But one of the biggest culprits became the parallel decline of political party organizations and their mobilizing function in American politics. The modest rebound of voting turnout—and party organizations—in recent years has given political scientists the luxury of diverting their attention to other avenues of inquiry. But this study suggests that, while presently stable, American democracy is not “out of the woods.” Using primary and secondary source data gathered over the 2004-2006-2008 electoral timespan, I compare new voters to more established voters in terms of their demographics, political attitudes, and actual voting behavior. My findings reveal a mixed picture for the future. While turning out to vote in high-stimulus presidential elections does not seem to be a particular problem for new voters, voting in lower-stimulus sub-presidential elections is an activity they more or less leave to others. However, party mobilization drastically reduces the tendency of new voters to abstain; the same effect is more muted for established voters. This suggests that the political parties have an important role to play in turning today's new voters into tomorrow's established voters, thus helping to sustain the democratic system of government.

Committee: Paul Beck PhD (Committee Chair); Herbert Weisberg PhD (Committee Member); Kathleen McGraw PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Political Science

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2007, Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics

This dissertation examines impacts of convenient access to safe deposit facilities on a poor rural household's precautionary wealth and consumption smoothing. Access is measured by transaction costs. Safety results from the probability of bankruptcy of the deposit-taker in case of a local systemic shock. Two exercises are developed. First, transaction costs are incorporated in Samuelson's (1969) two-period stochastic model on asset portfolio decisions. A critical value for transaction costs makes the household indifferent between investing only in a risky asset and diversifying at a transaction cost. The magnitude of this critical cost reveals a high willingness to pay for diversification. Second, a dynamic, stochastic, infinite horizon model of wealth choices for a credit-constrained household with a precautionary motive is developed. Labor income is stochastic, precautionary wealth can be diversified between two risky assets, and there is a covariance between labor income, the price of livestock, and the effect of a local systemic shock on the solvency of the deposit-taking institution. Numerical methods are used to approximate a solution for the Bellman equation. Simulations are performed for the transaction cost parameter, bankruptcy risk, environmental riskiness, risk aversion, and discount rate. In the certainty-equivalent steady state, only livestock is held, but introducing risk generates level and composition effects on precautionary wealth. Lower transaction costs increase the level of wealth and the share of deposits, allowing consumption smoothing (reduced variance). Reductions that leave transaction costs high have insignificant effects, but beyond a threshold further reductions rapidly increase deposits. The risk of bankruptcy greatly discourages holdings of deposits and livestock. Risk aversion and impatience -associated with poverty- influence deposit holdings in opposite directions. The more risk averse and less impatient the household is, the more (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Claudio Gonzalez-Vega (Advisor) Subjects: Economics, Finance

Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2012, Chemistry and Biochemistry

Polyphenols comprise a large percentage of plant detritus such as leaf litter, and polyphenols released from plant matter can affect many soil processes. To fully understand the roles of tannins in soil ecology, this work investigated the sorption / desorption of tannins from soil, the effects of tannins on microbial communities, and the mobilization of soil metals by polyphenols. This dissertation is divided into three parts. First, I studied the sorption and desorption of tannins from soils. I determined that tannin polarity plays the most important role in dictating sorption of tannins to soil by examining six specific polyphenols with a range of polarities and differing molecular structures. The maximum amount sorbed and the rate of sorption were determined for the six model compounds. Using the concept of polarity an extraction method was developed that allowed reliable determination of the amount of tannin in soils even for tightly sorbed compounds. In the second part of my dissertation, I describe how microbial communities are affected by different tannins. This was tested by amending soil with three different model polyphenols and evaluating soil microbial populations with molecular and physiological methods. The abundances of three genes that reflect populations of total microbial species, ammonia oxidizing bacteria, and ammonia oxidizing archea were measured using DNA extracted from soils and qPCR. Changes in physiology as determined by Community Level Physiology Profile indicated that the small polyphenol, methyl gallate had the greatest affect on community physiology. In the last part of my dissertation, I determined the effects of tannins on soil metal mobilization. This was tested by determining the maximum binding and binding affinities of two model polyphenols to Al(III) and Fe(III) using micelle-mediated separation and Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES). The larger polyphenol (oenothin B) was able to bind more metal (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Ann Hagerman (Advisor) Subjects: Agriculture; Biochemistry; Environmental Science