Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Application Of 3d Seismic Signal And Geomechanical Attributes For Subsurface Fracture Characterization: A Case Study In Clearfield County, Central Pennsylvania, Iman F. Zulkapeli

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Hydrocarbon exploration in unconventional reservoirs is highly risky due to the nature of the reservoirs and the variability in fractures and reservoir geomechanical properties in the subsurface. The reservoir needs to be fully characterized to avoid any complication such as frac hit, wellbore failure, blowout, or even a dry hole. The Clearfield reservoir produces an exceptionally low amount of gas, compared to the neighboring region in the proximity, which has been poorly understood. This raises the question as to what causes the reservoir to have low productivity.

This study focuses on the natural fracture characterization using high-quality 3D seismic signal …

Association Of Incident Cancer To Low-Value Care And Healthcare Cost Burden Among Elderly Medicare Beneficiaries, Chibuzo Iloabuchi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

In the United States (US), 25% of healthcare spending is considered wasteful because it is spent reimbursing low-value care. Low-value care is the utilization of healthcare services, medical tests, and procedures that have unclear or no clinical benefit to patients but still exposes them to risk. World-wide, low-value care imposes a significant economic burden on patients, payers, governments, and society. Cancer care among older adults > 65 years is one of the biggest drivers of healthcare expenditure in the US and accounts for nearly 40% of all spending, and low-value care among cancer patients is prevalent and contributes to the financial …

Variations In Produced Water Chemistry And Relation To Regional Geology And Production In The Marcellus Shale, Northcentral West Virginia, Jonathan M. Brady

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

An investigation of 74 Marcellus Shale wells across northcentral West Virginia indicates changes in produced water chemistry and quantity can be related to geologic conditions based on well logs and core data. These changes are determined by reviewing multiple produced water analyses for individual wells for periods up to ten years. Results show variations among the areas in this study. From west to east across central Harrison County to central Taylor County, then north into Monongalia County, gamma-ray logs show increasing intensity, especially in the middle and lower Marcellus. XRD mineralogy from core data shows increasing clay content from west …

Effect Of Oxidative Breakers On Organic Matter Degradation, Contaminant Mobility And Critical Mineral Release During Shale-Fracturing Fluid Interactions In The Marcellus Shale, Shaun Donmoyer

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Production of oil and gas from organic-rich shale formations has become viable through advancements in multi-stage hydraulic fracturing. The decline of shale gas production after the initial days of fracturing operations coupled with falling oil and gas prices, has pushed industry operators to use new chemical additives as an attempt to increase hydrocarbon production. The implementation of highly reactive fracturing fluids that include strong oxidizing agents, pose as a potential solution to increase well productivity. Strong oxidizing chemicals commonly known in fracturing operations as breakers, are used to improve the viscosity of gel-based fluids after the proppant is transported into …

Improving Characterization Of Small Molecules Using Enhanced Molecular Reaction And Ionization Techniques, Sandra N. Majuta

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Metabolomics is an emerging “omics” field, which is comprised of the study of small molecule metabolites in biological systems. It can be argued that the abundances of metabolites within biological samples, such as tissue and plasma, are indicative of various physiological states. Thus, metabolomics analysis has the potential in the clinical scientific field to be an effective tool for early disease diagnosis as well as for proposing and monitoring new treatments for diseases. However, full characterization of the metabolome complement is often hampered by the wide diversity of metabolites, which also exhibit an extremely large concentration range in biological samples. …

Photochemical Motion Control Of Belousov-Zhabotinsky Droplets And Turbulence-Like Patterns In The Aluminum Hydroxide Precipitation System, Syed Jazli Syed Jamaluddin

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

A Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) droplet that is immersed in an oil-phase can self-propel due to a surface tension gradient that exists on the droplet surface. The surface tension gradient is created as a result of the reactions that occur within and on the surface of the BZ droplet. By affecting the rates of these reactions, the BZ droplet direction can be controlled. In our experiments, we tune the reactions that occur within and on the BZ droplet surface by imposing a light intensity gradient on the droplet. We analyzed the BZ droplet motion and demonstrated that we can control the droplet …

Enabling Technologies For Medicinal Chemistry And Synthesis: I. Cannabinoids; Ii. Illudalic Acid; Iii. Microwave Chemistry, Harvey Fulo

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Innovations in synthetic organic chemistry such as methodology improvements, new chemical transformations and technology development significantly impact medicinal chemistry and continue to drive the drug discovery process. Here, new cyclization strategies to the pharmaceutically underexplored 3,3-dimethylcyclopentane-fused aromatic rings are described. One approach highlighted oxidative cycloisomerization, intermolecular [2+2+2] cyclotrimerization and 5-exo-dig cyclization providing indanoylindole cannabinoids that possess high affinity for human CB₂ receptors at nanomolar concentration and good selectivity index. Another featured a [4+2]-type benzannulation reaction which enabled the 5-step synthesis of illudalic acid — compared to the current available sequences (≥16 steps) — and its equipotent and LAR-selective analogs. …

Analysis Of Cell Signaling Perturbations In Response To Chronic Localized Infections, Amber Nicole Prince

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The tissue-level response to pathogens involves an intricate series of signal transduction events, influenced by immune and healing mediators that alert the host to danger and eliminate the infection. Disruptions to normal signaling events can compromise the host’s ability to respond and lead to the development of chronic infections that cannot be resolved without clinical intervention. Prolonged inflammation due to chronic infection can damage tissues and compromise healing processes, thus, the interactions of immune and healing mediators in signaling cascades are intimately linked to tissue health outcomes. Studying signaling networks relevant to these responses provided a more thorough understanding of …

Single And Multi-Photon Laser Induced Fluorescence For Electric Thruster And Fusion Applications, Thomas E. Steinberger

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Single and Multi-photon Laser Induced Fluorescence for Electric Thruster and Fusion Applications

Thomas Edward Steinberger

Laser-based diagnostics are increasingly sought after to investigate a variety of plasmas due to their non-perturbative capabilities. Specifically, laser induced fluorescence (LIF) provides a highly localized and precise spectroscopic technique to measure absolute density, temperature, and bulk flow. In this work, LIF and two-photon absorption laser induced fluorescence (TALIF) are used to investigate electric propulsion and fusion-relevant plasmas, respectively. Ion velocity distribution functions (IVDF) of singly ionized atomic iodine (I II) are measured for the first time and lineshape characteristics are presented for the diagnosis …

Pulsar Noise Processes And Emission Physics, Brent Jacob Shapiro-Albert

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Precision pulsar timing can be used to study many different astrophysically interesting phenomena, from the emission mechanism of pulsars to the detection of nanohertz gravitational waves. These analyses span topics such as studying the single pulses of pulsars and analyzing years of pulsar timing data from pulsar timing arrays (PTAs). Single-pulse studies allow us to glean information on the emission physics of pulsars on their shortest timescales, while PTA observations of millisecond pulsars (MSPs) allow us to not only study the pulsars themselves, but also probe the interstellar medium (ISM) and constrain the noise in the data for precision pulsar …

Fundamentals And Applications Of Charge Transfer Dissociation Mass Spectrometry, Zachary Joseph Sasiene

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The recent surge in the analysis of biomolecules has driven the need for robust, versatile, sensitive, and accurate techniques such as tandem mass spectrometry for compound structural elucidation. Many fragmentation techniques have been developed over the years, but each has their own limitations, such as the loss of post-translational modifications (PTMs), inability to fragment singly charged precursor ions or cost prohibitiveness. To help fill this gap, a novel fragmentation technique called charge transfer dissociation (CTD) has been developed to fragment stored precursor ions through radical-driven fragmentation processes using kiloelectronvolt reagent cations. CTD has shown success in the analysis of proteins, …

Understanding The Relationship Between Local Environmental Changes And The Function Of The Ph Low Insertion Peptide, Violetta Burns Casamayor

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the US with over 1.7 million new cases each year. Current cancer treatments tend to also target healthy tissues due to similarities with cancerous ones, resulting in acute side effects. Early detection is the best approach towards defeating cancer, however, modern imaging techniques require sizeable samples, often implying a late stage in the disease. One common attribute of tumors is their acidic microenvironment, which can be taken advantage of.

The pH Low Insertion Peptide (pHLIP) is a membrane-active peptide that can take advantage of the acidic microenvironment surrounding cancer cells. pHLIP …

Investigation Of Ions Accelerated Through Electrostatic Menisci In An Inductively Coupled Plasma, David D. Caron

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Plasmas are used in semiconductor fabrication as they allow for very precise control over processes such as etching and doping. This is achieved by extracting a beam of ions from the plasma to interact with and modify the surface of a silicon wafer. However, conventional fabrication methods are reaching spatial limitations as semiconductor features reach the atomic scale. Therefore, in order to better control the fabrication processes and facilitate the transition to three-dimensional architecture, a greater understanding of ion beam formation is needed. Ion beams are extracted at the boundary between the Debye sheath and an externally applied potential, which …

Petrographic And Core Analysis Of The Jurassic Norphlet Formation: A Case Study In The Lithofacies Control Of Diagenesis And Porosity In The Flomaton Field, Al, Jarrett Thomas Smith

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This study includes a sedimentologic and petrographic study of cores and thin-sections from the Jurassic Norphlet Formation in the Flomaton Field in southern Alabama to define a specific paragenetic history of each facies encountered and to identify key controls on reservoir quality. Eolian dune, nearshore, sand flat, and wadi facies were likely encountered in Norphlet core and thin-section samples that displayed a high degree of heterogeneity between them in terms of porosity, grain contacts, cement abundance/type, intergranular volume, and overall diagenetic processes. These distinct petrographic differences suggest that the paragenesis in the Flomaton Field is primarily facies controlled. The eolian …

On The Lagrangian Description And Uniqueness For The One-Dimensional Pressureless Euler System, Mark David Suder

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

In this work we show that the one-dimensional pressureless Euler system admits a Lagragian characterization under fairly general initial conditions, extending recent results by Hynd [7]. Moreover, we show that if the initial velocity is right-continuous and bounded, then we have uniqueness of this Lagrangian solution (called Sticky Particles Flow, or SPF solution), which coincides with the Scalar Conservation Laws (or SCL) solution. An important tool we employed in order to prove existence is a result by Gangbo et al. [5], which establishes a canonical (i.e. the flow is given by the optimal maps pushing the Lebesgue measure restricted to …

Reservoir Characteristics And Lateral Variability Of The Marcellus Formation At The Allegheny Mountain Front, Bruno J. Abersold

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The Marcellus Formation, a large shale gas reservoir located within in the Appalachian basin, produces the energy that fuels the economy across the United States. Well data and rock core for the Coastal 1H well, found in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, provides the basis to understand reservoir characteristics and depositional processes of the Marcellus Formation across the basin. The well is located near along the eastern edge of the productive fairway and adjacent to the Allegheny mountain front. We used characteristics, such as total organic carbon (TOC), geomechanical properties, and lithology, to integrate with ten other available wells across the basin. …

Development Of Synthetic Coal Char Simulant For Microwave Conversion Studies: A Computationally-Driven Approach, Kevin A. Hager

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Recent experimental demonstration of new reaction windows for coal char/methane reactions that are less energy-intensive, provides innovation for modular reactors. However, the correlation of the exact mechanism for the enhancement of these reaction windows is not certain. This study investigates the simplification of these experimental studies by developing a well-characterized coal char simulant. The approach involves using a computational approach to screen macroscopic composition to replicate the dielectric and compositional response of actual char. This study is focused on PRB coal char. A discrete element method (DEM) technique was used to simulate the packing of coal chars to give the …

Remediation Of Spatial Skills In First Semester Calculus Using Haptics-Based Applications, Kristen L. Murphy

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Spatial reasoning is required for many topics in undergraduate mathematics as well as other STEM fields. In calculus specifically, there are few interventions that assess students’ spatial skills and provide remediation. Haptic technology is a novel approach to spatial skills remediation due to its unfamiliarity to students and its flexibility with regard to models. The purpose of this dissertation is two-fold: first, to determine what level of spatial abilities students possess upon entering an undergraduate calculus course, and second, to determine whether haptic feedback will enhance an intervention for improving spatial skills.

The dissertation research was a mixed-methods study using …

Unique Biological Applications Of Charge Transfer Dissociation Mass Spectrometry, Halle M. Edwards

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The ever-changing landscape of mass spectrometry is driven by gaps in knowledge, and one of the biggest driving forces is the desire to understand the structure and dynamics of biomolecules in living organisms. New and better methods of tandem mass spectrometry are often at the heart of technological developments. Some fragmentation methods are limited to expensive FTICR instruments, some techniques are limited multiply charged precursors, and others are limited to breaking only the weakest bonds in precursor ions; all of which support the pursuit of new activation methods. Charge transfer dissociation (CTD) addresses some of these concerns by providing structurally …

Searching Harder, Localizing Better, Classifying Faster: Optimizing Fast Radio Burst Detection And Analysis, Kshitij Aggarwal

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Fast Radio Bursts (or FRBs) are millisecond-duration transients of extragalactic origin. They exhibit dispersion caused by propagation through an ionized medium, and quantified by Dispersion Measure (DM). Around 800 FRBs (24 repeaters) have been discovered; so far, 24 FRBs have been confidently associated with a host galaxy. In this thesis, we discuss multiple new FRB search and analysis techniques and the corresponding tools that enable us to search for FRBs harder, localize them better, and classify candidates faster.

We discuss five open-source software suites that can be used in FRB analysis. These suites are used to distinguish between FRBs and …

Online Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Charge Transfer Dissociation-Mass Spectrometry (Uhplc-Ctd-Ms) Of Complex Mixtures Of Oligosaccharides, Praneeth M. Mendis

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Abstract

Online Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Charge Transfer Dissociation-Mass Spectrometry (UHPLC-CTD-MS) of Complex Mixtures of Oligosaccharides

Praneeth M. Mendis

Complex carbohydrates make up more than half the biomass on earth, and they are crucial to a wide range of processes in living organisms. When polysaccharides and glycans are enzymatically digested into manageable units called oligosaccharides, they typically consist of 2-20 linear or branched sugar units. The detailed structural analysis of oligosaccharides assists in the identification of structural and chemical properties of the polymers from which they derive. Tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) is a key technique used in oligosaccharides structural characterization. Within …

Understanding Visitor Use At Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, Melissa Maria Hurtado Alvarez

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Effective management and monitoring of visitor recreational use is fundamental in marine protected areas. It is common to hear that tourism and outdoor recreation are often qualified as double-edged activities, making valuable socioeconomic contributions but also causing degradation of the environment. The convergence of social and natural resource research and practices can help managers to create better policies that will maximize human benefits from, and minimize human pressures on, ocean and coastal environments. For this study online surveys were sent via Qualtrics to email addresses obtained from the state of Florida during the summer of 2020. The first paper assessed …

Using Numerical Relativity To Explore Strong Gravity And Develop Force-Free Electrodynamics Simulation Software With Best-Practice Development, Patrick E. Nelson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

In this dissertation, we explore the effects of extremely strong gravitational and electro- dynamic fields using the techniques of numerical relativity. We use the existing black hole simulation software in the Einstein Toolkit to compute the spin-up of two initially nonspin- ning black holes as they pass by each other in space. The angular momentum is imparted by the tidal interaction between the two black holes, in a parallel to Earth’s tides, as described by classical mechanics, which also transfer angular momentum between the Earth’s rotation and the Moon’s orbit. The largest observed dimensionless spin observed was 0.20 with an …

Development Of Eccentric Black Hole Binary Searches In The Ligo And Pta Regimes, Belinda D. Cheeseboro

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

In the past several years, a plethora of gravitational wave events have been detected leading to better understanding of binary black holes, binary neutron stars, and neutron star black hole binaries. All of these transient detections have helped us better understand the dynamics of these systems as well as the populations of these objects, but each of these sources was detected with models that neglected eccentricity. Eccentricity is one of several potential markers for determining the formation of binary systems. Detecting gravitational waves from eccentric sources can better our understanding of such systems and help constrain theories about their formation. …

Single And Differential Morph Attack Detection, Baaria Chaudhary

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Face recognition systems operate on the assumption that a person's face serves as the unique link to their identity. In this thesis, we explore the problem of morph attacks, which have become a viable threat to face verification scenarios precisely because of their inherent ability to break this unique link. A morph attack occurs when two people who share similar facial features morph their faces together such that the resulting face image is recognized as either of two contributing individuals. Morphs inherit enough visual features from both individuals that both humans and automatic algorithms confuse them. The contributions of this …

Modified Firearm Discharge Residue Analysis Utilizing Advanced Analytical Techniques, Complexing Agents, And Quantum Chemical Calculations, William J. Feeney

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The use of gunshot residue (GSR) or firearm discharge residue (FDR) evidence faces some challenges because of instrumental and analytical limitations and the difficulties in evaluating and communicating evidentiary value. For instance, the categorization of GSR based only on elemental analysis of single, spherical particles is becoming insufficient because newer ammunition formulations produce residues with varying particle morphology and composition. Also, one common criticism about GSR practitioners is that their reports focus on the presence or absence of GSR in an item without providing an assessment of the weight of the evidence. Such reports leave the end-used with unanswered questions, …

Identification And Classification Of Radio Pulsar Signals Using Machine Learning, Di Pang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Automated single-pulse search approaches are necessary as ever-increasing amount of observed data makes the manual inspection impractical. Detecting radio pulsars using single-pulse searches, however, is a challenging problem for machine learning because pul- sar signals often vary significantly in brightness, width, and shape and are only detected in a small fraction of observed data.

The research work presented in this dissertation is focused on development of ma- chine learning algorithms and approaches for single-pulse searches in the time domain. Specifically, (1) We developed a two-stage single-pulse search approach, named Single- Pulse Event Group IDentification (SPEGID), which automatically identifies and clas- …

Gas Phase Reactions Of Cyclopentadiene With Ch And Oh Radicals, Kacee Lynn Caster

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and carbon-based nanoparticles in combustion environments is driven by the pyrolysis and oxidation of abundant fuel molecules. The subsequent growth of these pyrolytic byproducts is then propagated by reactions with small free radical species like OH, CH, O atoms, and C₂H. Cyclopentadiene (C₅H₆) is a significant five-member combustion intermediate that has been detected in many high temperature reactions, such as in the pyrolysis of jet fuels like JP-10. Experimental and theoretical investigations in the reactions of cyclopentadiene with these small free radical species are necessary towards understanding …

The Impact Of Unsaturated Zone Thickness On The Severity Of Saltwater Intrusion In Coastal Aquifers From Overtopping, Dennis Jesse Carpinello

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Storm-surge inundation and wave overwash, collectively overtopping, causes the land surface to be inundated with seawater, resulting in vertical infiltration of saline waters into underlying coastal aquifers, which can have severe consequences on freshwater resources. Unsaturated zone thickness plays an important role in determining the severity of saltwater contamination resulting from an overtopping event. This study uses numerical modeling to investigate vertical saltwater infiltration and salinization, and the subsequent aquifer recovery to overtopping events for coastal aquifers with different unsaturated zone thicknesses. Groundwater models were developed using the numerical code SUTRA to solve saturated-unsaturated, density-dependent groundwater flow and solute …

Topic Modeling And Cultural Nature Of Citations, Marie Coraline Dumaz

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Ever since the beginning of research journals, the number of academic publications has been increasing steadily. Nowadays, especially, with the new importance of online open-access journals and databases, research papers are more easily available to read and share. It also becomes harder to keep up with novelties and grasp an idea of the general impact of a given researcher, institution, journal, or field. For this reason, different bibliometric indicators are now routinely used to classify and evaluate the impact or significance of individual researchers, conferences, journals, or entire scientific communities. In this thesis, we provide tools to study trends in …