Ferrous sulfate, commercially known as copperas, is a by-product of many industries such as the steel industry where steel is “pickled” in sulfuric acid previous to galvanizing, and in ore refining where sulfuric acid is used to remove undesirable impurities consisting chiefly of iron materials. One of the chief uses of copperas is as a coagulant in water treatment. Crude copperas, as produced, does not meet these specifications and must be refined and reworked before it is suitable for use. Consequently, in many instances no attempt is made to make further use of the copperas and it is dumped aside as refuse. It is the purpose of this investigation to use this crude copperas to produce an iron salt suitable for use as a coagulant. Crude copperas can be used to make a solution of ferric chloride by reacting it with calcium chloride, filtering off the precipitate of calcium sulfate, and oxidizing the ferrous iron to ferric iron with chlorine gas. The calcium content of the ferric chloride solution is low enough so that the hardness of water treated with i it will not be appreciably increased. / M.S.

Reinforced concrete (RC) bridge decks are exposed to chlorides from deicing salts. Chloride ingress in RC initiates corrosion of the reinforcing steel. The high costs of corrosion have sparked interest in service life design of bridge decks. This thesis characterized the exposure conditions of Virginia, including temperature and surface chloride concentration, as well as Virginia concrete mix properties, including initial chloride concentration and chloride migration coefficient. The service life estimations for a case study bridge in Virginia from three service life models were compared. The first model is based on the fib Bulletin 34 Model Code for Service Life Design, the second is a finite element solution of the fib Bulletin, and the third accounts for a time-, temperature-, moisture-, and concentration-dependent apparent diffusion coefficient. A sensitivity analysis was completed on the three models showing that the most important variables in these models are the aging coefficient and surface chloride concentration. Corresponding life cycle cost analyses were completed for plain and corrosion resistant reinforcing steel. This thesis showed that the error function solution underestimates chloride ingress. The life cycle cost analysis of plain and corrosion resistant reinforcing steels show that overestimation of service life leads to underestimation of life cycle costs. / Master of Science

Since the surfaces of cantaloupes are highly rough or irregular, Salmonella enteric and other bacteria can easily attach to these surfaces and are difficult to remove. Cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) is the active ingredient of some antiseptic oral mouth rinses and has a broad antimicrobial spectrum with a rapid bactericidal effect on Gram-positive pathogens. Delmopinol hydrochloride (delmopinol) is a cationic surfactant that is effective for treating and preventing gingivitis and periodontitis. The application of delmopinol or CPC to cantaloupe surfaces may be an alternative post harvest technique to reduce the frequency and level of Salmonella contamination. Cantaloupe (Athena and Hale's Best Jumbo (HBJ) cultivars) rind plugs were inoculated with a broth culture of Salmonella Michigan. After 15 min, plugs were sprayed with 10 ml of a 1% delmopinol solution, or a CPC solution (0.5 or 1.0%) or distilled water (Control), and held at 37 oC for 1 hr or 24 hr. For additional samples, the chemical treatments were applied 15 min before pathogen inoculation. Melon plugs were submerged in Butterfield's Phosphate Buffer, shaken, sonicated and solutions were enumerated on Tryptic Soy Agar. The texture quality and color of additional melon samples were evaluated after delmopinol or CPC spray treatments and storage at 4 oC. A 1.0% application of CPC reduced Salmonella levels up to 2.34 log CFU/ml (Athena) and 4.95 log CFU/ml (HBJ) in comparison to the control (p<0.01). A 1.0% delmopinol treatment reduced Salmonella levels as much as 3.1 log CFU/ml in comparison to the control (p<0.01) on both cultivars. In general, the log recovery of Salmonella on cantaloupes treated with delmopinol or CPC solutions, after 1 hr storage, was significantly lower (p<0.05) than the recovery from control cantaloupes, but Salmonella recovery was not significantly different after 24 hr. No significant differences were observed in the texture and color of melons treated with delmopinol or CPC after 14 days. A surface spray application of delmopinol hydrochloride or cetylpyridinium chloride could be an alternative antimicrobial post-harvest treatment that could make cantaloupes surfaces more susceptible to sanitizers or enhance physical removal of bacteria. / Ph. D.

The bonding of plastic sheeting to metal is a recent development of the surface coating industry. The product, a pre-finished material, has the strength of the base metal and exterior finish of the plastic. It is used in making radio and television cabinets, furniture, and chemical containers. In order to improve the bonding practice, it is necessary for the engineer to be well informed of the fundamental principles involved. A knowledge of the theory of bonding, the nature of the bond, and the factors affecting the bond strength would be helpful in attaining this goal. The purpose of this investigation was to study the factors affecting the bond strength between polyvinyl chloride sheeting and metal. The metals used in this investigation were aluminum, brass, copper, nickel, low carbon steel, and stainless steel. The plastic sheeting was bonded to the metal by means of synthetic adhesive. Five different commercial adhesives were used. These were vinyl chloride-acetate resin, VYNW, modified vinyl chloride-acetate resin, VMCH, vinyl acetate resin, A-70, vinyl alcohol-acetate resin, T-24-9, and vinyl alcohol-acetate resin, MA-28-18. The specimens of metal were treated as follows. Three sets of specimens were prepared. The first set was degreased with solvent only, the second one was polished and degreased, and the third one was degreased and etched. Semi-rigid polyvinyl chloride sheeting was bonded to the metal at a temperature of 70°, 150°, 250°, and 350°F under a pressure of 200 pounds per square inch. A series of the bonded specimens was stretched to 10, 20, and 30 percent elongation. A series of steel-steel laminates was prepared. They were bonded by different adhesives at 250°F under 200 pounds per square inch. The specimens of this series were tested for shear strength. The effect of surface conditions, of bonding temperatures, of nature of metals, of types of adhesives, and of amount of plasticizer in the adhesive upon the bond strength between polyvinyl chloride sheet and metal was determined and the following conclusions were reached: 1. The bond strength was affected by surface conditions. Etched specimens had higher bond strength than polished ones except low carbon steel. 2. The bonding temperature had no definite influence on the bond strengths of aluminum, nickel, low carbon steel, and stainless steel laminates. 3. The bond strengths of brass and copper laminates increased with the bonding temperature. 4. The average bond strengths of polished specimens of low carbon steel, aluminum, stainless steel, nickel, copper, and brass were 19.6, 15.5, 14.2, 8.5, 5.5, and 2.5 pounds per inch respectively. The strengths of these metal laminates followed the order of these metals in the galvanic series except aluminum. 5. The adhesion between adhesive and metal varied directly with the polarity of the adhesive. 6. The bond strength was also affected by the amount of plasticizer in the adhesive. When the laminates were subjected to stretching, the rate of decrease in strength was inversely proportional to the amount of plasticizer in the adhesive. / Master of Science

Chloride induced corrosion of steel in concrete is one of the major forms of deterioration mechanisms found in reinforced concrete bridges. Early age corrosion damage reduces the lifespan of the bridges, which results in heavy economic losses. Research has been conducted to identify economic solutions for significantly delaying and/or preventing corrosion damage. Considering the amount of steel reinforcement used in bridge decks, the influence of as constructed parameters including clear spacing between top and bottom reinforcement bars, ratio of cathode to anode areas, and presence of stay-in-place forms on corrosion activity needs to be evaluated. The influence of the as constructed parameters have been studied using different corrosion assessment methods including resistivity, half-cell potential, linear polarization, chloride content, moisture content, and visual inspection. This study included the clear spacing distances between the anode and cathode of 51, 76, and 102 mm (2, 3, and 4-inch), number of cathodes as 1 and 2, and the presence and absence of stay-in-place forms. Data up to 15 months were taken from a previous study by Smolinski and integrated into the current study period of 35 to 45 months. A trend line may be established to illustrate the changes which took place over the missing time period, from approximately 15 to 35 months, since the specimens were maintained in controlled environment. Analysis of the data showed that there is a significant difference between the spacing values (2, 3, and 4-inch) through all forms of evaluations. Regarding the other parameters, no significant difference was identified. Variations in resistivity with increasing spacing, even when the water-cement ratio was kept at 0.50, maybe the result of the difference in unit consolidation between the clear spacing specimens. Thus, the corrosion mechanism observed in this study may be resistivity-controlled. Also, autopsy showed that corrosion on the top bars was in general agreement with the measured corrosion activity. The bottom bars had no visible corrosion and the chloride had not penetrated to the bottom bars, regardless of the separation distance between the top and bottom bars. For this laboratory study, the measurements showed that macrocell corrosion influence on the total corrosion was insignificant. / Master of Science

Yes / Ion channels regulate many aspects of cell physiology, including cell proliferation, motility, and migration, and aberrant expression and activity of ion channels is associated with various stages of tumor development, with K+ and Cl- channels now being considered the most active during tumorigenesis. Accordingly, emerging in vitro and preclinical studies have revealed that pharmacological manipulation of ion channel activity offers protection against several cancers. Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV) is a major cause of Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC), primarily due to the expression of two early regulatory proteins termed small and large tumour antigens (ST and LT, respectively). Several molecular mechanisms have been attributed to MCPyVmediated cancer formation but thus far, no studies have investigated any potential link to cellular ion channels. Here we demonstrate that Cl- channel modulation can reduce MCPyV STinduced cell motility and invasiveness. Proteomic analysis revealed that MCPyV ST upregulates two Cl- channels; CLIC1 and CLIC4, which when silenced, inhibit MCPyV STinduced motility and invasiveness, implicating their function as critical to MCPyV-induced metastatic processes. Consistent with these data, we confirmed that CLIC1 and CLIC4 are upregulated in primary MCPyV-positive MCC patient samples. We therefore, for the first time, implicate cellular ion channels as a key host cell factor contributing to virus-mediated cellular transformation. Given the intense interest in ion channel modulating drugs for human disease, this highlights CLIC1 and CLIC4 activity as potential targets for MCPyV-induced MCC. / BBSRC DTP studentship (BB/J014443/1) and Royal Society University Research Fellowship to JM (UF100419)

A model to determine the time to first repair and subsequent rehabilitation of concrete bridge decks exposed to chloride deicer salts that recognizes and incorporates the statistical nature of factors affecting the corrosion process is developed. The model expands on an existing deterministic model using statistical computing techniques, including resampling techniques such as the parametric and simple bootstrap. Emphasis was placed on the diffusion portion of the diffusion-cracking model, but advances can be readily included for the time for corrosion deterioration after corrosion initiation. Data collected from ten bridge decks built in Virginia between 1981 and 1994 was used to model the surface chloride concentration, apparent diffusion coefficient, and clear cover depth. Several ranges of the chloride corrosion initiation concentration, as determined from the available literature, were investigated. The time to first repair and subsequent rehabilitation predicted by the stochastic model is shorter than the time to first repair and subsequent rehabilitation predicted by the deterministic model, but is believed to more accurately reflect the true nature of bridge deck deterioration. The model was validated using historical service life data for 129 bridge decks built in Virginia between 1968 and 1972. The time to rehabilitation predicted for the set of bridge decks built between 1981 and 1994 by the stochastic model was approximately 13 years longer than the normalized time to rehabilitation projected for the bridge decks built between 1968 and 1972 using historical data. The increase in time to rehabilitation for the newer set of bridge decks was attributed to a reduction in the specified maximum water/cement ratio and increase in clear cover depth. / Master of Science

The net present replacement value of all publicly and privately owned potable water pipes in the U.S. is on the order of $2.4 trillion dollars, and costs associated with deteriorating iron pipes is billions of dollars per year. Problems arising from iron corrosion include reduced lifetime of the material, scale buildup and energy loss, nonuniform corrosion and leaks, catastrophic failure, "red water," disinfectant loss and bacterial re-growth. Iron corrosion is a very complicated process and is affected by many factors. This research focused on the effect of disinfectant type, sulfate/chloride ratios, nitrate concentration, and magnesium hardness on iron corrosion. For the waters tested, chlorine better controlled red water and microbial activity in the bulk solution than chloramine. Changes in the sulfate/chloride ratio did not have a large effect on iron corrosion. High levels of nitrate increased the rate of chlorine decay as a result of free ammonia formation, and also increased the release of iron. Increased magnesium and zinc decreased the red water caused by high silicate. Microbiological activity is important in iron corrosion, and control of re-growth in water distribution systems is a major challenge for water utilities. A separate study examined the inter-relationship between iron corrosion and bacterial re-growth, with a special focus on the potential of iron pipe to serve as a source of phosphorus. Under some circumstances corroding iron and steel may serve as a source for all macronutrients necessary for bacterial re-growth including fixed carbon, fixed nitrogen and phosphorus. Conceptual models and experimental data illustrate that levels of phosphorus released from corroding iron are significant relative to that necessary to sustain high levels of biofilm bacteria. Consequently, it may be more difficult to limit re-growth on iron surfaces by limiting phosphorus in the bulk water. / Master of Science

The fate of E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella spp. during osmotic dehydration of apples was determined at different processing temperatures, times and calcium chloride (CaCl2) concentrations. Apple slices were inoculated to achieve an 8 log CFU/ apple slice concentration of a five strain mixture of E. coli O157:H7 or Salmonella spp. and were soaked in sucrose solutions (60% w/w). In the first study, apple slices were subjected to osmotic dehydration at three different temperatures: 20°C, 45°C and 60°C. In a second study, CaCl₂ was added in the sucrose solution at concentrations of 2%, 4% and 8% to determine its efficacy as an antimicrobial agent. The storage effect of osmotic dehydrated apples on pathogen survival was also tested for seven days at 4°C. Samples were withdrawn at appropriate time intervals, diluted with 0.1% peptone water and surface plated onto recovery media. Recovery of E. coli O157:H7 was compared on Tryptic Soy Agar + 50 ppm nalidixic acid (TSAN) and MacConkey Sorbitol agar (MCS). Recovery of Salmonella was compared on TSAN and XLD agar. There was lower microbial reduction at the lower temperatures tested with approximately 1.0 and 3.0 log CFU/apple slice reduction at 20°C and 45°C, respectively. The population reduction of cells was highest at 60°C, with an approximate five log reduction for both microorganisms (P<0.001). CaCl₂ used as an additive in the osmotic solution, was associated with slightly higher reduction of both E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella spp. Greater than a 5 log reduction was observed when the combination of CaCl₂ (8%) and 60°C processing temperature was used. During refrigerated storage E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella decreased by approximately 4.5 log CFU/apple slice, but were still recoverable via direct plating at Day seven. The results of this study show that the survival of E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella in osmotically dehydrated fruit is influenced by the osmotic processing method used and the level of additive (i.e., CaCl₂) utilized. Parameters associated with decreased survival of pathogens, and therefore, improve product safety, include increasing temperature and time of processing and increasing concentration of CaCl₂. However, E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella in artificially contaminated apple slices, survived osmotic dehydration processing and subsequent storage under processing and storage parameters of this study. Therefore, processors who produce osmotically dehydrated fruit must consider the potential food safety impact of the osmotic dehydration processes they choose. / Master of Science

The specific goal of this investigation was the determination of the self-diffusion coefficient of the divalent lead ion in a fused lead chloride system at several temperatures and the determination of the activation energy for the diffusion process.