Maltreatment is a pervasive global problem known to have cascading consequences that persist long after exposure subsides (Masten and Cicchetti, 2010). Maltreatment is often co-occurring, involving exposure to multiple types. Cumulative maltreatment, or exposure to multiple types of neglect and abuse, is proposed to be of critical importance for developmental psychopathology. However, a cumulative approach to studying maltreatment provides little insight into the developmental processes whereby it exerts its effects on health. Thus, we employed both a cumulative approach and a multidimensional approach to facilitate our comprehensive understanding of maltreatment experiences related to behavioral development. Given the high prevalence of maltreatment, it is important to cultivate a greater understanding of the processes linking maltreatment and health and to identify developmental periods of vulnerability to its deleterious effects. The present study uses a longitudinal design and a multidimensional approach to examine the effects of maltreatment on delay discounting and health-promoting and health-demoting behaviors during adolescence and across the transition from adolescence to young adulthood. The study sample includes 167 adolescents (aged 13–14 at Time 1; 53% male) who participated across 5 time points over 6 years. At Time 5, adolescents provided retrospective reports of their exposure to maltreatment during adolescence across ages 13–18. Delay discounting, substance use, and body mass index (BMI) were assessed at each time point. We used a developmental cascade model with autoregressive, cross-lagged, and cross-sectional associations to examine the longitudinal multivariate change processes and indirect effects from maltreatment exposure during adolescence to delay discounting and health-promoting and health-demoting behaviors during adolescence and across the transition to young adulthood. Our results indicate that cumulative maltreatment affects health-demoting behavior via its effects on delay discounting and that maltreatment of omission but not commission drives this effect. Furthermore, the findings identify adolescents exposed to maltreatment of omission as being especially vulnerable to marijuana use via elevated delay discounting. Identifying mediating processes linking maltreatment exposure to health-promoting and health-demoting behaviors may be instrumental for preventing deleterious developmental cascades and interrupting related health problems during adolescence and across the transition from adolescence to young adulthood. / Doctor of Philosophy / Maltreatment is a pervasive global problem that casts a long shadow, often involving exposure to multiple types of abuse or neglect. Cumulative maltreatment involves exposure to different types of neglect and abuse and is especially problematic for adjustment and health. However, a cumulative approach to studying maltreatment provides little insight into the developmental processes whereby it exerts its effects on health. We took a cumulative approach and a multidimensional approach to improve our understanding of how maltreatment experiences relate to health in adolescence and young adulthood. Given the high prevalence of maltreatment, it is important to understand how maltreatment and health are related and to identify developmental periods of vulnerability to maltreatment. The present study includes 167 adolescents (aged 13–14 at the study outset; 53% male) who participated across 6 years. At ages 17–18, adolescents provided reports of their exposure to maltreatment during adolescence (across ages 13–18). Delay discounting, substance use, and body mass index (BMI) were gathered at each assessment. We examined the cascading effects of cumulative maltreatment, abuse, and neglect on delay discounting and health behaviors over time. Our results indicate that cumulative maltreatment affects health-demoting behavior via delay discounting and that maltreatment of omission but not commission drives this effect. Furthermore, the findings identify adolescents exposed to maltreatment of omission as being especially vulnerable to marijuana use via elevated delay discounting. These findings may inform prevention and intervention efforts aimed at mitigating risks for adolescents exposed to neglect during adolescence and across the transition from adolescence to young adulthood.

The contribution of present research work is to experimentally investigate the effects of blowing ratio and mainstream Mach number/Reynolds number (from 0.6/8.5X10⁵ to 1.0/1.4X10⁶) on the performance of the fan-shaped hole injected turbine blade and vane. The study was operated with high freestream turbulence intensity (12% at the inlet) and large turbulence length scales (0.26 for blade, 0.28 for vane, normalized by the cascade pitch of 58.4mm and 83.3mm respectively). Both convective heat transfer coefficient, in terms of Nusselt number, and adiabatic effectiveness are provided in the results. Present research work also numerically investigates the shock/film cooling interaction. A detailed analysis on the physics of the shock/film cooling interaction in the blade cascade is provided. The results of present research suggests the following major conclusions. Compared to the showerhead only vane, the addition of fan-shaped hole injection on the turbine Nozzle Guide Vane (NGV) increases the Net Heat Flux Reduction (NHFR) 2.6 times while consuming 1.6 times more coolant. For the blade, combined with the surface curvature effect, the increase of Mach number/Reynolds number results in an improved film cooling effectiveness on the blade suction side, but a compromised cooling performance on the blade pressure side. A quick drop of cooling effectiveness occurs at the shock impingement on the blade suction side near the trailing edge. The CFD results indicate that this adiabatic effectiveness drop was caused by the strong secondary flow after shock impingement, which lifts coolant away from the SS surface, and increases the mixing. This secondary flow is related to the spanwise non-uniform of the shock impingement. / Ph. D.

An experimental study was performed to measure surface Nusselt number and film cooling effectiveness on a film cooled first stage nozzle guide vane using a transient thin film gauge (TFG) technique. The information presented attempts to further characterize the performance of shaped hole film cooling by taking measurements on a row of shaped holes downstream of leading edge showerhead injection on both the pressure and suction surfaces (hereafter PS and SS) of a 1st stage NGV. Tests were performed at engine representative Mach and Reynolds numbers and high inlet turbulence intensity and large length scale at the Virginia Tech Transonic Cascade facility. Three exit Mach/Reynolds number conditions were tested: 1.0/1,400,000; 0.85/1,150,000; and 0.60/850,000 where Reynolds number is based on exit conditions and vane chord. At Mach/Reynolds numbers of 1.0/1,450,000 and 0.85/1,150,000 three blowing ratio conditions were tested: BR = 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0. At a Mach/Reynolds number of 0.60/850,000, two blowing ratio conditions were tested: BR = 1.5 and 2.0. All tests were performed at inlet turbulence intensity of 12% and length scale normalized by leading edge diameter of 0.28. Film cooling effectiveness and heat transfer results compared well with previously published data, showing a marked effectiveness improvement (up to 2.5x) over the showerhead only NGV and agreement with published showerhead-shaped hole data. NHFR was shown to increase substantially (average 2.6x increase) with the addition of shaped holes, with only a small increase (average 1.6x increase) in required coolant mass flow. Heat transfer and effectiveness augmentation with increasing blowing ratio was shown on the pressure side, however the suction side was shown to be less sensitive to changing blowing ratio. Boundary layer transition location was shown to be within a consistent region on the suction side regardless of blowing ratio and exit Mach number. / Master of Science

Significant cost and debilitation results from connective tissue injury and disease every year. Prolotherapy is an effective medical treatment used to increase joint stability. However, most associated studies are retrospective or case studies, rather than comprehensive laboratory investigation originating with the cellular response to exposure to the proliferant solutions. As a parallel consideration, nanoparticles are being investigated for use in drug delivery and heat shock treatment of cancerous tissue due to their unique structural and thermal properties. The phenomenal strength and stiffness of carbon nanoparticles have been used for commercial purposes in composite materials, but investigation of biomedical applications is still fairly nascent. In an attempt to develop a non-surgical approach to supporting and healing damaged ligaments and tendons resulting from injury or disease by combining prolotherapy and the use of nanoparticles, the author presents studies investigating the cellular response to proliferative therapy solution as well as tendon and ligament tissue's mechanical and cellular response to exposure to nanoparticles. In the prolotherapy solution cell studies, the results suggested that there is an optimal dosage of the proliferant for in vitro studies, different responses between cell types, and a dosage-dependent response in cell viability and collagen production to the solution P2G in preosteoblasts. In the nanoparticle studies, cell populations tolerated nanoparticles at the levels tested, tendon mechanical properties were increased (stiffness significantly so), and bright field and transmission electron microscopic histological images were taken of connective tissue and carbon nanohorn interactions. / Master of Science

The effects of a shock wave passing through a blade passage on surface heat transfer to turbine blades were measured experimentally. The experiments were performed in a transonic linear cascade which matched engine Reynolds number, Mach number, and shock strength. Unsteady heat flux measurements were made with Heat Flux Microsensors on both the pressure and suction surfaces of a single blade passage. Unsteady static pressure measurements were made using Kulite pressure transducers on the blade surface and end walls of the cascade. The experiments were conducted in a stationary linear cascade of blades with heated transonic air flow using a shock tube to introduce shock waves into the cascade. A time-resolved model based on conduction in the gas was found to accurately predict heat transfer due to shock heating measured during experimental tests without flow. The model under-predicted the experimental results with flow, however, by a factor of three. The heat transfer increase resulting from shock passing in heated flow averaged over 200 its (typical blade passing period) was found to be a maximum of 60% on the pressure surface near the leading edge. Based on experimental results at different flow temperatures, it was determined that shock heating has the primary effect on heat transfer, while heat transfer increase due to boundary layer disturbance is small. / Master of Science

The effects of a wake generated by a stationary upstream strut on surface heat transfer to turbine blades were measured experimentally. Time-resolved and unsteady heat flux measurements were made with Heat Flux Microsensors (HFM) at three positions on the suction surface and one position on the pressure surface of a turbine blade. The experiments were conducted on a stationary cascade of blades for heated runs at transonic conditions Methods for determining the adiabatic wall temperature and heat transfer coefficient are presented and the results are compared to computer predictions for these blades. Heat transfer measurements were taken with new HFM-6 insert gages. A strong influence on the heat transfer coefficient was seen from the relative position of the strut with respect to the leading edge of the test blades. As the strut approached the leading edge of the blade the heat transfer increased by 15% at gage location 2 on the suction surface. The largest increase in .the heat transfer coefficient was seen on the pressure surface. Results at this location show a 24% increase in the overall heat transfer coefficient for one of the strut locations. The values obtained for the heat transfer coefficients for the no strut case did not compare well with computer predictions. The results did support the experimental results of other researchers, however. The fast time response of the HFM illustrated graphically an increase in the frequency energy between the 0-10 kHz range when the strut was located near the leading edge of the instrumented blade. The heat flux turbulence intensity (Tuq) was defined as another physical quantity important to turbine blade heat transfer, but no conclusions could be drawn from the results as to how this value compares to the turbulence intensity. / Master of Science

The production of hydrogen from low-cost abundant renewable biomass would be vital to sustainable development. Cell-free (in vitro) biosystems comprised of synthetic enzymatic pathways would be a promising biomanufacturing platform due to several advantages, such as high product yield, fast reaction rate, easy control and access, and so on. However, it is essential to produce (purified) enzymes at low costs and stabilize them for long periods to decrease biocatalyst costs. Thermophilic recombinant enzymes as building blocks were discovered and developed: fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase (FBP) from Thermotoga maritime, phosphoglucose isomerase (PGI) from Clostridium thermocellum, triose phosphate isomerase (TIM) from Thermus thermophiles and fructose bisphosphate aldolase (ALD) from T. maritima and T. thermophilus. The recombinant proteins were over-expressed in E. coli, purified and characterized. For purification and stabilization of enzymes, one-step, simple, low-cost purification and immobilization methods were developed based on simple adsorption of cellulose-binding module (CBM)-tagged protein on the external surface of high-capacity regenerated amorphous cellulose. Also, a simple, low-cost purification method of thermophilic enzymes was developed utilizing a combination of heat and ammonium sulfate precipitation. For development of cascade enzymes as building modules (biocatalyst modules), it was discovered that the presence of other enzymes/proteins had a strong synergetic effect on the stabilization of the thermolabile enzyme (e.g., PGI) due to the in vitro macromolecular crowding effect. And substrate channeling among CBM-tagged self-assembled three-enzyme complex (synthetic matabolon) immobilized on the easily-recycled cellulose-containing magnetic nanoparticles can not only increase cascade reaction rates greatly, but also decrease enzyme cost in cell-free biosystems. The high product yield and fast reaction rate of dihydrogen from sucrose was validated in a batch reaction containing fifteen enzymes comprising a non-natural synthetic pathway. The yield of dihydrogen production from 2 mM of sucrose was 96.7 % compared to theoretical yield at 37 °C. The maximum rate was increased 3.1 fold when the substrate concentration was increased from 2 to 50 mM in a fed-batch reaction. The research and development of cell-free biosystems for biomanufacturing require more efforts, especially in low-cost recombinant thermostable enzymes as building blocks, efficient cofactor recycling, enzyme and cofactor stabilization, and fast reaction rates. / Ph. D.

Steam turbines are widely used in various industrial applications, primarily for power extraction. However, deviation for operating design conditions is a frequent occurrence for such machines, and therefore, understanding their performance at off design conditions is critical to ensure that the needs of the power demanding systems are met as well as ensuring safe operation of the steam turbines. In this thesis, the aerodynamic performance of three different turbine airfoil sections ( baseline, mid radius and tip profile) as a function of angle of incidence and exit Mach numbers, is numerically computed at 0.3 axial chords downstream of the trailing edge. It was found that the average loss coefficient was low, owing to the fact that the flow over the airfoils was well behaved. The loss coefficient also showed a slight decrease with exit Mach number for all three profiles. The mid radius and tip profiles showed near identical performance due to similarity in their geometries. It was also found out that the baseline profile showed a trend of substantial increase in losses at positive incidences, due to the development of an adverse pressure zone on the blade suction side surface. The mid radius profile showed high insensitivity to angle of incidence as well as low exit flow angle deviation in comparison to the baseline blade. / Master of Science

The present study investigates mixed out aerodynamic loss coefficient measurements for a high turning, contoured endwall passage under transonic operating conditions in presence of upstream purge slot and mateface gap. The upstream purge slot represents the gap between stator-rotor interface and the mateface gap simulates the assembly feature between adjacent airfoils in an actual high pressure turbine stage. While the performance of the mateface and upstream slot has been studied for lower Mach number, no studies exist in literature for transonic flow conditions. Experiments were performed at the Virginia Tech's linear, transonic blow down cascade facility. Measurements were carried out at design conditions (isentropic exit Mach number of 0.87, design incidence) without and with coolant blowing. Upstream leakage flow of 1.0% coolant to mainstream mass flow ratio (MFR) was considered with the presence of mateface gap. There was no coolant blowing through the mateface gap itself. Cascade exit pressure measurements were carried out using a 5-hole probe traverse at a plane 1.0Cax downstream of the trailing edge for a planar geometry and two contoured endwalls. Spanwise measurements were performed to complete the entire 2D loss plane from endwall to midspan, which were used to plot pitchwise averaged losses for different span locations and loss contours for the passage. Results reveal significant reduction in aerodynamic losses using the contoured endwalls due to the modification of flow physics compared to a non contoured planar endwall. / Master of Science

The effects of grid generated free-stream turbulence on compressor cascade performance was measured experimentally in the Virginia Tech blow-down wind tunnel. The parameter of key interest was the behavior of the measured total pressure loss coefficient with and without generated free-stream turbulence. A staggered cascade of nine airfoils was tested at a range of Mach numbers between 0.59 and 0.88. The airfoils were tested at both the lowest loss level cascade angle and extreme positive and negative cascade angles about this condition. The cascade was tested in a Reynolds number range based on the chord length of approximately 1.2-2x106. A passive turbulent grid was used as the turbulence-generating device, it produced a turbulent intensity of approximately 1.6%. The total pressure loss coefficient was reduced by 11-56% at both the "lowest loss level" and more positive cascade angles for both high and low Mach numbers. Oil Visualization and blade static pressure measurements were performed in order to gain a qualitative understanding of the loss reduction mechanism. The results indicate that the effectiveness of an increasing turbulent free-stream on loss reduction, at transonic Mach numbers, depends on whether the shock wave on the suction surface is strong enough to completely separate the boundary layer. At negative cascade angles, increasing free-stream turbulence proved to have a negligible influence on the pressure loss coefficient. At cascade angles where transition exists within a laminar separation bubble, increasing free-stream turbulence suppressed the extent of the laminar separation bubble and led to an earlier turbulent reattachment. / Master of Science