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Anthropogenic activities and natural processes over time have led to the release of toxic heavy metal contaminants into the environment. As a consequence, there is an increasing number of illnesses caused by the exposure of humans to heavy metals and metalloids. The dissertation work presented here focused on the synthesis, characterization, and understanding of the surface chemistry, as well as the photo-reactivity, of a variety of iron (oxyhydr)oxide nano-materials that have relevance for the remediation of heavy metal contaminants, such as arsenic and chromium in aqueous environments. The research focused on the photo-induced reductive dissolution of a nano-dimensioned iron oxyhydroxide, ferrihydrite, in the presence of oxalate, the photo-induced arsenite oxidation, and the simultaneous redox transformation of arsenite and chromate in the presence of ferrihydrite and another environmentally relevant iron oxyhydroxide, goethite. The photo-reductive dissolution of ferrihydrite (using simulated solar radiation) in the presence of oxalic acid was investigated with surface sensitive in situ and ex situ techniques that included attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Ferrihydrite at a solution pH of 4.5 exhibited an induction period where the rate of Fe(II) release was limited by a low concentration of adsorbed oxalate due to the site-blocking of carbonate that was intrinsic to the surface of the ferrihydrite starting material. The photo-induced decarboxylation of adsorbed oxalate also ultimately led to the appearance of carbonate reaction product (distinct from carbonate intrinsic to the starting material) on the surface. Ferrihydrite that was prepared under carbonate free condition showed a rapid release of Fe(II) upon irradiation and no induction period was observed. Arsenite [As(III)] oxidation in the presence of ferrihydrite and goethite was also investigated. Ferrihydrite or goethite when exposed to As(III) in the dark led to no change in the oxidation state of As(III) reactant. However, exposure of As(III) in the presence of ferrihydrite or goethite to simulated solar light resulted in the oxidation of As(III) and a reduction of surface Fe(III) leading to an overall increase in the total As removal. At a solution pH of 5, this conversion of As(III) to As(V) on ferrihydrite resulted in the partitioning of a stoichiometric amount of Fe(II) into the aqueous phase and the majority of the As(V) product remained bound to the ferrihydrite surface. In contrast, the As(III)/goethite system showed a different photochemical behavior in the absence or presence of dissolved oxygen. Under oxic conditions, in contrast to ferrihydrite, the majority of the As(V) product was in the aqueous phase and the relative amount of aqueous Fe(II) was significantly less than in the ferrihydrite circumstance. Experimental observations suggested that in the oxic environment, Fe(II) on the goethite surface was heterogeneously oxidized to Fe(III) by dissolved oxygen resulting in the formation of reactive oxygen species that led to the further oxidation of As(III) in solution. Similarly, various experimental investigations were conducted to test the simultaneous removal of As(III) and Cr(VI) from solution. Our results suggested that a surface mediated spontaneous electron transfer between As(III) and Cr(VI) occurred in the presence of Fe- and Al-(oxy)hydroxides. Both infrared and x-ray absorption spectroscopies were conducted to get more insight into the charge transfer reaction and mechanism of electron transfer reaction. In summary, the research discussed here should help to understand the details of oxidation/reduction reactions occurring at mineral-water interfaces. Perhaps more importantly, the methodologies discussed in this dissertation could potentially be novel and eco-friendly approaches for arsenite as well as hexavalent chromium remediation. / Chemistry

Heavy metals are a growing environmental concern as they are unable to be metabolized in the environment, leading to bioaccumulation in the food chain and impacting human health. Treating heavy metals is difficult and expensive. Current methods include precipitation (which generates sludge that is costly to dispose of) or requires the use of a membrane, which fouls and requires regeneration. Microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) represent an alternative for treating heavy metal contaminated wastewater. Reactor components are cheap, and operation requires only a small amount of electricity. The electrically active biofilm oxidizes organics in the wastewater while transferring electrons first to the anode, then to the cathode, where aqueous metals are reduced to a solid deposit, a mechanism called electrodeposition. Few studies have been conducted to investigate the best operational conditions for heavy metal removal in MECs. In this study, the effects of hydrodynamics, applied voltage, and initial metal concentration on heavy metal removal mechanisms are investigated, and the best operational practices are determined on a high level. Mixing in the cathode chamber increased electrodeposition by 15%, decreased the cathode potential by -0.06 V, and increased current generation between 10-30%. Increasing the applied voltage from 0.6 V to 1.2 V increased electrodeposition by 22%. With both mixing and higher voltage applied, 93.35% of cadmium was removed from the catholyte in 24 hours. Although high voltage application maximized electrodeposition for short-term treatment, long-term treatment indicated lower applied voltage resulted in healthier MEC reactors, better overall metal recoveries, along with a more stable cathode potential. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

The research was a qualitative study of the dress of heavy metal (HM) music groups using content analysis. The purpose was to examine dress characteristics of a representative random sample of HM music groups. The objectives were (a) to develop a classification system for HM music groups based on time and subgenre, (b) to identify music groups within each cell (i.e., time and subgenre) of the classification system, and (c) to identify dress characteristics of a representative random sample of the music groups. The subjects in the study were HM music groups as pictured on albums. The variables were the selected items of dress and the classification of the groups by time and subgenre. A classification system was developed and used for the selection of subjects. Using the HM Dress Classification Instrument developed by the researcher, specific dress characteristics of twenty-four HM music groups were identified. This data was compiled in tabular format. Among the twenty-four HM groups, the predominant clothing was a black woven shirt and black leather/suede pants. Clothing trim included studs, motifs/designs, words and fringe. No visible jewelry was predominant. The primary shoes observed were western boots. Straight, shoulder-length black or blond hair with no head covering was predominant. Beards, makeup, tattooing, and other forms of corporal adornment were observed. Although some dress categories were dominated by single items, changes were observed across time and subgenres. The data indicated rejection of the two null hypotheses. / Master of Science

In the vast majority of popular music, the tactus—the periodicity that we move to, also known as the beat or the pulse—does not change within a single song. Not so in metal, a genre in which bands will change the rate of this tactus on a dime, reset its phase, or do away with it altogether. This dissertation collects these moments of disruption under the umbrella term “tactus transformation.” Tactus transformations are multifaceted: they are theoretically complex, challenging for composers and performers, kinetic for headbangers, and meaningful for fans. As such, I take a methodologically parallactic approach to studying them, drawing in each chapter on a different perspective and a different way of knowing. In Chapter One I use a traditional music theory lens to build a taxonomy of these moments, drawing attention to the ways they challenge standard notation and lead to multiple perceptual possibilities. In Chapter Two I present a survey of the conceptual strategies, digital tools, and embodied techniques that metal musicians employ to compose and perform tactus transformations, tracing a throughline of mimetic motor learning and framing metal as an aural musical tradition. In Chapter Three I outline a novel empirical, quantitative method for analyzing headbanging motion from a video of a metal show to trace how fans navigate stasis and synchronization through tactus transformations. In Chapter Four, I analyze discourse about tactus transformations to show that they contribute to meaning for metalheads via complexity, community, and metaphor. Across the dissertation, I foreground the voices of metal musicians and fans to an unprecedented degree, drawing largely from the dozens of interviews I conducted as part of this project. Implicit in the chapters, and made explicit in the Conclusion, is the argument that music theory benefits from considering the musical knowledge of these “non-theorists.”

The genus Gluconobacter is industrially important due to the ability to accomplish unusual and almost complete oxidation reactions (bioconversions) and to contaminate high sugar content products. Following preliminary evidence that some strains of Gluconobacter were resistant to cadmium, and realizing that cadmium resistance among gram-negative organisms is often encoded by an operon which also encodes cobalt and zinc resistance via an efflux mechanism, 10 strains of Gluconobacter were tested for heavy-metal resistance. Three of the 10 representative strains appeared to be resistant to cadmium chloride, and two were also resistant to cobalt- and zinc chloride. These strains, as well as two cadmium-sensitive strains were analyzed using PCR and sequencing to establish gene homology with Ralstonia eutropha, the most frequently studied Gram-negative bacterium exhibiting cadmium resistance. Amplification of two genes from the czc operon, known to encode cadmium, cobalt and zinc resistance in Ralstonia, was attempted in the three resistant and two sensitive strains of Gluconobacter. The gene, czcA, thought to encode the main pump protein of the efflux mechanism, was found in all Gluconobacter strains tested. However, amplification of a regulatory gene czcD, thought to sense the extracellular metal ion concentration, was not possible in the Gluconobacter strains tested. The PCR products were sequenced and analyzed for homology to the czc operon in Ralstonia. From the data gathered, it appears as though some strains of Gluconobacter contain at least a portion of the czc operon , encoding cadmium, cobalt and zinc resistance in Ralstonia eutropha. / Master of Science

A cultura de massa (midiática) tem sido tradicionalmente considerada pouco criativa, alienada e, portanto, menos relevante do que as formas artísticas clássicas e canônicas. Sua incapacidade de se relacionar com a sociedade de outro modo que não como produto disponível no mercado fariam dela mero sustento da lógica de consumo. Propomos no presente trabalho a observação desta forma de cultura a partir de uma outra perspectiva. Com base em teorias Pós-Coloniais, da Complexidade e do Letramento Crítico, mostramos que a alienação da cultura de massa não lhe é uma característica intrínseca, mas uma construção feita a partir de práticas sociais cotidianas. Sendo uma construção, a alienação pode ser desconstruída, e a cultura pode tornar-se crítica, política, socialmente interessada e interessante. Trabalhamos com esta hipótese analisando o heavy metal, tomado como manifestação cultural (de massa) tradicionalmente identificada com a rebeldia e a contestação cultural e social. Observamos diferentes estratégias de dissidência a que recorrem roqueiros e headbangers, constatando que rupturas mais profundas com o conformismo alienado emergem de sua participação crítica em sua cultura musical, na cultura de massa e na sociedade de consumo. A confirmação de tal constatação foi obtida pela análise (multimodal) de um caso, representado pela banda sueca Pain of Salvation. / Mass culture has been traditionally associated with lack of creativity and alienation, being considered less valuable and interesting than classic and canonic forms of Culture and Art. Its only role in society would be that of a commodity. It would be destined to serve consumption. The aim of our research is to offer a change in the perspective from which we see mass culture. Based on concepts and ideas coming from Postcolonial theories, Social Complexity and Critical Literacy, we can see alienation not as an intrinsic quality of mass culture, but as a construction that is socially produced. Therefore, we work on the hypothesis that, being a construction, alienation can be deconstructed, and culture can be made critical, political, socially interested and interesting. In order to confirm this, heavy metal music, traditionally identified with both cultural and social resistance and disobedience, was taken for analysis. We could, then, observe the different strategies of dissidence adopted by rockers and headbangers, finally concluding that deeper ruptures with alienated conformity emerge from their critical participation in the music culture, in mass culture, and in the consumer society. Final conclusions on this were made after the multimodal analysis of a case, represented by the Swedish band Pain of Salvation.

Submitted by Valquíria Barbieri (kikibarbi@hotmail.com) on 2018-02-01T20:28:20Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DISS_2013_Angela Mastella Coradini.pdf: 8478850 bytes, checksum: c2866f4afe4db7878e1592fb50f8f588 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Jordan (jordanbiblio@gmail.com) on 2018-02-02T14:25:09Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DISS_2013_Angela Mastella Coradini.pdf: 8478850 bytes, checksum: c2866f4afe4db7878e1592fb50f8f588 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-02-02T14:25:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DISS_2013_Angela Mastella Coradini.pdf: 8478850 bytes, checksum: c2866f4afe4db7878e1592fb50f8f588 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-06-14 / A proposição de produção de presença (GUMBRECHT 2010), a noção de Stimmung (GUMBRECHT 2009) e o Heavy Metal Cristão (HMC) são os pilares desta dissertação. A tensão presente na estética, nos shows, nos ambientes e na música do HMC direciona-nos a um lugar onde elementos cristãos e profanos coexistem. Nos shows de Heavy Metal Cristão, a maior expressão do gênero musical, as sonoridades, as cores, os cheiros, as temperaturas, os objetos, as expressões faciais e corporais mesclam-se compondo uma Stimmung (atmosfera) peculiar de pulsação e tensão sacro-profana. Propomo-nos a pensar, nesta dissertação, os movimentos de “desinterdição de mundanidades” realizados por algumas vertentes do cristianismo e que permeiam o HMC; a expansão das materialidades que delimitam o HMC; e a Stimmung que toca e envolve os corpos. / Proposition production of presence (Gumbrecht 2010), the notion of Stimmung (Gumbrecht 2009) and Heavy Metal Christian (HMC) are the pillars of this dissertation. The tension in the aesthetic, the shows, the environments and music of the HMC directs us to a place where Christians and secular elements coexist. In Christian Heavy Metal concerts, the greatest expression of the musical genre, the sounds, the colors, the smells, temperatures, objects, facial expressions and body mingle composing a Stimmung (atmosphere) peculiar pulse and tension sacral profane. We propose to think this dissertation movements "of desinterdição mundanities" performed by a few strands of Christianity and that permeate the HMC, the expansion of materiality that delimit the HMC, and Stimmung that touches and engages the bodies.