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Climate Change And The Evolution Of Insect Immune Function, Danae Perry Jan 2017

Climate Change And The Evolution Of Insect Immune Function, Danae Perry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Insects are ectothermic organisms that have physiological, behavioral and life-history traits directly influenced by their environment. Investigations have shown that many insects use melanin to permanently darken their cuticles in cooler or drier climates to improve thermoregulation and desiccation resistance. Melanin is a major component of pathogen defense in insects. This suggests that environmentally driven adaptive changes in cuticular melanin may non-adaptively shape insect immune function. This hypothesis has been referred to as climate-related Cuticle Dependent Immune Investment (climate-related CDII). Climate-related CDII also suggests that a warming climate could lead to the evolution of a weakened melanin-based immune response due …


Advanced Castes At The Outset Of Eusociality In Wasps (Vespidae), Patrick Piekarski Jan 2017

Advanced Castes At The Outset Of Eusociality In Wasps (Vespidae), Patrick Piekarski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A dominating and widespread view is that evolutionary change is gradual and waits upon mutation. Likewise, it is thought that workers and queens of eusocial insects diverged gradually and stepwise. That is, rudimentary castes preceded advanced castes. This paradigm hinges on eusociality having evolved once in Vespidae, and primitively eusocial paper wasps lacking ontogenetic caste biasing (differentiation of castes during larval development). Using a phylogenomic approach this study shows strong evidence for two origins of eusociality in vespid wasps, wherein one origin is likely characterized by the sudden appearance of castes with physiological, and perhaps even morphological, differences established before …


Keep Your Thoughts Off My Body: Social Attitudes Toward Rape-Related Abortions, Ketty Fernandez Jan 2017

Keep Your Thoughts Off My Body: Social Attitudes Toward Rape-Related Abortions, Ketty Fernandez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since the legalization of abortion in 1973, abortion continues to be an ongoing debate among pro-choice and pro-life groups, and politicians, and is one of the many barriers women may face. As rape continues in being a significant social issue, rape-related pregnancies and abortions have been understudied. By using the General Social Survey (GSS), this paper analyzes various sociodemographic variables which may influence social attitudes toward rape-related abortions. Findings indicate that Blacks, women, those living in the South, and age were not significant predictors of whether a pregnant woman should have a legal abortion as a result of rape. Other …


The Actin-Severing Protein Cofilin Is Downstream Of Neuregulin Signaling, Is Regulated By The Tumor Suppressor Merlin, And Is Essential For Schwann Cell Myelination, Nicklaus Sparrow Jan 2017

The Actin-Severing Protein Cofilin Is Downstream Of Neuregulin Signaling, Is Regulated By The Tumor Suppressor Merlin, And Is Essential For Schwann Cell Myelination, Nicklaus Sparrow

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Myelination is a complex process requiring coordination of directional motility and an increase in Schwann cell (SC) size to generate a multi-lamellar myelin sheath. Regulation of actin dynamics during myelination is poorly understood. However, it is known that myelin thickness is related to the abundance of neuregulin1-type III (NRG) expressed on the axon surface. NRG binding to ErbB2/3 receptors on the Schwann cell surface initiates signaling cascades necessary for myelination. We identify cofilin1, an actin depolymerizing and severing protein, as a downstream target of NRG-ErbB2/3 signaling in rat SC. A five minute exposure of SCs to NRG triggers phosphorylation of …


Analysis Of Pedestrian Crash Characteristics And Contributing Causes In Central Florida, Zainb Bianco Jan 2017

Analysis Of Pedestrian Crash Characteristics And Contributing Causes In Central Florida, Zainb Bianco

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research investigates the main reasons leading the State of Florida to be ranked among the worst states in terms of pedestrian safety with four metro areas considered the most dangerous for pedestrians among all the United States as reported in the Dangerous by Design report. The study analyzes the characteristics and contributing causes of pedestrian crashes that occurred in Central Florida over a 5 year-period (2011-2015) at intersections and along roadway segments at mid-block locations using the data obtained from the Signal 4 Analytics database. All pedestrian related crashes were compiled and all the 6,789 crash reports were studied …


Water And Energy Costs Of Landfilled Food Waste, Tonmoy Sarker Jan 2017

Water And Energy Costs Of Landfilled Food Waste, Tonmoy Sarker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Energy and water are consumed or contaminated during both the production and disposal of wasted food. To date, evaluations of water and energy resources associated with food waste have considered only resources used in food production. To allow for the full characterization of food waste within a Food Energy Water (FEW) nexus framework, this study addresses a fundamental knowledge gap related to the energy and water impacts of food waste after disposal. Fluxes of water and energy related to disposal of wasted food in landfills within the state of Florida were characterized. It is estimated that each metric ton (Mg) …


Exploring Relationship Quality As A Dyadic Mediator Of Adverse Childhood Experiences And Health For Economically Disadvantaged Couples, Naomi Wheeler Jan 2017

Exploring Relationship Quality As A Dyadic Mediator Of Adverse Childhood Experiences And Health For Economically Disadvantaged Couples, Naomi Wheeler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to investigate the directional relationships between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE; Felitti et al., 1998), relationship quality (as measured by the Relationship Assessment Scale [Hendrick, 1988] and the Behavioral Self-Regulation for Effective Relationships Scale [Wilson, Charker, Lizzio, Halford, & Kimlin, 2005]), and health (as measured by the OQ 45.2 [Lambert et al., 2004] and a Brief Medical History Questionnaire [Daire, Wheeler, & Liekweg, 2014]) among economically disadvantaged couples. The theorized model included a dyadic structure and mediation of ACE and health by relationship quality using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Mediation Model (APIMeM). The researcher employed …


Predicting Undergraduate Retention In Stem Majors Based On Demographics, Math Ability, And Career Development Factors, Christopher Belser Jan 2017

Predicting Undergraduate Retention In Stem Majors Based On Demographics, Math Ability, And Career Development Factors, Christopher Belser

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields are currently facing a crisis with respect to filling jobs with qualified workers (NSF, 2013; NAS, 2011). While advancements in these industries have translated into job growth, post-secondary declaration and retention rates within STEM majors lag behind industry needs (Carnevale et al., 2011; Chen, 2013; Koenig et al., 2012). Although researchers previously investigated demographic variables and math-related variables in the context of STEM retention (Beasley & Fischer, 2012; CollegeBoard, 2012; Cundiff et al., 2013; Gayles & Ampaw, 2014; Le et al., 2014; Nosek & Smyth, 2011; Riegle-Crumb & King, 2010), the need exists …


Wearable Passive Wireless Mems Respiration Sensor, Sina Moradian Jan 2017

Wearable Passive Wireless Mems Respiration Sensor, Sina Moradian

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this study a passive sensor that wirelessly monitors the profile of the human respiratory system is presented. The sensor was designed to be wearable, weighs less than 10 grams and is durable. The sensor is made of a RF piezoelectric MEMS resonator and an ultra-high frequency antenna made of a thin metal film formed on a flexible substrate . The resonance frequency of the TPoS resonator shifts as a function of condensation and evaporation of water vapor on the surface of the resonator and changes in resonator's temperature. These parameters change in each in response to inspiration and expiration …


Balancing Multiple Roles: A Re-Examination Of How Work Impacts Academic Performance For Community College Students, Celena Ziems Jan 2017

Balancing Multiple Roles: A Re-Examination Of How Work Impacts Academic Performance For Community College Students, Celena Ziems

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated how work impacts academic performance for community college students, from a multiple role balance perspective. Perna (2010) called for a re-examination of the role of work in college students' lives, especially regarding the exploration of benefits, rather than just the detriments of working while studying. According to Karp and Bork (2014), more research was also needed on community college students and how they balance multiple roles. Exploring the relationship between balancing multiple roles and academic performance may provide new insight into how community college students contend with demanding roles, while striving to achieve academic success. This study …


Hispanic Teacher's Experiences With Stressors While Working In Title I Schools: A Phenomenological Investigation Using A Self-Compassion Framework, Coralis Solomon Jan 2017

Hispanic Teacher's Experiences With Stressors While Working In Title I Schools: A Phenomenological Investigation Using A Self-Compassion Framework, Coralis Solomon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this exploratory phenomenology investigation was to understand what were Hispanic teachers' experiences with their occupational stressors while working in Title I elementary schools. Specifically, this investigation used a self-compassion theoretical framework to explore the emotional stressors of the participants (N = 19) and how they cope to mitigate their feelings of burnout. Purposeful sampling was used to recruit Hispanic teachers from three Title I elementary schools within the same school district in Central Florida. The data were collected through individual interviews with the Hispanic teachers who volunteered to participate in the study. All data were recorded, transcribed, …


The Influence Of Economics Knowledge On Students' Attitudes Toward Financial Literacy, Lloyd Beckles Jan 2017

The Influence Of Economics Knowledge On Students' Attitudes Toward Financial Literacy, Lloyd Beckles

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Financial literacy has developed in importance resulting from the growing intricacy of financial markets and the increased responsibility placed on consumers for their own financial security. During last decade, the necessity of financial literacy has been heightened due to increasingly complex products and services. Managing personal finances is important and people must learn to engage in prudent financial decisions required when planning for retirement, education, and home purchases. The ability to understand and manage personal finances is a skill critical to long-term financial security, additionally, there are significant consequences to financial illiteracy that can last for a life-time and many …


The Sleepless Ouroboros, Grant Bohl Jan 2017

The Sleepless Ouroboros, Grant Bohl

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The poems in The Sleepless Ouroboros are about the obsessions which come to define a person. These obsessions are memories, dreams, objects or ideas that cannot be separated from the whole. Poems such as "Thinking of Big Moe" and "It Begins with a Fox" grapple with the limitations of memory, while poems such as "The Python" and "Heirloom" counterpoint memory's weakness with the supposed permanence of physical artifacts. Depression and anger, the anxieties of identity and displacement, and representations of the people and animals that leave lasting impact on a life are all addressed as vital components of the completed …


Carbon Nanotube (Cnt) Metallic Composite With Focus On Processing And The Resultant Properties, Md Muktadir Billah Jan 2017

Carbon Nanotube (Cnt) Metallic Composite With Focus On Processing And The Resultant Properties, Md Muktadir Billah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Metal-carbon nanotubes (CNTs) composites are the promising advanced materials that are being developed to take the advantage of the exceptional properties of CNTs. Because of the intrinsically strong in-plane atomic SP2 bonding CNTs offer high young's modulus (1.0–1.8 TPa), high tensile strength (30–200 GPa) and high elongation at break (10–30%). The thermal conductivity of individual single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) and multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) are about 6000 W/m-K and 3000 W/m-K, respectively. Therefore it is expected that by incorporation of CNTs in metal matrices multi-functional composites can be used ideally as thermal interface materials, light-weight high-strength structural materials, electric components, …


Moving Water, Alexandra Arend Jan 2017

Moving Water, Alexandra Arend

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Moving Water is a novella in which the characters must reckon with grief, time, the divine, and the mysterious bonds forged and broken with each other. Phoebe and her family come to terms with the death of Jason, Phoebe's older brother, and with themselves. Around them, the universe moves in ambivalent splendor, dying and being born anew.


An Anthropological Study Of Eating Perspectives, Meal Composition, And Food Choices Among Diverse Student Populations, Chelsea Daws Jan 2017

An Anthropological Study Of Eating Perspectives, Meal Composition, And Food Choices Among Diverse Student Populations, Chelsea Daws

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My thesis explores the factors that shape or reinforce international college students' perceptions of food. This research not only examines how cultural values affect individual nutrition and maintenance of eating behaviors, it also addresses the extent to which accessibility impacts eating behaviors. Notably, the research endeavor uses the concept of dietary habitus as an underlying directive mechanism for study. This study finds that most students experience a reduction in their fruit and vegetable intake. Another finding suggests that international students eat healthier and are more structured in comparison to domestic students if they hybridize their dietary habitus. Research findings also …


Optimizing Laboratory Pyrolysis Methods To Compliment Real World Fire Debris, Richard Coulson Jan 2017

Optimizing Laboratory Pyrolysis Methods To Compliment Real World Fire Debris, Richard Coulson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Forensic analysts are tasked with determining the presence of ignitable liquid residue in fire debris. Analysis of fire debris allows the analyst to understand how the fire occurred. However, the presence of some substrates can potentially impact the identification of ignitable liquid residue and classification of a sample as positive or negative for the presence of ignitable liquid. Pyrolysis of building materials and furnishings (substrates) lead to background interference within the resulting chromatographic profile. To combat misclassification of a sample as positive for ignitable liquid residue, knowledge of the pyrolysis products from individual substrates is of utmost importance. However, unburned …


Gamification Of Visual Search In Real World Scenes, Alyssa Hess Jan 2017

Gamification Of Visual Search In Real World Scenes, Alyssa Hess

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Gamification, or the application of game-like features in non-game contexts, has been growing in popularity over the last five years. Specifically, the successful gamification of applications (such as Waze, Foursquare, and Fitocracy) has begun a spike in gamification of more complex tasks, such as learning to use AutoCAD or Photoshop. However, much is unknown about the psychological mapping of gamification or how it translates to behavioral outcomes. This dissertation aims to compare three distinct styles of gamification (avatars, points and feedback, and leaderboards) onto the three basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness). It will assess behavioral outcomes on a …


The Behavior Of Humans And Wildlife With Respect To Roads: Insights For Mitigation And Management, Molly Grace Jan 2017

The Behavior Of Humans And Wildlife With Respect To Roads: Insights For Mitigation And Management, Molly Grace

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Road ecology is the study of how roads and wildlife interact. Traditionally, road ecologists have primarily focused on one effect of roads: roadkill. Though roadkill can have devastating effects on wildlife populations, roads have sub-lethal impacts that are gaining more and more attention from the scientific community. These sub-lethal impacts include noise, light, and chemical pollution as well as altered habitat structure, which can all influence animal behavior. In this dissertation, I applied a behavioral ecology framework to study specific lethal and sub-lethal road effects with the goal of improving mitigation efforts. In Chapters 1 and 2, I evaluated how …


Barriers To Adoption Of Wellness Programs: A Worked Example Of An Augmented Best-Fit Framework Synthesis, Dalton Oliver Jan 2017

Barriers To Adoption Of Wellness Programs: A Worked Example Of An Augmented Best-Fit Framework Synthesis, Dalton Oliver

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: Qualitative syntheses have the potential to offer a great deal of insight into complex problems of practice. However, their methods often appear unclear and warrant ongoing scrutiny by the research community. Aim: This study introduces a novel combination of methods for synthesizing qualitative literature and explores the utility of these methods through a worked example of a real-world problem of practice. Methods: Qualitative studies that investigated barriers to adoption of wellness programs through the perspectives of key informants were systematically collected for synthesis. Key informants were identified as decision makers at small- to medium-sized businesses. The primary method used …


Sensemaking In Honors Scheduling, James Rowland Jan 2017

Sensemaking In Honors Scheduling, James Rowland

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Honors courses offer students unique opportunities such as smaller class sizes, applied application of knowledge, and a closer mentorship with the faculty member. Through observation, there are some cases where courses have regularly been cancelled every term due to low enrollment. When these courses are often canceled, it can impact the honors program ability to continue to offer courses to the students. Using Weick's work on Sensemaking and principles of analyzing organizational culture, the study addressed how honors students are impacted by course cancellations and how they communicate about the impact. Through two focus groups with a total of eleven …


A Comprehensive Study Of The Learning Styles Of Student Athletes And Academic Advisors At Three Institutions In The American Athletic Conferences And The Tools And Resources Used To Ensure Academic Success., Dianna Lampitt Jan 2017

A Comprehensive Study Of The Learning Styles Of Student Athletes And Academic Advisors At Three Institutions In The American Athletic Conferences And The Tools And Resources Used To Ensure Academic Success., Dianna Lampitt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Collegiate athletics plays an important role in higher education. As a result of this importance student athletes also play a significant role in higher education. However, due to their athletic responsibilities they face a number of challenges while enrolled in a college or university. An academic advisor for student athletes is responsible for not only helping the student athletes with their academics, they also play an important role in ensuring the eligibility of college student athletes so they are able to compete. As a result, academic advisors for student athletes use a number of tools and resources that help ensure …


Design And Verification Of A Multi-Terawatt Ti-Sapphire Femtosecond Laser System, Patrick Roumayah Jan 2017

Design And Verification Of A Multi-Terawatt Ti-Sapphire Femtosecond Laser System, Patrick Roumayah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Ultrashort pulse lasers are well-established in the scientific community due to the wide range of applications facilitated by their extreme intensities and broad bandwidth capabilities. This thesis will primarily present the design for the Mobile Ultrafast High Energy Laser Facility (MU-HELF) for use in outdoor atmospheric propagation experiments under development at the Laser Plasma Laboratory at UCF. The system is a 100fs 500 mJ Ti-Sapphire Chirped-Pulse Amplification (CPA) laser, operating at 10 Hz. Some background on the generation of very high intensity optical pulses is also presented, alongside an overview of the physics of filamentation. As part of the design …


Vie-Ing For The Position: An Examination Of The Motivational Antecedents Of Response Distortion, David Mihm Jan 2017

Vie-Ing For The Position: An Examination Of The Motivational Antecedents Of Response Distortion, David Mihm

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Faking on self-report personality tests is a widespread practice which degrades the construct validity of personality tests when they are used in personnel selection contexts and may lead to suboptimal hiring decisions (Donovan, Dwight, & Hurtz, 2003; Schmit & Ryan, 1993). While much is known about the factors which enable job applicants to successfully engage in faking (Tett, Freund, Christiansen, Fox, & Coaster, 2012), far less is known about how specific applicant perceptions throughout the hiring process influence their decision to engage in this practice. To this end, this study applied Vroom's (1964) expectancy theory to the study of applicant …


Impacts Of Workplace Violence: The Role Of Inequality, Lindsey Singer Jan 2017

Impacts Of Workplace Violence: The Role Of Inequality, Lindsey Singer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In 2011 the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) reported that of people who are employed and aged 16 and older, 24% of nonfatal violent incidents happened at work. To understand the magnitude of the problem, from 2005 to 2009, 572,000 nonfatal workplace crimes occurred against people aged 16 or older. Annually, the rate of workplace violence was about 5 victimizations per 1,000 employed persons aged 16 and older (Harrell 2011). The impact of crime on victims is a topic that deserves attention because it extends our understanding beyond descriptive rates of violence. Workplace victimization, like most other types of victimizations …


Factors Influencing Hypoglycemia Care Utilization And Outcomes Among Adult Diabetic Patients Admitted To Hospitals: A Predictive Model, Waleed Kattan Jan 2017

Factors Influencing Hypoglycemia Care Utilization And Outcomes Among Adult Diabetic Patients Admitted To Hospitals: A Predictive Model, Waleed Kattan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Diabetes Miletus (DM) is one of the major health problems in the United States. Despite all efforts made to combat this disease, its incidence and prevalence are steadily increasing. One of the common and serious side effects of treatment among people with diabetes is hypoglycemia (HG), where the level of blood glucose falls below the optimum level. Episodes of HG vary in their severity. Nevertheless, many require medical assistance and are usually associated with higher utilization of healthcare resources such as frequent emergency department visits and physician visits. Additionally, patients who experience HG frequently have poor outcomes such as higher …


When Our Cities Hollowed, Hana Al-Harastani Jan 2017

When Our Cities Hollowed, Hana Al-Harastani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

When Our Cities Hollowed is an interrelated collection of short fiction that follows an extended family's everyday lives before and during the Syrian Civil War. In efforts to combat current media narratives regarding Syrians, this collection presents a complex counter-narrative, following characters of a typical Sunni Muslim, middle-class family, some of whom support the government, others of whom support the opposition. War, in these stories, is a looming shadow, often acting as a catalyst to many of the characters' conclusions about love, family, and what it means to be alive.


Effects Of An Acute High-Volume Isokinetic Intervention On Circulating Levels Of Tnf-Α And Stnfr: Influence Of Age, Eliott Arroyo Delgado Jan 2017

Effects Of An Acute High-Volume Isokinetic Intervention On Circulating Levels Of Tnf-Α And Stnfr: Influence Of Age, Eliott Arroyo Delgado

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The immune system has been implicated in recovery and muscle regeneration following exercise. In response to muscle damage, the immune system responds with an increase in circulating pro-inflammatory cytokines with the goal of recruiting leukocytes to the damaged area. Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF-α), in particular, has been shown to be implicated in both muscle regeneration and muscle wasting. However, it remains unclear whether TNF-α is responsible for the age-related losses in muscle size and function. Also, due to the high clearance rate of TNF-α from circulation, analyzing the circulating levels of soluble TNF-α receptors 1 and 2 (STNFR1 and STNFR2) …


A Study On The Plasticity And Fracture Behaviors Of Inconel 718 Under Multiaxial Stress And Extremely Low Cycle Fatigue Loadings, Mohammed Algarni Jan 2017

A Study On The Plasticity And Fracture Behaviors Of Inconel 718 Under Multiaxial Stress And Extremely Low Cycle Fatigue Loadings, Mohammed Algarni

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Engineering materials and structures are usually subjected to multiaxial stress states loading due to geometrical effects, residual stresses, or multi-directional loading. Ductile fracture and Extremely Low Cycle Fatigue (ELCF), less than 100 cycles to fail, are two common and co-exist failure modes in many engineering structures. However, the linkage between these two failure modes under multi-axial loading conditions has never been systematically studied. This research summarizes an extensive work of experimental and numerical studies of ductile fracture and ELCF under different stress states for nickel-base superalloy material "IN718" under room temperature. Specially designed specimens and tests were used to achieve …


A Major Dna Double Strand Repair Pathway And Cancer-Associated Circulating Proteins Are Effecters Of Epigenetic Revision., Brittany Allen Jan 2017

A Major Dna Double Strand Repair Pathway And Cancer-Associated Circulating Proteins Are Effecters Of Epigenetic Revision., Brittany Allen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

DNA methylation is a vital epigenetic process that acts as a major control mechanism for gene expression. In addition to its essential role in many normal cellular processes, it is also implicated in a wide variety of disease states and processes including cancer. Along with genetic mutations, aberrant DNA methylation patterns, specifically the inappropriate DNA methylation or demethylation of CpG residues, may activate oncogenes or suppress tumor suppressor genes, respectively. These changes can generate or facilitate the progression of tumorigenesis and tend to accumulate throughout the development of cancer. Although they play such a major role in cancer and in …