Engineering Commons^™

Sustainability Of Community-Managed Rural Water Supply Systems In Amazonas, Peru: Assessing Monitoring Tools And External Support Provision, Jacob E. Mangum

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Globally, there is still a large number of people without access to safe drinking water; a known health risk. In rural areas of countries like Peru, when potable water systems are built the responsibility for maintaining these systems is given to volunteer water committees. Despite its prevalence as a management model, there is a consensus that community management alone cannot ensure sustainable water service. Therefore, the overall goal of this research is to assess the sustainability of community-managed water systems in rural areas of the department of Amazonas, Peru. Specifically, this research examines two mechanisms that have been shown to …

The Effect Of Antigen Polymorphisms On Serological Antibody Detection Assays Based Upon The, Kristi M. Miley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Onchocerca volvulus is a filarial parasite transmitted to humans by female Simulium spp. black flies. Infection with this parasite can cause blindness and severe skin disease among humans in Africa and the Americas. Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay serological testing of OV-16 antigen is a diagnostic tool for determining effective elimination of the parasite. Programs typically rely on OV–16 ELISA to evaluate the progress towards interruption and/or elimination of disease by mass drug distribution of ivermectin and vector larvicidal control efforts. As elimination grows closer, monoclonal antibody positive controls for OV-16 ELISA become important to develop for Onchocerca testing due to the …

Analysis Of A Potential A(H7n9) Influenza Pandemic Outbreak In The U.S., Walter A. Silva Sotillo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents a collection of manuscripts that describe development of models and model implementation to analyze impact of potential A(H7N9) pandemic influenza outbreak in the U.S. Though this virus is still only animal-to-human transmittable, it has potential to become human-to-human transmittable and trigger a pandemic. This work is motivated by the negative impact on human lives that this virus has already caused in China, and is intended to support public health officials in preparing to protect U.S. population from a potential outbreak of pandemic scale.

An agent-based (AB) simulation model is used to replicate the social dynamics of the …