American Studies Commons^™

Population Genetics Of Amphiuma Means And Siren Lacertina In Central Florida, Anna C. Deyle

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Population structure can be defined as a difference in the frequencies of alleles among populations, and it is often caused by barriers to dispersal. I used mitochondrial DNA sequences to examine the population structure of two large, aquatic salamanders, Amphiuma means (the Two-Toed Amphiuma) and Siren lacertina (the Greater Siren), at two spatial scales in peninsular Florida. Both species appear to have similar life histories, including poor dry land dispersal capabilities, and I hypothesized that they would exhibit significant population structure at both broad and fine scales. Wetland loss and landscape fragmentation are certain to have caused decreases in abundance …

Restoration Of Displaced Cast-In-Place Concrete Slabs On Grade With The Use Of The Isb-07 Subsurface Support Bracket, Jose Carlos Busquets

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The restoration of foundations of residential and light commercial structures that have been affected by differential displacement resulting from problematic soil conditions has been an ongoing issue since early times. In Florida, the issue of structures being affected by subsidence of soils related to sinkhole activity has been a problem that has gained more interest and exposure within the last 20 years. Structures affected by sinkholes have been historically addressed by remediating the soil mechanism which caused the structure to displace and then structurally addressing the portions of the structure that have displaced with steel underpins installed on the foundation. …

Adolescence Is An Ocean: A Biocultural Investigation Of Youth Food Consumption In Tanzania, Elizabeth J. Danforth

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates adolescents' relationships with food and other community and household members' perceptions of youth and their food consumption to understand the multifactorial dynamic processes which create nutritional outcomes among urban and rural youth in central Tanzania. Youth are an important and demographically large population in developing countries. The identities created during this distinct stage of cultural production can be reflected in youths' food consumption and relationships with food. Nutrition likely affects how youth transition through a variety of states, including their growth and development stages, primary to secondary to higher education, child to parent, or unemployed to employed. …

Mechanistic Modeling Of Photocatalytic Water Disinfection, Omatoyo Kofi Dalrymple

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The main goal of this research was to develop a mechanism-based model for photocatalytic disinfection of bacteria in water using suspended catalyst pthesiss in batch reactors. The photocatalytic disinfection process occurs as a semiconductor photocatalyst, most commonly titanium dioxide (TiO₂), is irradiated with light of wavelength less than 380 nm to produce hydroxyl radicals and other highly reactive oxidants which can inactivate microorganisms. Photocatalytic disinfection involves a complex interaction of many fundamental mechanisms such as light absorption and scattering by semiconductor pthesiss, electrochemical surface reactions, and heterogeneous colloidal stability. Current models, based largely on chemical reacting systems, do …

The Hero Soldier: Portrayals Of Soldiers In War Films, Gavin Davie

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The mythos of the hero has existed within the stories of humanity for as long as we can remember. Within the last hundred years film has become one of the dominant storytelling media of our culture and numerous films, especially war films, about heroes and their inspirational actions have been made. This study focuses on war films and the hero soldiers and their actions portrayed in those films. It uses a narrative analysis of five war films to accomplish this. The findings suggest that the hero soldier has become more human and fallible over time and that heroes are a …

Role Of Protein Kinase C-Iota In Glioblastoma, Shraddha R. Desai

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this research was to investigate the role of protein kinase C-iota (PKC-é) in the regulation of Bad function, a pro-apoptotic member of the Bcl-2 family and Cdk7 function, a master cell cycle regulator in glioblastoma.

The results were obtained from the human glial tumor derived cell lines, T98G and U87MG. In these cells, PKC-é co-localized and directly associated with Bad as shown by immunofluorescence, immunoprecipitation, and Western blotting. Furthermore, in-vitro kinase activity assay showed that PKC-é directly phosphorylated Bad at phospho specific residues, S112, S136 and S155 which in turn induced inactivation of Bad and disruption of …

Theoretical And Experimental Analysis Of Power And Cooling Cogeneration Utilizing Low Temperature Heat Sources, Gökmen Demirkaya

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Development of innovative thermodynamic cycles is important for the efficient utilization of low-temperature heat sources such as solar, geothermal, and waste heat sources. Binary mixtures exhibit variable boiling temperatures during the boiling process, which leads to a good thermal match between the heating fluid and working fluid for efficient heat source utilization. This study presents a theoretical and an experimental analysis of a combined power/cooling cycle, which combines the Rankine and absorption refrigeration cycles, uses ammonia-water mixture as the working fluid and produces power and refrigeration, while power is the primary goal. This cycle, also known as the Goswami Cycle, …

Guanidines, Amidines And Carbamides As Novel Sigma Receptor Ligands For Post-Stroke Therapeutics, Michelle Yolanda Cortes-Salva

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Stroke is the 3^rd leading cause of death in the United States. For this reason, it has become our goal to find a drug that is capable of reestablishing intracellular and extracellular Ca⁺² flux upon direct binding to the sigma receptor, which can be delivered easily and efficiently. Our active research focuses the development of guanidine analogues that can serve as therapeutic drugs which target sigma 1 and sigma 2 receptors having a direct effect on Ca⁺² levels on the cell. The use of symmetrical guanidine analogues such as N,N'-di-o-tolyl guanidine (o-DTG) as therapeutic drugs for ischemic …

More Than "Modern Day Slavery": Stakeholder Perspectives And Policy On Human Trafficking In Florida, Nathaniel Dickey

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, Florida has acquired a reputation as fertile ground for human trafficking. On the heels of state and federal anti-human trafficking legislation, a host of organizations have risen to provide a range of services. In this thesis, I discuss findings from 26 interviews conducted with law enforcement, service providers, legal representatives and trafficked persons to contextualize the variability in the way anti-trafficking work is conceptualized by stakeholders across the state. Additionally, I explore how conflicting organizational policies on the local, state, and federal levels impact stakeholder collaboration and complicate trafficked persons' attempts to navigate already complex processes of …

The Integration Of African Muslim Minority: A Critique Of French Philosophy And Policy, Amber Nichole Dillender

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The numerous images of violence perpetrated by radicalized followers of Islam, has highlighted the complexities surrounding assimilation and integration of Muslims in Western society. Since the guest worker recruitment from French African colonies initiated after World War II, France has been witness to the unanticipated development of permanent communities of African laborers, many of whom are Muslim. Despite consistent promotion of French monoculture and specifically the use of the assimilation model for integration, segregation of African Muslims has occurred. Through the construction of a single country case study, I explore integration issues surrounding the French Muslim minority communities. I seek …

Steady And Transient Heat Transfer For Jet Impingement On Patterned Surfaces, Mark Michael Dobbertean

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Free liquid-jet impingement is well researched due to its high heat transfer ability and ease of implementation. This study considers both the steady state and transient heating of a patterned plate under slot-free-liquid jet impingement. The primary working fluid was water (H2O) and the plate material considered was silicon. Calculations were done for Reynolds number (Re) ranging from 500 to 1000 and indentation depths from 0.000125 to 0.0005 m for three different surface configurations. The effect of using different plate materials and R-134a as the working fluid were explored for the rectangular step case. The distributions of the local and …

Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor (Anmbr) For Treatment Of Landfill Leachate And Removal Of Micropollutants, Anh Tien Do

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

To date, most studies on the fate and removal of endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) and pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) in wastewater focus on their fate in municipal wastewater treatment plants, and mostly under aerobic condition. There are limited studies related to anaerobic condition and (to our knowledge) no study on the removal of EDCs in landfill leachate by AnMBR. Moreover, for most studies under anaerobic condition, the removal of EDCs was only reported in the liquid phase; solid phase extraction was not reported, thereby preventing mass balance in the studies.

This research was conducted to investigate the potential …

Philosophical Precursors To The Radical Enlightenment: Vignettes On The Struggle Between Philosophy And Theology From The Greeks To Leibniz With Special Emphasis On Spinoza, Anthony John Desantis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

My dissertation lays out some of the chief philosophical precursors to Jonathan Israel's Radical Enlightenment. It investigates the principal question of Will Durant's The Age of Voltaire: "How did it come about that a major part of the educated classes in Europe and America has lost faith in the theology that for fifteen centuries gave supernatural sanctions and supports to the precarious and uncongenial moral code upon which Western civilization has been based?" The aim of this project is both broad and specific: the first is to provide a general history of the philosophical precursors to the Radical Enlightenment up …

Apparent Total Evaporative Resistance Values From Human Trials Over A Range Of Metabolic And Heat Stress Levels, Matthew David Dooris

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Failure to maintain thermal equilibrium can cause uncontrollable increases in body core temperature beyond critical upper limits. In selecting clothing, consideration must be given to the heat transfer properties of clothing that may restrict the cooling capacity of the human body under heat stress conditions, most importantly, apparent total evaporative resistance (R_e,T,_a). This study calculated and compared R_e,T,_a for five clothing ensembles under varying heat stress conditions, including three relative humidity (RH) levels and three stages of heat stress to determine if R_e,T,_a values varied or remained the same with …

Development Of A Non-Invasive Electrode For Intradermal Electrically Mediated Dna Vaccination, Amy Lynn Donate

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Current progress in the development of vaccines has decreased the incidence of fatal and non-fatal infections and increased longevity. However, new technologies need to be developed to combat an emerging generation of infectious diseases. DNA vaccination has been demonstrated to have great potential for use against a wide variety of diseases. Alone, this vaccine technology does not generate a significant immune response for vaccination, but combined with delivery by electroporation (EP), can enhance plasmid expression and immunity against the expressed antigen. Most EP systems, while effective, can be invasive and painful making them less desirable for use in vaccination. Our …

A National Survey Of Instructional Strategies Used To Teach Information Systems Courses: An Exploratory Investigation, Yenni Merlin Djajalaksana

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Many universities and colleges have placed increased emphasis on teaching excellence in higher education. Efforts to promote teaching excellence vary from the development of alternative new pedagogies as well as research exploring strategies to improve existing teaching practices. Logically, different disciplines employ different instructional strategies to prepare their graduates with specific skills, knowledge, and attitudes. This study examined the instructional strategies used most frequently in the information systems discipline and was inspired by Shulman's (2005) concept of signature pedagogies - the unique but pervasive ways of teaching within a discipline or profession.

This dissertation reports a national survey of instructional …

Elections And Tensions And Constitutions! Oh, My! A Process-Oriented Analysis Of Bolivian Democratization From 1993 To 2009, Laurel Kristin Dwyer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Many Latin American countries which underwent democratic regime transformations within the last thirst years have seemingly stalled. Unable to meet the demands of their citizens, which grow increasingly restless and confrontational, they have become subjected to a series of economic and political crises. Contemporary democratic theorists are at a loss to explain why this region has failed to deepen over time. The purpose of this paper is threefold: it questions the analytic utility of contemporary liberal and representative models, it argues for the inclusion of an alternative process-oriented model provided by Charles Tilly (2007), and tests this model through a …

Postnatal Dental Mineralization: A Comparative Analysis Of Dental Development Among Contemporary Populations Of The Southeastern United States, Meryle Akeara Dotson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Due to the strong genetic component of dental development, research has shown that mineralization patterns of the human dentition are relatively buffered against environmental influences that normally affect bone growth and development. It is because of this resistance to environmental factors and the continuous growth of the permanent dentition throughout childhood and adolescence that the evaluation of dental development patterns has become the preferred method of age estimation in living and deceased children.

Researchers (Harris and Mckee 1990; Tompkins 1996; Blankenship et al. 2007; Kasper et al. 2009) have suggested that the timing of dental development varies by …

The Tyranny Of Plot: Anzia Yezierska's Struggle To Free The Voices Of Her Community Through The Autobiographical Self, Kristie Kelly Dowling

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the very different ways that both the novel and autobiography mediate individual and group identities by comparing Anzia Yezierska's novel Salome of the Tenements to her autobiography Red Ribbon on a White Horse. Yezierska's texts establish the inherent difference between the novel and autobiography in that her novels contribute to the dominant ideology by colluding with the capitalist narrative of individualism while her autobiography resists that very narrative. In calling forth the multiple voices of her community, her autobiography reveals, in a series of metatextual comments, the fictional nature of the self and autobiography. Comparing these …

The Archaeology Of Yon Mound And Village, Middle Apalachicola River Valley, Northwest Florida, Jeffrey Patrick Du Vernay

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A growing trend in Mississippian research in the archaeology of the southeastern United States stresses the need to shift away from categorizing generalizations (e.g., the concept of chiefdoms) that have been used to characterize Mississippi-period (A.D. 1000-1600) societies and advocates elucidating the unique occupational histories of Mississippian communities. This dissertation follows this trend with the goal of identifying and interpreting the particular historical and developmental trajectory of the Yon mound and village site (8Li2), a Fort Walton Mississippian site situated in the middle Apalachicola River valley, northwest Florida. Since its initial recording by Clarence Bloomfield Moore at the turn of …