Digital Commons Network^™

On The Involvement Of The Low-Density Lipoprotein Receptor In The Pathogenesis And Progression Of Alzheimer’S Disease, Jose Francisco Abisambra Socarras

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most prevalent form of age-associated dementia. Cholesterol dysregulation is linked with AD onset. Besides age, the most important risk factor associated with AD is the inheritance of the epsilon-4 allele of apolipoprotein E, a cholesterol transporter. In addition, while hypercholesterolemia has been shown to be an independent risk factor for AD, the nature of the cholesterol-AD link is still not clear. This gap in our understanding is partly due to a lack of knowledge about cholesterol metabolism in the central nervous system (CNS).

The low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) is the main receptor of apoE and …

The Security And Foreign Policy Of The Islamic Republic Of Iran: An Offensive Realism Perspective, Bledar Prifti

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study argues that security and foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran is mainly driven by the main principles of the Offensive Realism theory of international relations. While the Iranian political system is considered a theocratic system, based on the Islamic Shi'a ideology, its survival is defined as the ultimate ideology-an ideology that is paramount to any other ideology. Iran's security and foreign policy is determined and shaped by its need to survive in an anarchic international system. Iran's cooperation with "two Satans", Israel and the United States, during the Iran-Iraq war demonstrates that the ultimate ideology of …

The Evolution Of The Karst Information Portal, Todd A. Chavez

Academic Resources Faculty and Staff Publications

The Karst Information Portal (KIP) is a digital library initiative linking scientists, resource managers, and explorers with quality information resources concerning karst, an understudied natural environment that is crucial to the health and well-being of one out of every four people on Earth. Beginning in 2006 as a partnership between the USF Libraries, the National Cave & Karst Research Institute, the University of New Mexico Library, and the Union Internationale de Spéléologie (UIS), KIP has expanded to include databases concerning cave minerals, speleothem dating, and coastal cave surveys. This presentation outlines the evolution of the project and describes ongoing developments …

Filtration Performance Of A Niosh-Approved N95 Filtering Facepiece Respirator With Stapled Head Straps, Daniel E. Medina

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Certain models of NIOSH-approved filtering facepiece air purifying respirators are manufactured with stapled head straps. Depending on the manufacturer, these head straps may be stapled to the filter media itself. This may cause leakage through the filter media of the respirator, potentially exposing the user to an unacceptable level of contaminant. In this study, monodisperse polystyrene latex (PSL) spheres were generated to challenge four replicates of a N95 single use respirator model made by the same manufacturer.

Nominal particle sizes of the PSL spheres used to challenge the respirators were 0.5, 1, and 2 micrometers in diameter. All respirators were …

Saving Energy In Network Hosts With An Application Layer Proxy: Design And Evaluation Of New Methods That Utilize Improved Bloom Filters, Miguel Jimeno

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

One of the most urgent challenges of the 21st century is to investigate new technologies that can enable a transition towards a society with a reduced CO₂ footprint. Information Technology generates about 2% of the global CO₂, which is comparable to the aviation industry. Being connected to the Internet requires active participation in responding to protocol messages. Billions of dollars worth of electricity every year are used to keep network hosts fully powered-on at all times only for the purpose of maintaining network presence. Most network hosts are idle most of the time, thus presenting a huge …

A Program Evaluation Of A Literacy Initiative For Students With Moderate To Severe Disabilities, Carrie F. De La Cruz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recently the National Reading Panel concluded that systematic and direct instruction in phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension that is informed by ongoing assessments of student progress results in positive student achievement (NICHHD, 2002). For students with moderate to severe disabilities and students with autism, reading instruction has historically focused on functional sight words. Unfortunately, very little research exists that has examined how the literacy achievement of students with moderate to severe disabilities can be impacted by a more comprehensive, data-driven instructional model.

A special education program that serves students with moderate to severe disabilities and students with autism …

Detailed Stratigraphy And Geochemistry Of Lower Mount Rogers Formation Metavolcanic Units Exposed On Elk Garden Ridge, Va, Meghan Marie Lindsey

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The lower Mount Rogers Formation (LMRF) is described by Rankin (1993) as a sequence of intercalated metabasalts and volcanogenic sediments with minor metarhyolite. We have chosen to examine the sequence of the LMRF units exposed along Elk Garden Ridge, a high shoulder between the summits of Whitetop Mountain and Mount Rogers in the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area in SW Virginia. This sequence represents an uplifted block of LMRF units enclosed by exposures of Whitetop and Wilburn metarhyolites.

In the field, progressive lithologic changes can be observed walking up-section along Elk Garden ridge that are indicative of changes in lava …

Developing The Nomological Network Of Perceived Corporate Affinity For Technology: A Three Essay Dissertation, David Earl Fleming

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Technology is changing the face of both the sales and service domains. Honebein and Cammarano (2006) note that properly implemented self-service technologies serve dual purposes of decreasing firm overhead costs, while simultaneously engaging the customer in a way encourages the co-create of value for both parties. To get these benefits stakeholders must be willing to adopt and use the technologies that are available.

Traditionally, this has lead to the research question "How do firms do this?" However, according to a recent article by Woodall, Colby and Parasuraman (2007), consumers are now demanding more technology-based options and becoming more technologically savvy. …

Addressing The Problem Of Land Motion At Tide Gauges, Kara J. Doran

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Estimation of global mean sea level change has become an area of interest for scientists in recent decades because of its importance as an indicator of climate change. Climate models predict varying degrees of change in global temperature and global sea level over the next 100 years. One way to check the validity of the models is to estimate sea level change over the last century and constrain the models to match these estimates. Traditionally, sea level change estimates have been calculated using long time series from tide gauges. There are some disadvantages to this approach however, since tide gauges …

An Absence Of Presence: The Voices Of Marginalized Communities In The Development And Implementation Of Cultural Resource Management Initiatives In The British West Indies: A Case Study, Kelley Scudder-Temple

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation research is the study of cultural resource management initiatives and

the extent to which archaeological surveys and excavations include or exclude African

Caribbean contemporary and historic communities, throughout these processes. Varying

types of archaeological sites identified by archaeologists, along with community

inclusionary measures are examined to determine as to the degree to which

archaeological surveys and excavations are reflective of historic and contemporary

African Caribbean communities.

Data were collected through archival research, interviews and surveys and analyzed

qualitatively to examine the degree to which stakeholders, particularly those who have

been historically marginalized, have been incorporated into these processes. …

The Effect Of Stress On Hedonic Capacity In Generalized Anxiety Disorder: A Prospective Experimental Study Of One Potential Pathway To Depression, Bethany H. Morris

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A growing body of work links psychopathology to changes in hedonic capacity following stressors. This was the first experimental study of the effects of stress on hedonic capacity in an analog generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) sample (a high worry group). Specifically, we utilized an experimental manipulation of stress and a behavioral index of anhedonia to test the hypothesis that individuals with GAD, who are at higher risk for developing depression symptoms, exhibit greater stress-related deficits in hedonic capacity than do nonanxious controls. Further, this study assessed whether stress-induced hedonic deficits predicted future depression. Controls exhibited the expected reward learning pattern …

Aquatecture: Architectural Adaptation To Rising Sea Levels, Erica Williams

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Our world is drastically changing. Temperatures are rising, skies over cities are blanketed with smoke, and melting glaciers are raising sea levels at alarming rates. Although the destruction we face is already threatening the quality of life for billions around the world, it could just be the beginning. What is projected to come in the future could be catastrophic.

It is crucial to realize that climate change is already happening. One of the main concerns relating to climate change is that as the polar ice caps continue to melt, rising water will invade our coastal cities around the world. In …

The Experience Of Fatigue And Quality Of Life In Patients With Advanced Lung Cancer, Andrea Shaffer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Fatigue is the most prevalent and distressing symptom experienced by patients with advanced lung cancer and especially among those patients undergoing therapy. Advanced lung cancer and its associated symptoms can significantly impact the quality of life (QOL) of those who have the disease. The primary purpose of this study was to measure fatigue levels, characterize the fatigue experience, and assess for gender differences in perceptions of fatigue and QOL in patients with advanced lung cancer receiving chemotherapy. The secondary purpose of the study was to examine practice patterns in the ambulatory setting regarding the routine assessment of fatigue.

The study …

The Politics Of Space And Place In Virginia Woolf’S The Years, Three Guineas And The Pargiters, Ángel Luis Jiménez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A critique of the social construction of space was fundamental to Virginia Woolf's overall feminist project of decentering patriarchal and imperial values. In A Room of One's Own (1929) Woolf famously emphasized that financial independence and a private space were vital to female creativity. But Woolf was concerned with the politics of space throughout her writing, an aspect of her thought that has not been widely addressed. My thesis examines Woolf's ongoing preoccupation with spatiality in two closely related works of her late career, The Years (1937) and Three Guineas (1938). In these texts, Woolf interrogates the cultural construction of …

Striving And Surviving: The Phenomenology Of The First-Year Teaching Experience, Michael D. Smith

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite the enduring relative popularity of teaching as a career, the research literature on teacher preparation suggests that there is growing concern about the state of the field. With each passing year, the demographic realities within k-12 classrooms bring new challenges for the teacher preparation enterprise. Shortages in high need communities and increasing numbers of provisionally certified (or uncertified) teachers represent two areas of concern. Notwithstanding the extraordinarily increasing cultural and linguistic diversity now found among the student population, the teacher population has failed to diversify in kind. The number of new teachers who are ill-prepared to respond to this …

An Intermediate Extended Literacy Routine To Support Struggling Third Grade Readers, Jeani Z. Fullard

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Large numbers of children in the United States are not functioning at adequate levels of literacy. Students who have weak reading proficiency skills are identified as at-risk; failure to acquire competency early in their schooling adversely affects performance in all academic fields and limits their potential for achievement in life. There is an extensive knowledge base about the skills and strategies children must learn in order to read well. Effective fluency and comprehension strategies need to be taught to help students become powerful, active readers who are in control of their learning.

This study evaluated a structured classroom model …

Frozen Assets: Science, Natural Philosophy, And The Quest For Arctic Gold, Justin V. Castells

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This paper looks at the emerging conflict between natural philosophy and empirical science in the late sixteenth century by examining the events surrounding the supposed discovery of gold in northern North America by Martin Frobisher in 1577. The discovery of gold in a region thought incapable of producing the metal, and the subsequent assays of ore mined from that region served as a catalyst for conflict between different understandings of the natural world. Proponents of natural philosophy and empirical science each used their theoretical tools to prove or disprove the value of the ore, reflecting the larger discussions taking place …

Non-Calanoid Copepods At The Bermuda Atlantic Time-Series Study (Bats) Station: Community Structure And Ecology, 1995-1999, Hussain Ali Al-Mutairi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Zooplankton were sampled on a monthly basis at the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) site from January 1995 to December 1999. Samples were collected using a 1-m², 200 µm mesh net. The net sampled the water column in an oblique manner from the surface to a mean depth of 200 m. One day and one night tow from each cruise was examined microscopically to determine the community structure of the non-calanoid copepods. In addition, a three year set of nighttime samples were examined taken by 0.5-m², 20 and 35 µm mesh nets (1995-1996 and 1997, respectively) towed obliquely to 150 …

Defining A Community: Controlling Nuisance In Late-Medieval London, Natalie J. Ciecieznski

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Using municipal sources from late medieval London, this study examines nuisance as a sub-topic of social regulation. In addition to defining nuisance, it analyzes who controlled nuisance and how it was controlled from the late thirteenth through the early fifteenth centuries. During this period, nuisance comprised building and boundary disputes between neighbors, such as conveying rainwater onto a neighboring property instead of to the street; environmental issues, such as blocking passageways with rubbish and not properly disposing of waste; certain groups of people and places, such as vagrants and brothels; and certain forms of speech, such as insults and threats. …

True North Or Traveled Terrain? An Empirical Investigation Of Authentic Leadership, Matthew D. Tuttle

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Authentic leadership is a new concept that is gaining both popularity and notoriety in the leadership literature. It is argued as a positive form of leadership that goes beyond traditional leadership styles in order to influence followers through genuine, ethical behavior. However, as a concept in its infancy, authentic leadership has yet to receive much empirical attention, and many researchers are skeptical of its value in what is seen as a saturated domain of leadership styles. This study offers a comprehensive approach to addressing this need. A new measure for authentic leadership was developed and validated through pilot testing. Through …

Increasing Independence Among Children Diagnosed With Autism Using A Brief Embedded Teaching Strategy, Stephanie Toelken

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a brief embedded teaching procedure, involving least-to-most prompting, for two paraprofessional staff in order to increase independent responses of two children diagnosed with autism in an inclusive setting. Training was given using a behavioral skills training approach, involving instructions, modeling, rehearsal, and feedback. The staff were trained to use the SWAT procedure used by Parsons, Reid and Lattimore (2009). A multiple baseline design across behaviors was used to evaluate the effects of the embedded teaching procedure. Maintenance of training effects was evaluated two weeks following the end of the …

Workin’ From Cain To Cain’T: Challenges Within Florida’S Gulf Coast Oyster Industry, Diane Marie Wakeman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Oyster tongers are a cultural icon of Florida's maritime heritage and geography. Challenged for generations by the vagaries of weather, including catastrophic storms and years-long droughts, and economic uncertainties this maritime heritage is fading fast. While Florida's north and west coasts produce 90 percent of the Florida oyster harvest and ten percent of oysters consumed in the United States, the industry is at risk today for reasons including a declining demand for Florida oysters because of health concerns; water pollution; population growth and its accompanying development of condominiums, gated communities, and retail shopping centers; and declining interest in the hard …

Measurement Of Dissolved Gas Concentrations In Natural Waters Utilizing An In-Situ, Membrane Inlet, Linear Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer, Peter Wenner

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Since its creation in the late 19th century, mass spectrometry has evolved into one of the most versatile analytical methods in science. To chart this evolution this thesis includes a historical overview of mass spectrometry and a description of the role of mass spectrometry in oceanography. The development and deployment of underwater mass spectrometers (UMS) at the University of South Florida's Center for Ocean Technology has made possible the collection of real-time data with greatly increased spatial and temporal density. The UMS was deployed via both remotely guided surface vehicles (GSV) and ship's cables to monitor a suite of dissolved …

Comparing Reef Bioindicators On Benthic Environments Off Southeast Florida, Ryann A. Williams

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A goal of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is to develop protocols applicable to coral reefs to distinguish between the effects of local water quality and those associated with regional to global environmental change. One test case is the current-dominated southeast coast of Florida where the Delray Outfall delivers 30 million gallons per day (114,000 cubic meters per day) of secondary-treated sewage into the ocean. Five study sites were established at depths between 15 and 18 m, and at distances between 1 and 18 km distance from the outfall, where the Stony Coral Rapid Bioassessment Protocol (RBP) was conducted to …

An Assessment Of A Naturalistic In-Home Training Protocol To Establish Joint Attention Responding With Children Diagnosed With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Heather Burris

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Children with autism have deficits in social interactions and verbal and nonverbal communication and engagement in rigid and repetitive activities and/or interests (ASA, 2008). A joint attention (JA) repertoire has been identified as a behavioral cusp for later social development and thus, JA deficits serve as an early indicator for diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (Vismara & Lyons, 2007; Whalen & Schbreibman, 2003). A JA repertoire consists of both responses to- and initiations for-bids for coordinated attention. Previous research has shown teaching strategies such as pivotal response and discrete trial training for joint attention skills to be effective (Vismara & …

Fatigue Symptom Distress And Its Relationship With Quality Of Life In Adult Stem Cell Transplant Survivors, Suzan Fouad Abduljawad R.N., B.S.N.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Fatigue is a common problem among cancer patients, especially those who have received chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Stem cell transplant (SCT) patients are at a particular risk of persistent fatigue as they receive more aggressive therapies. This study examined the prevalence of fatigue after completion of SCT. Further, the level of fatigue symptom distress and its relationship with quality of life (QOL) among long term SCT survivors was examined.

The study involved thirty-three patients, 21 males and 12 females, treated with autologous or allogeneic SCT in a comprehensive cancer center in Southwest Florida. Participants' ages ranged from 36 to 70 …

Training Teamwork In Medical Teams: An Active Approach With Role Play And Feedback, Matthew S. Prewett

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recent reports in the field of medicine have recommended the use of teamwork training to reduce the number of injuries and fatalities from human error. Teamwork training in the field of medicine appears promising, but few empirical evaluations of such programs have confirmed their effectiveness. Existing teamwork training studies have tended to use a traditional, lecture approach to training, with positive but modest results upon teamwork attitudes and behaviors. The current study developed and evaluated a more active teamwork training protocol for trauma resuscitation teams. The training protocol supplemented several medical and non-medical role plays with a lecture and guided …

Spatial And Temporal Trends In Water Quality In The Alafia River Watershed, Jennifer M. Aragon

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Water quality data and land use information were analyzed within the Alafia River watershed in Florida to determine spatial and temporal trends in these variables over a 16 year time period from 1991-2006. Monthly water quality data (for dissolved oxygen, turbidity, fecal coliform, total phosphorus, and total nitrogen) were statistically analyzed using the modified seasonal Kendall nonparametric test for trends that accounts for serial correlation. The statistical trend analysis was conducted for the entire study period, but monthly, seasonal, and land use trends were also examined. Land use information was examined using Geographic Information Systems to determine the percent change …

Shifting Paradigms: The Development Of Nursing Identity In Foreign-Educated Physicians Retrained As Nurses Practicing In The United States, Liwliwa Reyes Villagomeza

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A unique breed of nurses for the US market is emerging-the Physician-Nurses. They are foreign-educated physicians who have retrained as nurses. The purpose of this study was to generate a theory that can explain the development of their nursing identity. Specific aims were to discover barriers that participants perceived as problematic in their transition to nursing and catalysts that influenced how they addressed the central problematic issue they articulated. Grounded theory methodology guided by the philosophical foundations of symbolic interactionism was used. Twelve Physician-Nurses were interviewed. Transcribed interviews were imported to ATLAS.ti. Text data were analyzed by constant comparative method. …

Designing Community: The Application Of New Urban Principles To Create Authentic Communities, Margaret Embry

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research is an exploratory investigation of the potential of New Urbanist planning and design principles to create thriving and successful neighborhoods. New Urbanism is an urban design movement started in the early 1980s that promotes the development of walkable, compact, and diverse neighborhoods. It is the objective of this research to shed light on the value of creating a higher quality of life and more time for ourselves and our families. I hypothesize that New Urbanism may pave the way for recapturing commute time for time with family, creating authentic and successful communities, and engaging with neighbors. Furthermore, by …