Digital Commons Network^™

High Dietary Folic Acid Supplementation Reduced The Composition Of Fatty Acids And Amino Acids In Fortified Eggs, Ao-Chuan Yu, Yu-Han Deng, Cheng Long, Xi-Hui Sheng, Xiang-Guo Wang, Long-Fei Xiao, Xue-Ze Lv, Xiang-Ning Chen, Li Chen, Xiao-Long Qi

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

AIMS: The study aimed to evaluate the effects of dietary folic acid (FA) on the production performance of laying hens, egg quality, and the nutritional differences between eggs fortified with FA and ordinary eggs.

METHODS: A total of 288 26-week-old Hy-Line Brown laying hens (initial body weights 1.65 ± 0.10 kg) with a similar weight and genetic background were used. A completely randomized design divided the birds into a control group and three treatment groups. Each group consisted of six replicates, with twelve chickens per replicate. Initially, all birds were fed a basal diet for 1 week. Subsequently, they were …

Learning Nonparametric Ordinary Differential Equations From Noisy Data, Kamel Lahouel, Michael Wells, Victor Rielly, Ethan Lew, David Lovitza, Bruno M. Jedynak

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Learning nonparametric systems of Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs) from noisy data is an emerging machine learning topic. We use the well-developed theory of Reproducing Kernel Hilbert Spaces (RKHS) to define candidates for for which the solution of the ODE exists and is unique. Learning consists of solving a constrained optimization problem in an RKHS. We propose a penalty method that iteratively uses the Representer theorem and Euler approximations to provide a numerical solution. We prove a generalization bound for the distance between and its estimator. Experiments are provided for the FitzHugh-Nagumo oscillator, the Lorenz system, and for predicting the Amyloid …

Thermal Ecology And Swimming Performance Of Native Tadpoles Dryophytes Femoralis In Central Florida, Jessalyn Aretz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Urbanization and climate warming have contributed to global amphibian declines in recent decades. Amphibians are particularly vulnerable to climate and urban-induced warming because their physiological processes are dependent on temperature across all life stages, but few studies have been done on tadpole responses to warming in comparison to adult responses. The study objective was to determine how the thermal ecology and swimming performance of a native Florida tadpole varied with rearing temperature and urban level, and whether these traits are plastic or adaptive. We collected eggs from wild populations of pine woods treefrog (Dryophytes femoralis) tadpoles at an urban and …

Casar Public Lecture: "Women & Stem Education In Egypt & The Us: Stepping Into A Man's World Of Science & Technology", The Prince Alwaleed Center For American Studies And Research Casar, Yasmeen El Ghazaly, Mark W. Deets

Performances, Events, and Presentations

In celebration of International Women's Day this Month, we held a public lecture titled: "Women & STEM Education in Egypt & the US : Stepping into a Man's World of Science & Technology " on Thursday March 28th, 2024 from 12:15 pm to 1:15 pm (assembly hour) – Conference and Visitor Center, Mary Cross Hall AUC New Cairo Despite a plethora of advances made by women in the world we live in today, they are still woefully underrepresented in the realm of STEM education and the associated career paths. At this event, we uncovered the history, reasons & challenges women …

Integrated Process Modeling, Techno-Economic Analysis And Life Cycle Assessment For Enhanced Biogas-To-Energy Sustainability And Efficiency, Rarosue Jennifer Amaraibi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation aims to enhance the cost competitiveness and minimize the environmental footprint of technologies that convert biogas to energy, contributing to global climate change mitigation efforts. Biogas, a by-product of the anaerobic decomposition of organic waste from various sources, is a renewable energy source with the potential to reduce carbon emissions and meet local energy needs. However, widespread adoption requires the development of economically viable and environmentally friendly technologies.The central hypothesis of this dissertation suggests that by adopting a holistic strategy that combines cutting-edge techniques to purify biogas and improve its conversion into valuable liquid fuels, we can substantially …

A Gateway To Next-Generation Patient Monitoring System, Kishore Kumar Kadari

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Healthcare patient monitoring is undergoing a significant digital transformation, and the integration of Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly crucial in reshaping patient care. In an era where digital technology is revolutionizing medical practices, this research aims to take a leading role in advancing a fundamental aspect of predictive and sustainable healthcare practices, enhancing patient outcomes and uplifting the practice of medicine.

This research focuses on the study of Digital Twins for precision health, which are designed to monitor and provide intricate, personalized feedback dynamically during a patient's healthcare experience. The architecture of the system is …

Introductory Chemistry Student Success: Evaluating Peer-Led Team Learning And Describing Sense Of Belonging, Jessica D. Young

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Identifying approaches that make science and engineering education broader and more inclusive is core to discipline based education research. Both fundamental and applied research are important in advancing a STEM education that retains the necessary scientists of the U.S.’s future. Thus, the major goal of this work was to evaluate and describe efforts that promote student success within introductory STEM courses. This began with applied research by utilizing quantitative analyses like case-matching, logistic regression, independent sample t-tests, and repeated measures while evaluating the efficacy of peer-led team learning (PLTL). Later, this work delves into qualitative approaches to answer fundamental research …

Synthesis, Structural And Thermal Studies Of Dl-Alanine Potassium Di- Chromate Single Crystals, Sundararaj Lincy Mary Ponmani, Soundararajan Gnanakkan Pushpalatha Gracelin, Somasundaram Selvakumar, Subbaiah Chelladurai Vella Durai

Makara Journal of Science

Amino acids and their complexes are organic or semiorganic materials that have attracted considerable attention because they can be easily used in optical storage devices. DL-alanine is one of the rare amino acids that crystallizes in anoncentrosymmetric group. This article demonstrates how DL-alanine potassium dichromate (DAPC) single crystals have shown sufficient growth. DAPC crystals were analyzed by single crystal X-ray diffraction and powder X-ray diffraction. Using thermogravimetric analysis/differential thermal analysis (TGA/DTA) and differential scanning calorimetry, this work also examined the melting point, thermal stability, decomposition point, and other thermal parameters of the DAPC crystals. Results show that the decomposition point …

Recent Advances In Solar Photo(Electro)Catalytic Nitrogen Fixation, Jun-Bo Ma, Sheng Lin, Zhiqun Lin, Lan Sun, Chang-Jian Lin

Journal of Electrochemistry

Ammonia (NH₃) is an essential chemical in modern society. It is currently produced in industry by the Haber-Bosch process using H₂ and N₂ as reactants in the presence of iron-based catalysts at high-temperature (400–600 ^oC) and extremely highpressure (20–40 MPa) conditions. However, its efficiency is limited to 10% to 15%. At the same time, a large amount of energy is consumed, and CO₂ emission is inevitably. The development of a sustainable, clean, and environmentally friendly energy system represents a key strategy to address energy crisis and environmental pollution, ultimately aiming to achieve carbon neutrality. …

Synthesis, Molecular Characteristics, And Antibacterial Assessment Of Marine Hydroid Aqueous Extract-Based Silver Bio-Nanoparticles, Fredryk Mandey, Aulia Rhamdani Arfan, Rugaiyah Andi Arfah

Makara Journal of Science

This investigation aims to synthesize, analyze the molecularity, and test the ability of bacterial inhibition capability of silver nanoparticles that have been synthesized by simply mixing silver nitrate and aqueous extracts of marine natural products with and without the addition of amylum as a stabilizing agent. This research, with and without the addition of amylum as a stabilizing agent, obtained 39.0 and 55.2 mg of solids of round-shaped morphology silver nanoparticles with diameters of 87.9 and 103.0 nm., respectively. In addition, the antibacterial testing assay against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli showed some considerably good results. S. aureus with the …

Hurricane Impacts On Water Resources: A Look At Nature-Based Solutions To Improve Long-Term Resilience, Fautemeh Sajadi Bami

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Severe storms are a common occurrence in the state of Florida. Hurricane events may cause hazards such as flooding, property damage, death, and many others. Such far-reaching impacts may potentially result in dangerous consequences where they occur. Of interest to this study were the impacts on water resources and water quality caused by storms. Hurricanes can bring about a deluge. An apparent excess of water may cause the notion of water scarcity to seem less significant. However, problems with potable water can be quite frequent due to storms.

This research sought to address the impacts of severe storms on water …

Dynamic Fibrillar Assembly Of Αb-Crystallin Induced By Perturbation Of The Conserved Nt-Ixi Motif Resolved By Cryo-Em, Russell Mcfarland, Steve Reichow

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

αB-crystallin is an archetypical member of the small heat-shock proteins (sHSPs) vital for cellular proteostasis and mitigating protein misfolding diseases. Gaining insights into the principles defining their molecular organization and chaperone function have been hindered by intrinsic dynamic properties and limited high-resolution structural analysis. To disentangle the mechanistic underpinnings of these dynamical properties, we mutated a conserved IXI-motif located within the N-terminal (NT) domain of human αB-crystallin. This resulted in a profound structural transformation, from highly polydispersed caged-like native assemblies into a comparatively well-ordered helical fibril state amenable to high-resolution cryo-EM analysis. The reversible nature of the induced fibrils facilitated …

Explorations On Non-Covalent Interactions: From Supramolecules To Drug-Like Molecules, Zhanpeng Zhang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Non-covalent interactions are everywhere in our material world. From the microstructures of organisms to the functional materials used in industrial production, whenever matter exists, there are non-covalent interactions between the molecules that build up the matter.The exploration of non-covalent forces helps people understand the intrinsic principles of life processes, it can be applied to create new supramolecular materials as well. Supramolecular chemistry is a research field focusing on the properties and applications of non-covalent interactions. Various non-covalent interactions, such as hydrogen bonds, metal-ligand coordination, π-π interaction, hydrophobic interaction, etc., are objects of research in supramolecular chemistry.

Not only supramolecular chemists, …

The Impacts Of Nature-Based Sediment Restoration Practices On Coastal Wetland Soil Biogeochemistry, Jacob Z. Cheng

LSU Master's Theses

Coastal marshes provide many valuable ecosystem services. However, these wetlands are threatened worldwide, being subject to sea level rise, sediment starvation, subsidence, coastal edge erosion, etc. Many efforts are being made to counteract this wetland loss and preserve the ecosystem services. Two such methods are sediment diversion and the thin layer placement (TLP) of dredged sediment.

Sediment diversion involves reconnecting the main channel of a river body to disconnected wetlands, supplying much needed soil-building materials. However, this method affects the salinity of the waters, introducing large amounts of freshwater into the system. Salinity changes can affect marsh biogeochemistry. Most ecological …

Methionyl-Trna Synthetase Synthetic And Proofreading Activities Are Determinants Of Antibiotic Persistence, Whitney N. Wood, Miguel Angel Rubio, Lorenzo Eugenio Leiva, Gregory J. Phillips, Michael Ibba

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Bacterial antibiotic persistence is a phenomenon where bacteria are exposed to an antibiotic and the majority of the population dies while a small subset enters a low metabolic, persistent, state and are able to survive. Once the antibiotic is removed the persistent population can resuscitate and continue growing. Several different molecular mechanisms and pathways have been implicated in this phenomenon. A common mechanism that may underly bacterial antibiotic persistence is perturbations in protein synthesis. To investigate this mechanism, we characterized four distinct metG mutants for their ability to increase antibiotic persistence. Two metG mutants encode changes near the catalytic site …

Preserving Linguistic Diversity In The Digital Age: A Scalable Model For Cultural Heritage Continuity, James Hutson, Pace Ellsworth, Matt Ellsworth

Faculty Scholarship

In the face of the rapid erosion of both tangible and intangible cultural heritage globally, the urgency for effective, wide-ranging preservation methods has never been greater. Traditional approaches in cultural preservation often focus narrowly on specific niches, overlooking the broader cultural tapestry, particularly the preservation of everyday cultural elements. This article addresses this critical gap by advocating for a comprehensive, scalable model for cultural preservation that leverages machine learning and big data analytics. This model aims to document and archive a diverse range of cultural artifacts, encompassing both extraordinary and mundane aspects of heritage. A central issue highlighted in the …

Improving Medical Image Classification Accuracy Through Unsupervised Segmentation And Confounder Mitigation With Limited Data, Nikolai Fetisov

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Medical images are indispensable for assisting health care professionals to make more accurate cancer diagnosis and prognosis decisions. Several image modalities exist including, but not limited to, histopathology or whole slide images (WSI), computed tomography (CT), positron emission tomography (PET) and radiography (i.e., X-Ray), each having their own application in clinical practice.

Today, machine learning and deep learning methods have evolved to the point of being practically usable. These approaches learn and extract knowledge from data to make possible automating certain tasks. At the point of writing this dissertation, they have reached human-level performance in general image recognition tasks, became …

03.25.2024 Orsp Connect, Liz Williamson

ORED Newsletter

Cammi Thornton, Compliance Training Requirements

Interfacial Magnetism And Anisotropy In Dirac And Weyl Semimetals, Noah Schulz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Semimetals have gained intense interest recently due to their exotic magnetic and electronic properties. One of the most widely studied semimetals is graphene, a Dirac semimetal. The utilization of graphene in devices and sensors requires interfacing it with other materials, which may induce potentially strong interfacial effects. Furthermore, graphene alone does not possess magnetic order. Studying the interfacial effects between graphene and magnetic materials is therefore of great importance in the application of graphene to meet modern technological needs. Furthermore, by understanding the fundamental interfacial physics between graphene and magnetic materials, new properties can be unlocked, broadening the possible applications …

Favorable Factors In Methane Production From Residual Coal Post-Biohydrogen Generation, Xia Daping, Liao Jiajia, Chen Zhenhong, Chen Xi, Guo Hongyu, Huang Dan

Coal Geology & Exploration

Determining favorable factors in methane production from residual coal post-biohydrogen production holds great theoretical and practical significance for improving the efficiency of methane production in the second stage of coal-based poly-generation. This study focuses on residual coal after hydrogen generation through anaerobic fermentation. Using coal samples from the Baiyinhua open-pit mine in Inner Mongolia as fermentation substrates, this study explored the dynamic trends of both the methane production and structure of the residual coal under different conditions by altering the aeration conditions and hydraulic retention time (HRT). Key findings are as follows: (1) Among the experiment groups with different atmosphere …

Synergistic Effect Of Acylpyrazolone Integrated With Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes On The Electrochemical Analysis Of Ascorbic Acid, Emi Norzehan Mohamad Mahbob, Mohamad Syahrizal Ahmad, Illyas Md Isa, Norhayati Hashim, Anwar Ul-Hamid, Mohamad Idris Saidin, Suyanta Suyanta, Sofian Ibrahim

Makara Journal of Science

Square wave voltammetry, cyclic voltammetry, chronocoulometry, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were employed to assess ascorbic acid’s electrochemical behavior in multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)/carbon paste electrode (CPE) modified by 1-phenyl-3-methyl-4-metafluorobenzoyl-5-pyrazolone (HPMmFBP). The ascorbic acid’s irreversible oxidation peak appeared at approximately 0.5 V. The shifting of the peak potential at the pH range of 6.0–8.4 showed the involvement of protons in the ascorbic acid oxidation. Moreover, the shifting of the peak potential with scan rate in the range of 0.07–0.4 V/s confirmed that the oxidation reaction was irreversible. Under optimized conditions, the oxidative peak current showed linear dependence on the ascorbic acid’s …

In Silico Analysis Of C-Type Lectins As Co-Infection Receptors Of Dengue And Chikungunya Viruses In Aedes Aegypti, Munawir Sazali, R. C. Hidayat Soesilohadi, Nastiti Wijayanti, Tri Wibawa, Arif Nur Muhammad Ansori

Makara Journal of Science

Aedes aegypti is a primer vector of dengue virus (DENV) and chikungunya virus (CHIKV). The susceptibility of mosquitoes to DENV and CHIKV depends on their recognition receptor of pathogens. C-type lectins (CTLs) are an important mediator of virus infection in A. aegypti. This study aims to identify potential receptors and determine the binding affinity between ligand–receptor interaction, CTLs and virus envelopes (DENV-1, 2, 3, and 4 and CHIKV) interaction based on in silico analysis. Sample sequences were obtained from GenBank (NCBI), and 10 CTLs were acquired from VectorBase. Homology modeling based on a minimum standard of 20% was processed …

Nitrene-Transfer Chemistry To C-H And C═C Bonds Mediated By Triangular Coinage Metal Platforms Supported By Triply Bridging Pnictogen Elements Sb(Iii) And Bi(Iii), Meenakshi Sharma, Reece M. Fritz, Joseph O. Adebanjo, Zhou Lu, Thomas R. Cundari, Mohammad A. Omary, Amitava Choudhury, Pericles Stavropoulos

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

Tripodal Ligands (TMG3trphen-E) That Feature Heavy Pnictogen Elements (E = Sb(III), Bi(III)) And Tetramethylguanidinyl (TMG) Arms Have Been Explored In Stabilizing Cu(I) And Ag(I) Sites And Facilitating Nitrene-Transfer Chemistry. Compounds [(TMG3trphen-E)M3(Μ-X)3] (M = Cu(I), Ag(I); X = Cl, Br, I) Have Been Generated Upon Extraction Of M3(Μ-X)3 Units From MX Sources, Exhibiting Support Of The Crown-Shaped M3(Μ-X)3 Fragment By M-NTMG Bonds And Triply Bridging E → M3 Interactions. Orbital Interactions Between Cu(I) Sites And NTMG Residues Are More Dominant Than Sb/Bi → Cu3 Donor Interactions Between The Sb 5s Or Bi 6s Orbitals And Admixed Cu 4s/3d Orbitals, With Larger …

Efficient Removal Of Chemical Organic Demand And Total Organic Carbon From Leachate Using Heterogeneous Fenton Catalyst Based On Activated Carbon, Amar Idir, Mounir Ziati, Mohamed Bouzid

Emirates Journal for Engineering Research

Organic components contained in leachates resulting from decomposition of waste are difficult to degrade. Leachate volume and its composition vary depending on biogeochemistry of site type of deposited residues, and the age of sanitary landfill. The present study aims to develop efficient heterogeneous Fenton oxidation of organic matter, expressed in terms of chemical organic demand (COD) and total organic carbon (TOC) of leachate using the newly synthesized iron-modified activated carbon. The characterization of catalyst revealed that the Fe(II) was successfully introduced onto the original activated carbon (AC) and diversified the material’s surface morphology and elemental compounds. The heterogeneous Fenton oxidation …

Coomassie Brilliant Blue Dye As A Method For Analyzing Fracture Markings In Bone, Abigail Hoffmeister, David Harutunyan, Matthew Aizawa, Everett Baker, Brandon Mendoza, Chase Freeman, Siran Iskanian

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

Coomassie Brilliant Blue Dye is a dye commonly used to stain proteins. Because of its ability to adhere to proteins, this research has focused on perfecting a method of dyeing a fractured flat bone in order to most accurately observe and analyze fracture markings within the trabecular layer. Stereoscopic microscopy was the chosen technique of analysis for this research because of its proven effectiveness in glass and ceramic fractography to observe varying depths. In order to most effectively apply stereoscopic microscopy to this research, the following variables were manipulated to maximize color contrast in the trabecular layer in order to …

Mathematically Modeling How Trapping Regimes That Target Specific Crayfish Life Stages Impact Removal Efficacy, Rini Pattison

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

The red swamp crayfish, Procambarus clarkii, is an invasive species introduced into several streams within the Santa Monica Mountains (SMM) in Southern California. Crayfish predation decimates native aquatic species. Thus, the Mountains Restoration Trust (MRT) and Environmental Restoration Group have worked to remove crayfish through regular trapping in Malibu Creek.

To aid conservation efforts, former SURB students William Milligan and Dev Patel developed mathematical models of crayfish removal efficacy. Milligan created a differential equation model of how crayfish removal affects local newt populations. Patel expanded Milligan’s crayfish model by creating a discrete model of the crayfish life cycle that newly …

Deep Learning Can Be Used To Classify And Segment Plant Cell Types In Xylem Tissue, Reem Al Dabagh, Benjamin Shin, Sean Wu, Fabien Scalzo, Helen Holmlund, Jessica Lee, Chris Ghim, Samuel Fitzgerald, Marinna Grijalva

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

Studies of plant anatomical traits are essential for understanding plant physiological adaptations to stressful environments. For example, shrubs in the chaparral ecosystem of southern California have adapted various xylem anatomical traits that help them survive drought and freezing. Previous studies have shown that xylem conduits with a narrow diameter allows certain chaparral shrub species to survive temperatures as low as -12 C. Other studies have shown that increased cell wall thickness of fibers surrounding xylem vessels improves resistance to water stress-induced embolism formation. Historically, these studies on xylem anatomical traits have relied on hand measurements of cells in light micrographs, …

Mechanistic Investigation Of C—C Bond Activation Of Phosphaalkynes With Pt(0) Complexes, Roberto M. Escobar, Abdurrahman C. Ateşin, Christian Müller, William D. Jones, Tülay Ateşin

Research Symposium

Carbon–carbon (C–C) bond activation has gained increased attention as a direct method for the synthesis of pharmaceuticals. Due to the thermodynamic stability and kinetic inaccessibility of the C–C bonds, however, activation of C–C bonds by homogeneous transition-metal catalysts under mild homogeneous conditions is still a challenge. Most of the systems in which the activation occurs either have aromatization or relief of ring strain as the primary driving force. The activation of unstrained C–C bonds of phosphaalkynes does not have this advantage. This study employs Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations to elucidate Pt(0)-mediated C–CP bond activation mechanisms in phosphaalkynes. Investigating the …

La1-Xsrxcoo3 Perovskite Nanomaterial: Synthesis, Characterization, And Its Biomedical Application, Adhira Tippur, Anyet Shohag, Luke Franco, Ahmed Touhami, Swati Mohan, Mohammed Uddin

Research Symposium

Early cancer detection is paramount for effective treatment and potential cures. This research explores the application of perovskite materials, specifically Sr2+-doped Lanthanum Cobaltite (La1-xSrxCoO3) nanomaterials, in cancer detection, with a focus on rats as an experimental model. The ferroelectric nature of these materials, synthesized through a combination of sol-gel and molten-salt processes, was examined at varying Sr2+ doping levels (1-20 wt%). Rigorous characterization, employing X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, confirmed the uniform morphology of nano cubes, laying the foundation for subsequent investigations. The magnetic properties of the perovskite nanoparticles were probed, suggesting their potential as a diagnostic tool for …

Within-Field Soil Moisture Variability And Time-Invariant Spatial Structures Of Agricultural Fields In The Us Midwest, Yi Yang, Bin Peng, Kaiyu Guan, Ming Pan, Trenton E. Franz, Michael H. Cosh, Carl J. Bernacchi

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Understanding soil moisture variability and estimating high-resolution soil moisture at subfield to field scales is critical for agricultural research and applications. However, systematic investigation of subfield scale soil moisture variability over cropland is still lacking from both measurement and satellite remote sensing. In this study, we aim to investigate (1) the characteristics of within-field soilmoisture distribution over typical cropland in the US Midwest and (2) the capabilities of satellite remote sensing in capturing the spatiotemporal variabilities of soil moisture at subfield scale. Specifically, we conducted soil moisture field experiments in three typical commercial agricultural fields (∼85 acres per field) in …