Digital Commons Network^™

Etiology Of Sterile Intra-Amniotic Inflammation: An Exploratory Study, Zoe M. Taylor

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Preterm birth is the event of spontaneous birth prior to 37 weeks of gestation. In the United States, 1 in 10 babies are born prematurely. Low gestational age has been linked with increased morbidity and mortality. Preterm birth is multifactorial, where a myriad of contributors have been identified to include inflammation, chorioamnionitis, and inflammatory conditions to include hypertension and diabetes. To further explore the role inflammation plays in low gestational age, a literature review was done using PubMed. Two classes of inflammation quickly emerged: Pathogen born intra-amniotic inflammation and Sterile intra-amniotic inflammation. The latter form of inflammation has no identifiable …

The Effect Of Racial And Ethnic Identity Salience On Online Political Expression And Political Participation In The United States, Jonathon Smith

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

How close an individual identifies with their race or ethnicity can affect how individuals behave as political actors. Racial identity can affect how individuals express their political beliefs on social media sites or participate in political activities. However, does political expression on social media, particularly Facebook and Twitter, affect levels of political participation? The purpose of the project is to examine the relationship between racial and ethnic identity, online political expression, and political participation among the three largest racial and ethnic groups in the United States. Specifically, this project aims to answer whether online political expression mediates the relationship between …

A Technique-Based Approach To Structure-From-Motion: Applications To Human-Coastal Environments, Robert Van Alphen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Photogrammetry is a method by which physical information can be extracted from thecorrespondence of 2-dimensional images. In the geosciences, Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetry is a technique that has seen considerable interest in the past decade of research. Here I present three case studies of various scope and methodologies which can inform the use of SfM in the geosciences. First, I discuss the theoretical and algorithmic basis of SfM photogrammetry and its uses thus far in the geosciences. Chapters two through four show specific studies which highlight several approaches to SfM and the data which can be produced. Chapter five then concludes …

Outcomes Of A Periodic Exposure Assessment Of Workers At A University Campus, Logan M. Armagast

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Standards promulgated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)are applicable to most businesses in the private sector, however, state and local government entities are not under OSHA’s jurisdiction. Universities that receive public funding fall under the category of state and local government entities and, unless an OSHA-approved State plan explicitly states otherwise, they are not required to demonstrate compliance with OSHA standards and are not subject to OSHA inspections. Without being constrained by federal regulation, those responsible for ensuring the health and safety of employees at publicly funded universities have some leeway in their methods for evaluating the conditions …

"Are We Done?": The Minimization Of Covid-19 And The Individualization Of Health In The United States, Cassidy R. Boe

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As the death toll from Covid-19 in the United States exceeds 1 million in just over two years, more variants continue to emerge, threatening more waves of Covid-19 and ultimately, more deaths. Despite this, mask use continues to decline, and one third of Americans say that the pandemic is over. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been central in publicly disseminating biomedical knowledge using Twitter. The CDC’s Twitter account (@CDCgov) shares information related to the spread of Covid-19, including mitigation measures such as mask recommendations and vaccine information. I have conducted a narrative analysis of the replies …

Continuous Effort Required To Maintain Populations Of Outplanted Acropora Cervicornis In The Florida Reef Tract, Usa, Tiffany S. Boisvert

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The degradation of coral reefs due to natural and anthropogenic stressors has resulted in the expansion of coral restoration projects worldwide. In the Caribbean region, most restoration efforts focus on outplanting Acropora cervicornis, once a dominant branching coral, now found predominantly in spatially isolated populations. Thousands of A. cervicornis colonies are propagated within nurseries and outplanted onto degraded reefs every year. However, monitoring the long-term growth and survival of outplanted corals has been limited by financial, physical, and temporal constraints. In the current study, we assessed the long-term success of A. cervicornis restoration by determining the relationship between current populations …

Ceramide-1-Phosphate: A Novel Regulator Of Golgi Fragmentation, Golgi-Er Vesicle Trafficking, And Anaplasma Phagocytophilum Pathogenesis, Anika Nayar Ali

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Anaplasma phagocytophilum, the etiologic agent of human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA), is a tick transmitted obligate intracellular bacterium that infects granulocytes, bone marrow progenitor cells and endothelial cells. HGA exhibits symptoms of febrile illness including fever, chills, headache, malaise, leukopenia and elevated liver enzymes which are treatable by antibiotics. However, elderly and immunocompromised patients are at a greater risk of developing fatal complications. Inside the host cell A.phagocytophilum resides in host cell derived vacuole called A.phagocytophilum occupied vacuole (ApV) where it undergoes its biphasic lifecycle. Being an intracellular pathogen, A.phagocytophilum relies heavily on nutrient acquisition from host cell and to obtain …

Chronological Accumulation Of Microplastics In The Gulf Of Mexico And Their Acute Effects On Coral Bleaching, Martina M. Plafcan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Microplastics have accumulated in the environment since plastic production began. They have spread to all areas of the globe from marine trenches to mountains and they can be harmful to organisms. However, research on microplastics has only recently begun so it is unclear how they have changed over time in many regions of the ocean and how current oceanic concentrations might affect marine life. Additionally, organisms such as corals are under stress and have been declining due to climate change, so it is not yet known if microplastics exacerbate these threats. My thesis addressed these gaps in the literature by …

Addressing Intersectional Stigma: Lgbtq+ Individuals Living With A Mental Illness, Jennifer T. Tran

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The stigma process (i.e., stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination) has profound and lasting effects on individuals within marginalized identities. Research has indicated that lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans*, queer, or questioning (LGBTQ+) individuals’ experiences of stigma have contributed to the development of mental illness. Therefore, LGBTQ+ individuals living with mental illness experience a unique and challenging type of stigma, intersectional stigma, due to identification within multiple marginalized communities. Populations most vulnerable to stigma include individuals who identify with more than one stigmatized identity, such as LGBTQ+ individuals living with mental illness. Therefore, there is a need to explore strategies to address intersectional …

“That’S What We Call ‘Aesthetics’”: The Social Construction Of Tap Water Mistrust In An Underbounded Community, Abby Vidmar

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recent research on water insecurity in the United States has revealed that underbounded communities — urban disadvantaged unincorporated neighborhoods characterized by high-poverty and high residential density lying just outside the border of an incorporated municipality — often lack consistent access to clean and safe water. In these settings, poor water quality and inadequate infrastructure shape residents’ risk perceptions often leading to tap water mistrust. However, little is known about the broader social, political, and economic drivers of water quality in these settings and how such drivers inform the social construction of risk across different stakeholder groups. Using an underbounded African-American/Hispanic …

Depersonalized, Dysregulated, And Demanded: The Impact Of Burnout On Appraisal And Emotional Events, Katrina M. Conen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A widely studied construct, burnout is a chronic disease that is considered to develop over time (Maslach et al., 2001). Burnout has been related to a number of pertinent outcomes including increased job turnover, decreased job satisfaction, and poor mental and physical health outcomes (Ahola, 2007). However, little work has yet to be done concerning the role burnout may play in the appraisal of work events and the subsequent psychological construction of emotional episodes. The current study addresses the tension between the chronic affective dysregulation associated with burnout and the acute construction of an emotional episode. Results support the idea …

Evaluating Behavioral Skills Training To Teach Identification Of Choking Hazards To Substitute Caregivers, Madison L. Molve

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Choking is a leading cause of mortality in children (Committee on Injury, Violence and Poison Prevention, 2010). Over half of choking injuries occur due to food, and the remaining injuries involve common household objects (Chapin et al., 2013). Although studies have been conducted assessing the use of Behavioral Skills Training (BST) to teach hazard identification in substitute caregivers (Abarca, 2021), no studies have evaluated utilizing BST to identify choking hazards specifically. Thus, this study evaluated the efficacy of using BST to teach edible and non-edible choking hazard identification to substitute caregivers following guidelines from the Home Accident Prevention Inventory Revised …

Outcomes Of A Telehealth Adaptation Of A Trauma-Based Parent Training Program, Holland Hayford

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Approximately 25% of children will experience a traumatic event by the age of four. If trauma symptoms remain untreated, these traumatic experiences during early childhood can negatively impact a child’s executive functioning skills, mental health, social interactions, and relational attachments to other individuals. Due to the harmful impact of untreated trauma symptoms on children’s wellbeing and development, several evidence-based interventions have been developed. One such intervention is Smart Start: Parenting Tools for Children with Developmental Delay, Social-Emotional Concerns, and Trauma (version 5), which targets children’s disruptive behaviors and trauma symptoms, caregivers’ parenting stress, and the caregiver-child relationship. This study utilized …

Investigating A Potential Sting Modulator, Jaret J. Crews

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The work contained in this thesis introduces a protein known as STING, an acronym for STimulator of INnterferon Genes, an immunosurveillance ER-membrane bound adapter protein critical to regulating the innate immune response in humans. The first chapter provides an overview of the STING pathway, outlines STING’s potential as a therapeutic target of interest, and delineates the primary challenges researchers encounter when designing small molecules to modulate the activity of STING. Current efforts in developing STING modulators have focused on devising agonists to up-regulate the STING pathway as a possible therapeutic for human cancers based on the chemical scaffold of STING’s …

Glucose Homeostasis In Human Diabetic Adipocytes: Role Of Glp1 In Sortilin Alternative Splicing, Ashley Lui

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a chronic and progressive metabolic disease defined by systemic insulin resistance. The inability of cells to respond to insulin and take up glucose results in elevated blood sugar that is detrimental to the overall health of patients. There is no cure for T2DM. Identification of new targets to alleviate hyperglycemia are crucial for treatment and prevention of metabolic diseases. Adipocytes play a central role in glycemic regulation by insulin stimulated glucose uptake, storage of excess nutrients, and secretion of adipokines. Major glucose transporter-4 (Glut4) is the main transporter responsible for postprandial clearance of glucose …

Microheater Stimulation Platform For Neural Cells, Haley Royce

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Electrical stimulation is the basis of many biomedical devices like cochlear implants,pacemakers, and retinal implants. In these systems, current is applied to a desired tissue to effectively stimulate it. Unfortunately, this is not localized as the current will spread through the tissue, limiting the spatial resolution. Thus, alternative forms of stimulation are needed to improve device precision and resolution. This project explores microheaters as a stimulation platform that can be easily integrated with existing biomedical devices. Microheaters produce heat via the Joule heating effect wherein electrical current is run through high resistance materials to output thermal energy. They are highly …

Ethnic-Racial Minoritized Adolescents’ Perceptions Of Cyberhate, School Connectedness, Ethnic-Racial Identity, And Life Satisfaction, Alexis Taylor

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Exposure to cyberhate has become an increasing trend across social media, with approximately 64% of adolescents reporting that they have seen hate speech (Common Sense, 2018). While social media is used to connect with others via likes, posts, and shares, it also allows for hateful content to spread quickly. Cyberhate is the intentional aggression or threat towards an individual or group based on their societal group association, such as race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and religion (Wachs et al., 2020). Ethnic-racial minoritized adolescents who experience cyberhate as racial discrimination may be at increased risk of maladaptive psychosocial adjustment (Sellers et …

Healthcare Profession Students Of Color Participating In International Service-Learning, Ellyn Katherine Couillard

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative exploratory case study investigated the healthcare profession students’ of color experience and the perceived impact of completing international service-learning (ISL). Before this study, most of the research about healthcare profession students in ISL reported had mainly White participants or reported data and findings in the aggregate. To complete this research, I performed two semi-structured interviews with each of the five participants incorporating photo-elicitation techniques. Then I performed constant comparative methods and communicated with a peer debriefer about my findings. Five participants were selected using max maximum variation based on racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds, programs of study, and …

Analysis Of Prescription Drug Brand Mentions In Music: Prevalence And Consumer Perceptions, Lisa A. Blake

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Music is not only a lucrative mass reach media (Stassen, 2021) but also a deeply personal tool for self-expression (Hallam, 2019). Music listeners are exposed to a slew of branded messages within music promoting a variety of product types such as apparel, automotive, and alcohol (Craig, Flynn & Holody, 2017). Promotion in music has been proven to be an effective vehicle for building brand awareness when listeners are interested in the music (Delattre & Colovic, 2009, Hoyer & Brown, 1990; Macdonald & Sharp, 2000; Thoma & Williams, 2013). Brands promoted within music enjoy some of the benefits of promotional tactics …

Transitioning From Face-To-Face To Telehealth Speech And Language Services Due To The Covid-19 Pandemic: Perceptions Of Persons With Aphasia And Their Ehelpers, Emma Logan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to investigate the perceptions of the aphasia community, as well as their caregivers, that are provided speech and language services and how their services were affected due to transitions because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The recency and novelty of the pandemic warrants research of many areas related to health care, including that of speech language pathology.

An online survey was completed by nine persons with aphasia and three eHelpers. Participants were recruited through a university clinic and by informational fliers through social media. Participants with aphasia qualified by having experiences with speech and …

Inaugural Addresses, Framing Theory, And The Impact On American Perceptions Of The Presidency, Kalin Meagan Velez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study uses the inaugural addresses given by both Donald Trump and Joseph Biden as the source texts by which to examine the sentiment portrayed by particular framed messages. Framing theory stands as the central framework in which this study was conducted. The objective was to identify how political speeches like that of the presidential inaugural address frame messages to citizens and inform the audience on what their presidency may look like. This study utilizes a quantitative analysis using LIWC software followed by a qualitative discourse analysis. A thorough examination of the history of inaugural addresses, preceding presidencies, and each …

The Weekly Challenger, June 9, 2022, The Weekly Challenger, Et Al

Weekly Challenger Newspaper Collection

The June 9, 2022, issue of The Weekly Challenger.

Video Anomaly Detection: Practical Challenges For Learning Algorithms, Keval Doshi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Anomaly detection in surveillance videos is attracting an increasing amount of attention. Despite the competitive performance of several existing methods, they lack theoretical performance analysis, particularly due to the complex deep neural network architectures used in decision making. Additionally, real-time decision making is an important but mostly neglected factor in this domain. Much of the existing methods that claim to be online, depend on batch or offline processing in practice. Furthermore, several critical tasks such as continual learning, model interpretability and cross-domain adaptability are completely neglected in existing works. Motivated by these research gaps, in this dissertation we discuss our …

The Maternal Oral Microbiome Throughout Pregnancy, Rebecca Koerner

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to longitudinally examine the salivary microbiome during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy and explore its associations amongst adverse pregnancy outcomes (preterm birth, gestational diabetes mellitus, and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy), perceived stress and depression, and hair/salivary cortisol levels. The specific aims were to (1) explore the literature for studies longitudinally examining the oral microbiome during pregnancy using a scoping review guided by the Arskey and O’Malley framework; (2) to examine the salivary microbiome for changes in diversity and abundance during the second and third trimesters during pregnancy and its association with adverse …

Synthesis And Antibacterial Testing Of Novel Thiosulfonate Compounds, Lindsay I. Blume

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA) are increasing concerns in the medical community. In addition to the threat of Staphylococcus aureus, the increase in number and severity of infections caused by other antibiotic-resistant bacteria is problematic to human health, particularly among the ESKAPE pathogens (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter). The antibiotics like the penicillins and cephalosporins used commonly to treat MRSA, VRSA, and ESKAPE pathogens have continued to decline in the effectiveness. Our laboratory has developed a number of new families of anti-MRSA and anti-VRSA antibacterial compounds. In this thesis, …

Reelin Supplementation For The Rescue Of Fragile X Syndrome., Nicole K. Morrill

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Reelin is a large, extracellular matrix glycoprotein involved in neuronal migration during embryonic brain development and synaptic plasticity in the adult brain. Reelin consists of eight EGF-like repeats and undergoes natural cleavage at two sites, between repeats 2 and 3 and repeats 5 and 6, resulting in five naturally occurring fragments. The role of Reelin in the developing central nervous system has been extensively characterized, and loss of Reelin or disruption in the signaling cascade may contribute to the cognitive impairments seen in numerous neurodevelopmental or aging diseases such as schizophrenia, autism, depression, epilepsy, and Alzheimer’s disease. Reelin’s signaling potentiates …

Testing The Effects Of Social Exclusion On Emotional Arousal: An Examination Of The Effects Of Psychological Pain And Rumination, Amanda L. Peterson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The examination of social exclusion and its impact on future emotional responding may prove to be a fruitful area of research in the prevention of suicide. Additionally, there may be other factors (such as the experience of psychological pain and rumination) that may influence how one responds to social exclusion. However, little research has explored individual differences in reactions to social exclusion. As such, the present study explored how social exclusion influences emotional responding to other environmental stimuli, as well as examining how a history of psychological pain and rumination affected how one responds to social exclusion. 503 undergraduate students …

Article, Tampa's Purity Springs Is Up For A $1.2 Million Revival, June 2, 2022, Amanda Hagood

Creekshed: City Wilds

An article by Amanda Hagood about Purity Springs in Tampa, Florida.

The Effect Of Aac-Modeling Intervention (Aac-Mod) Within Dialogic Reading On Vocabulary Learning In Children With Down Syndrome, Emily A. Mchugh

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effect of aided Alternative and Augmentative Communication-Modeling (AAC-MOD) intervention on the communication skills of preschool-age children with Down syndrome (DS) during dialogic book reading. The study investigated to what extent AAC-MOD is effective in increasing the acquisition of target vocabulary and expressive communication acts by children with DS who use few words functionally. Two children aged 3;10 and 5;4, with repertoires of less than 75 intelligible words were selected. A repeated acquisition experimental design was used to examine the effects of instruction on target vocabulary word learning and symbolic communication. …

Parenting Of 1.5 Generation Chinese Americans’ Parents: A Case Study, Yuyang Zhou, Xuan Jiang, Changmi Wang

Journal of Global Education and Research

Individuals who arrive in a new country during their childhood and early adolescence are referred to as the 1.5 generation. In this exploratory case study, five Chinese families were interviewed and examined about the effects of their parenting styles on those 1.5 generation Chinese American students. Findings revealed that these parents’ parenting styles—educational values, educational practices, and family dynamics—have exerted a great impact on the students’ academic performance, psychological well-being, and adaptation to their life in the US. Insights about comparisons between American and Chinese education will be inspiring to educators and scholars for culturally comparative analysis and mental health …