Digital Commons Network^™

Aligning Voice And Communication With Identity – A Survey On Transgender And Gender Diverse Populations, Rachel T. Chalom

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: This research has two goals. The first goal is to examine transgender (TG) and gender diverse (GD) voice and communication functioning and the impact of voice on their everyday lives. The second goal is to examine the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs speech-language pathologists (SLP) have about the TG and GD community and to investigate the relationship between self- and listener-perception and its correspondence to quality of life (QoL).

Methods: A total of 59 participants took part in this research. The research was separated into two parts, the first included 24 TG and GD individuals who participated in a Qualtrics …

The Role Of Threat And Efficacy In Anti-Vaping Ads: A Test Of The Extended Parallel Process Model, Ryan Noone

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Often thought of as a safer alternative to traditional cigarettes, electronic cigarette use among youth and young adults has steadily increased over the past 10 years. With over 34 percent of high school students and over 7.8 percent of young adults using electronic cigarettes, organizations like the CDC and the FDA have created campaigns and advertisements to combat the epidemic (Truth Initiative). This study uses a 2x2 between subject factoral experiment to gain insights into how varying levels of anti-vaping advertisements’ threat and efficacy elements effect college age students’ perceptions and behaviors towards e-cigarettes. While several of the study’s hypotheses …

Medical Model Vs. Eco-Behavioral Model: School Psychologists’ Conceptualization Of Consultation, Patricia Y. Hanson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the ways in which school psychologists conceptualize culturally responsive consultation based on their description of using an ecological approach or an intrapsychic approach to consultation. Additionally, this study aimed to address barriers school psychologists may face when providing culturally responsive consultation based on the consultation method they describe using. I conducted a secondary analysis of 1 to 2-hour, semi-structured interviews of 15 school psychologists throughout the United States. I used a constructivist paradigm to understand participants’ approaches to consultation and how these approaches related to their descriptions of culturally responsive consultation. I …

Electrospun Nanofibrous Membrane Based Glucose Sensor With Integration Of Potentiostat Circuit, Kavyashree Puttananjegowda

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although wearable and portable biomedical devices are the pillar of modern and smart societies, a large portion the device infrastructure is still under development, operates with poor monitoring and automation, and lacks sufficient communication among components. Moreover, demand for wearable bio-medical devices is expected to increase in the coming years. This situation presents a unique opportunity for electrical engineers to design novel strategies that allow point-of-care diagnostics to satisfy the increasing demand of wearable bio-medical devices. For example, in the medical field there is a rising diabetic population base, high demand for miniature and low-power diagnostic devices, and the need …

Impact Of Heat-Related Illness And Natural Environments On Behavioral Health Related Emergency And Hospital Utilization In Florida, Natasha Kurji

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Behavioral health disorders are the leading cause of disability in the United States and are known to have multidimensional effect on wellbeing. Several environmental factors are known to impact behavioral health such as weather (i.e. heat) and access to natural environments (i.e. parks and beaches). The study goals were to identify contextual factors that increase the co-occurrence of heat-related illness and behavioral health disorders, illustrate the re-utilization patterns of these co-occurring cases in Florida emergency and inpatient settings, and explore the association between behavioral health disorders such as anxiety and depression, and natural environments such as parks and beaches. The …

Family Response To A Diagnosis Of Serious Mental Illness In Teens And Young Adults: A Multi-Voiced Narrative Analysis, Douglas J. Engelman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Narratives are stories, stories persuade, persuasion is necessary to develop social problem consciousness, and social problem consciousness is a necessary element of mobilization toward social change. Thus, narratives are intrinsic to social change, both in the form of policy and legislation, and as evidenced by transformations in culture and consciousness. In this dissertation I analyze narratives about mental illness in families because they reflect what we think of as common, everyday understandings about these experiences. Through these analyses, I hope to learn how individuals and families understand the diagnosis of mental illness through stories they tell about how they cope …

A Visit To Cuba: Performance Ethnography Of Place, Adolfo Lagomasino

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Bestowed to the Cuban government in 1956, The Parque Amigos de José Martí in Ybor City, FL is a historical site intended to symbolize the relationship between Tampa and Cuba that facilitated Cuba’s independence. Cuban cultural identity and the sense of Cubaness are confounded by the history of exile and the constraints of the United States Embargo. This project articulates the experience of the Cuban exile community and their descendants through descriptive accounts of visiting the Parque Amigos de José Martí. Visiting a place is framed as a means of identity performance and a method of performance ethnography, enabling discursive, …

Transcriptome Studies On The Toxicity Of Silica Nanoparticles, Shih-Yi Hsu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nanotechnology enables more precise harmony in health condition via reducing the dosage amount, improving the delivery of hydrophobic drugs, more specific targeting to the cancerous sites, and so on. Nevertheless, issues regarding the toxicity of nanotechnology have begun to call for attention several decades later after the innovation of nanotechnology. Tools about risk management of nanotechnology have been developed, but recently not much evidence recognizes the toxicity of nanoparticles (NPs) except for some animal studies, which demonstrated organ damage after the exposure to NPs. Toxicogenomic approach refers to the method utilizing gene expression to evaluate the chemical toxicity. Databases as …

A Prospective Examination Of Psychosocial Outcomes Following Gynecomastia Surgery, D. Luis Ordaz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Gynecomastia is a condition in which 3% of males will go on to develop permanent excess breast tissue and has been associated with a number of psychosocial consequences. In recent years, gynecomastia surgery has been in the top 5 cosmetic procedures sought out by men. There is a limited amount of research regarding psychosocial outcomes of gynecomastia surgery despite the large number of men seeking surgery, and the current literature on outcomes has yet to examine chest satisfaction within the context of gynecomastia surgery. The current study sought to add to the treatment literature on gynecomastia by examining chest satisfaction, …

The Weekly Challenger, June 11, 2020, The Weekly Challenger, Et Al

Weekly Challenger Newspaper Collection

The June 11, 2020, issue of The Weekly Challenger.

Automating The Classification Of Mosquito Specimens Using Image Processing Techniques, Mona Minakshi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

According to WHO (World Health Organization) reports, among all animals, mosquitoes are responsible for the most deaths worldwide. Mosquito borne diseases continue to pose grave dangers to global health. In 2015 alone, 214 million cases of malaria were registered worldwide. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report published in 2016, 62,500 suspected case of Zika were reported to the Puerto Rico Department of Health (PRDH) out of which 29,345 cases were found positive. The year 2019 was recorded as the worst for dengue in South East Asia. There are close to 4,500 species of mosquitoes (spread across …

Assessing The Impacts Of Sensorimotor Stimuli And Nicotine Content On Cravings And Other Outcomes Of E-Cigarette Use, Amanda M. Palmer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As use rates of e-cigarettes continue to rise, especially among cigarette smokers, there remains concern that “dual use” may lead to increased dependence and hinder smoking cessation efforts. At the same time, emerging evidence suggests clinical efficacy of e-cigarettes. The role of nicotine must be considered, in addition to non-pharmacologic influences, such as expectancies or conditioned reinforcers. Sensorimotor stimuli associated with drug delivery have been demonstrated to produce cigarette and e-cigarette craving reduction, even without the nicotine. The purpose of the present study was to parse the influences of nicotine and sensorimotor delivery on various outcomes of e-cigarette use, including …

Compositions And Methods For White To Beige Adipogenesis, Denise Ratzlaff Cooper, Ryan Adam Kirchoffer, Robert Pleasants Sparks, Wayne Charles Guida

USF Patents

Disclosed herein are compositions and methods for transitioning or converting a white adipocyte to a beige adipocyte. The compositions and methods may be used in the treatment of obesity. In some embodiments, the compositions include a compound selected from DC677 and DC761.

Chitosan Oligomer And Zinc Oxide Nanoparticle Compositions For Treating Drug Resistant Bacteria And Biofilm, Shyam S. Mohapatra, Alya Limayem

USF Patents

A broad-based remediation mechanism against MRFs and alternative fecal indicators such as multidrug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, including nanotechnology formulations and methodologies that may be used to develop novel mitigation strategies against certain drug resistant bacterial strains. The current invention relates to mitigation of drug resistant bacteria, for example in hospitals and in food animals, and to the identification. The invention uses hybrid nanomaterials comprising oligo-chitosan and zinc oxide formulated as nanoparticles and micelles. The invention also relates to the treatment of multi-drug resistant biofilms which mimic in vivo conditions. The inventors unexpectedly found unique properties of very small oligomers of …

Nurses And Needlesticks: Perceptions Of Stigma And Hiv Risk, Bethany Sharon Moore

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Health-care providers (HCPs) are vulnerable to occupational health hazards, including dirty needle-stick injuries (DNSIs), which increase the risk for infection with HIV and other blood-borne pathogens. This study examines the perceptions of nurses and nurse practitioners who work in various health care settings regarding HIV-risk and DNSIs, in order to ascertain how these perceptions inform their decision-making regarding their health and nursing practice. I utilize a phenomenological approach to analyze the lived reality and embodiment of the DNSI experience by HCPs. The study explores the personal and institutional level factors that may influence the timely reporting and treatment of DNSIs, …

Balance Function: A Potential Early Indicator Of Mild Cognitive Impairment, Karen L. Bell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined oculomotor and vestibular function in young adults, cognitively normal older adults (CNOA), and older adults with MCI. Oculomotor and vestibular function were assessed using videonystagmography (VNG), vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs), the modified Clinical Test of Sensory Integration and Balance (mCTSIB), and the Fukuda Stepping test. Forty-two participants comprised three groups (young adults, n = 15; CNOA, n = 13; MCI, n = 14). The Montreal Cognitive Assessment ([MoCA]; Nasreddine et al., 2005) was used to assess cognitive status, and a MCI diagnosis was confirmed using standardized neuropsychological testing and a physician’s exam. MANOVA was calculated to …

Exploring The Potential Of Nutrient Retention And Recycling With Wetlaculture Systems In Ohio With Physical And Landscape Models, Bingbing Jiang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Significant expansion of agricultural land use has been widely recognized for leading to global and regional negative environmental impacts, especially increased eutrophication of surface water systems for the last half-century. The landscape-scale environmental problem of overloading nutrients to lakes and streams by excessive fertilizer use and increased human-caused N-fixation is in urgent need of a sustainable landscape-scale solution. Wetlands have long been considered as an effective way to remove nutrients from surface water. However, the influence of regional seasonality and hydrologic conditions on agricultural runoff treatment wetlands still needs more investigation. A new approach, “wetlaculture,” has recently described as a …

The Immediate Effect Of A Brief Mindfulness Intervention On Attention And Acceptance, Xiaoqian Yu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Given the increased popularity of mindfulness in both the clinical settings and the general public, it is important to understand the active mechanisms of mindfulness. Mindfulness practice (MP) involves two active components, attention regulation and acceptance of experience, being aware of the current experience as it is without evaluating the experience as positive or negative. Much research has evaluated the attention regulation component and found that MP improves high-level (effortful) attention with few reported effects on low-level (automatic) attention. It is unclear whether MP affects merely low- or high-level attention, or both, because little empirical research has examined both low- …

Do Similar Exposure Groups (Seg) Differ From Air Force Base To Air Force Base? A Combat Arms Training And Maintenance (Catm) Noise Exposure Comparison Of Moody Afb And Macdill Afb., Miriam F. Escobar

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Noise is a common hazard for the military. The Department of Defense has set an Occupational Exposure Limit for noise at 85 dBA. The Air Force manages exposures using similar exposure groups (SEGs) which are formed at each Air Force Base. The purpose of this study was to compare the noise levels in SEGs in two Air Force bases across distance and time, and to review the effectiveness of the Air Force Hearing Conservation Program over distance and time. The SEGs chosen were Combat Arms Training and Maintenance (CATM) at Moody Air Force Base and MacDill Air Force Base because …

Depression, Music Choice, And Affective Outcomes In Daily Life, Sunkyung Yoon

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Persons with depression consistently report a preference for sad music. Are such preferences maladaptive or beneficial? We tested this question in a 3-part study that examined 77 participants’ (39 with and 38 without clinical depression) music choice in daily life, affective outcomes, and the reasons for music choice. During a 3-day ecological momentary assessment (EMA), participants chose a song from a pre-set music library of happy and sad songs and rated their affect before and after hearing the chosen song. In addition, we analyzed the characteristics (e.g., tempo) of participants’ free song choices over 7 days (from participants’ Spotfiy music …

Red-Green Rows: Exploring The Conflict Between Labor And Environmental Movements In Kerala, India, Silpa Satheesh

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Popularly referred to as “blue-green” conflicts, the stand-off between labor and environmental movements is often understood as a class-based conflict between working-class labor unions and middle-class environmental movements. Such singular conceptions fail to explain labor-environmental conflicts in the context of countries in the Global South, where working-class participants constitute both these movements. In this backdrop, my dissertation seeks to explore the conflicts between labor and green movements surrounding an issue of industrial pollution in Kerala, a south Indian state with a unique trajectory of development and working-class movements.

I adopt a qualitative methodological approach to understand the nature and dynamics …

Non-Invasive Sex Determination And Genotyping Of Transgenic Brugia Malayi Larvae, Santiago E. Hernandez Bojorge

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Lymphatic filariasis is a very painful and disfiguring helminth disease caused by the tissue nematodes Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi, and Brugia timori. This parasitosis is considered a Neglected Tropical Disease and it is a major public health burden for 72 tropical countries of Africa, Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, and South America. Despite the effectiveness of many control programs, there remains the need to develop new pharmacological agents to treat lymphatic filariasis, as most programs rely on a limited variety of drugs that are expensive, logistically difficult to obtain, and can lead to drug resistance. The Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic …

Covid-19 And Numeracy: How About Them Numbers?, Joel Best

Numeracy

Quantitative efforts to understand the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic need to be viewed through the lens of social construction. I begin by comparing the efforts to quantitatively measure the plague in London in 1665. Then I develop five propositions for studying the social construction of statistics: (1) facts are social constructions; (2) measuring involves making decisions, (3) counting is not straightforward; (4) all comparisons involve choices; and (5) social patterns shape numbers. After examining how these propositions affect what we know about COVID-19, I consider their implications for moving beyond mathematics when approaching numeracy.

Safe And Effective Disinfection Of Show Cave Infrastructure In A Time Of Covid-19, Hazel A. Barton

International Journal of Speleology

The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, has been responsible for over 650,000 deaths worldwide. Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 occurs primarily through airborne transmission or direct human contact, demonstrating the importance of social distancing measures and the use of face masks to prevent infection. Nonetheless, the persistence of coronavirus on surfaces means that disinfection is important to limit the possibility of contact transmission. In this paper, the potential for various surfaces in show caves to serve as sources for SARS-CoV-2 infection is examined. Given the isoelectric potential (pI) of SARS and SARS-like coronaviruses, it is likely that they are …

Systems And Methods For Determining Physiological Parameters From Blood Flow Dynamics, Prashanth Chetlur Adithya, Ravi Sankar, Wilfrido Alejandro Moreno, Stuart Hart

USF Patents

In one embodiment, a system for determining physiological parameters from blood flow dynamics includes a catheter configured for insertion into a blood vessel of a subject through which blood flows, a flexible barrier associated with the catheter configured to oscillate in response to changes in pressure of the blood within the catheter, and a pressure field microphone configured to measure a pressure field induced by the oscillation of the flexible barrier and to generate a measured acoustic pressure signal that can be processed to determine the physiological parameters.

Photic Stress On Coral Reefs In The Maldives: The Amphistegina Bleaching Index, Stephanie Stainbank, Silvia Spezzaferri, Valentina Beccari, Pamela Hallock, Arthur Adams, Auriele Angeloz, Daniela Basso, Annalisa Caragnano, Nicolo Del Piero, Patrick Dietsche

Marine Science Faculty Publications

The Amphistegina Bleaching Index (ABI) was applied to three Maldivian reefs in the Rasdhoo and North Ari Atolls in 2018, during normal sea surface temperature conditions. This dataset was then compared with a 2015, pre-coral bleaching study. The results provide a context for the verification and application of the ABI in outlining the photo-inhibitory stress status of coral reefs outside of the Florida Reef Tract where it was originally developed. The sampling periods encompass different seasons and temperature regimes. The 2015 field sampling preceeded the El Niño induced, mass coral-bleaching events of 2015 and 2016. It was carried out in …

Safe And Accessible Pedestrian Facility Inventory Model (Sapfim): Development, Cutr

Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Cutr Connections [June 2020], Cutr

CUTR Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Safe And Accessible Pedestrian Facility Inventory Model (Sapfim): Planning And Design, Cutr

Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Breaking Silence: The Voices Of Syrian Refugee Children In The Canadian Classroom, Sara Shahbazi, Alyssa Palazzolo, Geri Salinitri

Journal of Global Education and Research

The researchers in the study explored the lived experiences of Syrian refugee students in the Canadian classroom. The participant sample included four students who entered their first year in a South-western Ontario public school as of the 2015-2016 calendar year. Data were collected through one-on-one semi-structured interviews. Analysis of results indicated the District’s growing need for understanding refugee students using a holistic approach, utilizing and building peer relationships for language acquisition, and recognizing the effects of the structure of the learning environment on student experiences.