Digital Commons Network^™

Demographics And Gross Pathology Of Scoters And Scaups Killed By The Cosco Busan Oil Spill In California, Jessie Beck, Ryan D. Carle, Hannahrose Nevins, Susan E.W. De La Cruz, Erica Donnelly-Greenan

Marine Ornithology

Unusual wildlife mortality events provide a unique opportunity to collect information on demographics, disease, and body condition in affected wildlife, which may be useful for informing oil spill damage assessments and future spill responses. In November 2007, the Cosco Busan Oil Spill occurred in San Francisco Bay, California, a globally important wintering area for waterfowl. The spill resulted in the mortality of scoters Melanitta spp. and scaups Aythya spp., species that have declined significantly over recent decades. We examined the demography (sex and age ratios) and prevalence of grossly apparent disease (acanthocephalan parasite infection and mycotic disease) in 288 Surf …

The Potential Of Ecologists To Enhance Our Understanding Of Seabird Health, Melanie R. Wells, Annie Philips, Mary-Anne Lea, Scott Carver

Marine Ornithology

Ecologists play a pivotal role in the detection and investigation of population changes in seabirds and by doing so have significant potential to contribute to enhancing knowledge of seabird health. This review highlights key examples in the literature where ecologists have employed diligent passive health surveillance and/or undertaken targeted investigations of seabirds, strategies that have augmented our knowledge of seabird health at individual and population levels. Within the context of One Health, an integrated approach to perceiving and managing health, this review amalgamates veterinarian and ecology disciplines by summarising auxiliary metrics of clinical health that may be considered for incorporation …

Normal Physical Parameters Characterizing Galapagos Marine Birds, Gustavo Jiménez-Uzcátegui, Patricio D. Carrera-Játiva, Soledad Sarzosa, Edison Encalada, Richar Rodríguez-Hidalgo, Erika (Travis) Crook, Christian Sevilla

Marine Ornithology

The Galapagos Penguin Spheniscus mendiculus (GAPE), Flightless Cormorant Phalacrocorax harrisi (FLCO), and Waved Albatross Phoebastria irrorata (WAAL) are marine birds that are endemic to the Galapagos Islands. To provide health information for these three species, baseline data on several physiological parameters were collected non-invasively—from individuals and populations appearing to be healthy—during the course of physical examinations that were conducted from 2011–2019. Heart rate, respiratory rate, body temperature, and body condition (weight vs. morphometric measurements) were analyzed as a function of age and sex. Mean heart rate differed significantly between juveniles and adults in all three species. Respiratory rate and body …

Low Prevalence Of Plasmodium And Haemoproteus In Resident Seabirds From Oceanic Islands Off The Brazilian Coast, Philippe N. Mariano, Gisele P. M. Dantas

Marine Ornithology

Bird pathogens promote morbidity and mortality that affect bird population stability. In this context, the present study aimed to detect blood intracellular parasites by molecular methods in four species of seabirds, Masked Booby Sula dactylatra, Red-footed Booby S. sula, Brown Booby S. leucogaster, and Magnificent Frigatebird Fregata magnificens, on the Brazilian coast. Blood samples were collected in the Archipelagos of São Pedro and São Paulo, Fernando de Noronha, Atol das Rocas, and Trindade and Martim Vaz. Genomic DNA was extracted with proteinase K digestion and purification with phenol and chloroform. For each sample, three independent polymerase chain reactions were performed …

Time-Lapse Imagery Of Peruvian Boobies Sula Variegata Reveals Nest Abandonment Caused By Tick Hyperinfestation, Cristina Burga-Domínguez, Diego D. Gonzales-Delcarpio, Carlos B. Zavalaga

Marine Ornithology

Severe tick infestation in seabird colonies causes discomfort in reproductive adults, offspring mortality, and nest abandonment. This study used time-lapse cameras to examine the relationship between Ornithodoros amblus tick infestation and Peruvian Booby Sula variegata nest abandonment in four locations along the Peruvian coast between August 2016 and November 2018. The percent occurrence of discomfort in nesting birds (preening and standing on the nest) recorded by the cameras was used as an indicator of tick infestation. The tick density inside and outside the abandoned colonies was also evaluated. In five of the six colonies, complete nest abandonment occurred over an …

Absence Of Coronavirus In Terns In The Western Indian Ocean?, Camille Lebarbenchon, Chris Feare, Christine Larose, Marie-Alice Simbi, Solenn Boucher, Audrey Jaeger, Matthieu Le Corre

Marine Ornithology

We investigated coronavirus circulation in three tern species on four islands of the Western Indian Ocean (Bird, Reunion, Europa, Juan de Nova). None of the 2019 samples tested positive by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. We discuss the implications of these findings in terms of host-species range, ecological drivers of virus transmission, and diagnostic tools.

Analyses Of Morphological Effects Of Cryopreservation On Plasmodium Yoelii Sporozoites, Lauren J. Topley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Malaria is a vector-borne disease and is a major global public health threat caused by the genus Plasmodium. Of the five species that infected humans, Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum contribute the highest rates of morbidity and mortality. Research efforts to develop antimalarial drugs and effective vaccines is imperative to the prevention of future cases. Plasmodium has three reproductive stages: sporogonic, liver, and blood. Sporozoites are injected into the human host from an infected female Anopheles mosquito, which travel to the liver to initiate liver stage malaria. Since few sporozoites are successful, the liver stage is a bottleneck of the …

Vital Signs: Findings From Florida’S 2024 Ems Workforce Statewide Survey, Michael Lozano, Bruce J. Moeller, Ashley Tobin

Florida Center for Emergency Medical Services Research Reports

The 2024 EMT and Paramedic License Renewal Survey provides a comprehensive analysis of workforce trends, employment characteristics, recruitment challenges, retention patterns, and the mental health and wellness of emergency medical personnel in Florida. Conducted by the Florida Center for Emergency Medical Services (FL-CEMS) in collaboration with the Bureau of Emergency Medical Oversight (BEMO) at the Florida Department of Health (DoH), this survey captures insights from thousands of EMTs and paramedics renewing their professional licenses.

Key findings indicate persistent challenges in workforce retention, particularly for early-career professionals, and a notable decline in satisfaction with compensation. Despite these concerns, EMS personnel express …

Healthy Bodies, Moral Minds, And Rural Ideals: Contextualizing Interwar British Childhood And Citizenship Through Children's Country Holidays Fund Vacations, Paula J. Pack

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation uses the Children’s Country Holidays Fund (CCHF) as a critical lens to examine how philanthropy, childhood, class, public health, and rural nostalgia intersected within the broader context of citizen formation in interwar Britain. Founded in 1884 to provide country holidays for poor London schoolchildren, the CCHF evolved from a philanthropic response to Victorian slum life into an informal arm of welfare governance by the end of the interwar period. Through its country holidays, the Fund became an active participant in shaping ideals of health, morality, and civic responsibility in a period marked by heightened concern over national vitality …

Essays In Development Economics, Karina Gabitova

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates how environmental shocks and early-life health conditions influence child and adolescent development in low- and middle-income countries, using longitudinal data from the Young Lives survey in Ethiopia, India, Peru, and Vietnam. The two chapters address distinct but interrelated dimensions of human capital formation: the effect of environmental shocks on adolescent self-esteem and the causal impact of birth weight on cognitive and non-cognitive outcomes.

Chapter 1 analyzes how shocks such as droughts, floods, and crop failures affect adolescent selfesteem, a key non-cognitive skill linked to long-term well-being. Using a fixed-effects model, the study finds heterogeneous effects: environmental shocks …

Murine Studies On Ketogenic Modulation Of Metabolism And Epigenetics In Olfaction- Based Learning, Lps Inflammatory Response, And Sex Dimorphisms In Dietary Response, Sara E. H. Moss

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Ketogenic diets are well-established therapeutic interventions for epilepsy, with documented neuroprotective effects arising from their metabolic, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Beyond epilepsy, ketogenic therapies are under investigation for various conditions including Alzheimer disease, cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. These diets suppress insulin levels and shift metabolic physiology toward fat and ketone body metabolism. This elevates circulating levels of ketone bodies, namely beta-hydroxybutyrate, acetoacetate, and acetone, which serve as both energy substrates and signaling molecules. The state of elevated ketone bodies (ketosis) can be achieved with various formulations of a ketogenic diet as well as exogenous ketone supplementation, though the signaling …

Barriers To Engagement Of Care For Patients Presenting With Comorbid Human Immunodeficiency Virus (Hiv) And Major Depression Or Anxiety Disorder Diagnoses, Rachel C. V. Kingsley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite significant global advancements in HIV care, engagement in continuous HIV care remains a challenge, particularly for individuals living with comorbid HIV and mental health disorders. This dissertation examines the barriers to continuous HIV care for those individuals living with comorbid HIV and depression and/or anxiety in the Tampa Bay area. This dissertation argues that dual health challenges are dually challenging. This study highlights how structural vulnerabilities, how feelings of inclusion and exclusion impact engagement in care, and socioeconomic challenges intersect to shape patient experiences and impact adherence to treatment. Drawing on critical medical anthropology, structural violence, embodied belonging, and …

Growing The Future: Community Gardens In Hillsborough County, Florida, Nicole M. Kennady

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This project was an evaluation on community gardens in Hillsborough County, Florida from May 2024 to November 2024, built off of Homegrown Hillsborough’s first year evaluation of the current Hillsborough County food system. Homegrown Hillsborough is a network of community members with a mission to grow a strong food system in Hillsborough County by assisting in all areas of the food system from food production to food waste. Homegrown Hillsborough plans to act as a development initiative focused on community nutrition. Over the next two years, Homegrown Hillsborough plans to focus on food production, food access, and economic development. Through …

“Smart Trap”: A Portable Device For Real-Time Mosquito Capturing And Classification Using Image-Based Analysis, Fahim Rahman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Capturing mosquitoes in real-time and taking high-quality images for classification with state-of-the-art methods is not only time-consuming but also expensive. Sometimes even carefully controlled environments and experimental setups fail to capture living mosquitoes. Catching live mosquitoes is necessary to be able to study aspects of their physiology and behavior that cannot be investigated by collections of resting mosquitoes and dead specimens, and to help estimate the local population numbers. My thesis introduces a “Smart Trap”, a small portable device that can attract mosquitoes in real-time, capture them, take high-quality images with dual cameras, and store those images in the cloud. …

Appendix A, Anonymous

School of Public Affairs Faculty and Staff publications

No abstract provided.

Epigenetic Modification Of Fungi And Uses Thereof, Bill J. Baker, Dennis E. Kyle, Mario Alberto Rodriguez-Pã©Rez, Anne-Claire D. Limon, Ala Azhari

USF Patents

Described herein are methods of epigenetic modification of fungi and uses thereof. Also described herein are compounds that can have antileishmanial activity and formulations thereof. Also described herein are methods of treating leishmanial infection in a subject that include the step of administering a compound or formulation thereof described herein to the subject.

Degradation Of Cyanobacteria And Microalgae Using Ultraviolet Radiation At 222 Nm And Its Application In The Bleaching Of Lampenflora On Cave Rock Surfaces, Keisuke Naito, Shuji Watanabe, Masuo Komukai, Takehiro Kazama, Masayuki Itoh, Masahiro Kawasaki

International Journal of Speleology

Cyanobacterial and microalgae blooms negatively affect ecological environments. One of the emerging problems of these blooms occurs in calcareous caves, where visible lighting systems in tourist caves induce the formation of photosynthetic biofilms known as lampenflora on rock surfaces. In this study, we evaluated the inactivation effect of ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation at 222 nm (rare gas halide lamp) and 254 nm (mercury lamp) on cyanobacteria and microalgae in a laboratory and on lampenflora in Ryusenshindo Cave in Japan. Based on the laboratory experiments, irradiation at 222-nm was more effective than that at 254-nm for degrading plants. The photosensitivity of …

“It’S Essential We Learn How To Grow For Ourselves”: The Legacies Of Black Gardening In Racialized Food Systems., Funmi Odumosu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I aim to investigate the impact of food racism on Black communities, with a specific focus on the importance of gardening in combatting food apartheid and fostering holistic connections to nature and community in school-aged children. Inequitable access to major retail supermarkets and unequal distribution of healthy food options are intentionally occurring patterns in the food spaces of predominately Black communities. These food system inequities exacerbate a lack of consumption and potential consequences on the health and well-being of children of color particularly during critical physical and cognitive developmental periods.

Many solutions to these inequities entail implementing …

Ecological Epidemiology Of The Fungal Pathogen Ophidiomyces Ophiodiicola In Southeastern U.S. Snake Populations: Distribution, Drivers, And Anthropogenic Risk Factors, Shivam Shukla

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Studying wildlife diseases is an important conservation measure, as many pathogens are a critical threat to biodiversity worldwide. Ophidiomycosis is an emerging infectious disease caused by the invasive fungal pathogen Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola that affects a wide variety of snake species, often causing mortality. There has been limited surveillance for ophidiomycosis in the southeastern United States’ (US) snake populations and research into the effects of anthropogenic disturbance on disease spread is also lacking. Thus, this project aimed to quantify the distribution and drivers (taxonomic, anthropogenic, and morphological) of ophidiomycosis in Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi’s free ranging snakes as well as study …

Hurricane Evacuation: Navigating Uncertainty During Covid 19 And With Existing Communication Scales, And Considering Public And Expert Perception Of Alternative Scales, Leilani D. Paxton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the effectiveness of current hurricane warning products and communication strategies, exploring factors influencing public perception of risk and decision-making during evacuations. The study employs a mixed-methods approach, combining survey data, focus group discussions, and interviews with meteorologists and emergency managers. The first paper examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hurricane risk perception and evacuation decisions. Findings indicate that while COVID-19 concerns played a role in some individuals' decisions, particularly those with pets or concerns about shelter conditions, the majority of participants evacuated for Hurricane Ian. The study highlights the importance of providing clear, consistent, and …

Systems And Methods For Classifying Mosquitoes Based On Extracted Masks Of Anatomical Components From Images, Sriram Chellappan, Mona Minakshi, Pratool Bharti, Ryan M Carney

USF Patents

Images of an insect are subjected to at least a first convolutional neural network to develop feature maps based on anatomical pixels at corresponding image locations in the respective feature maps. The anatomical pixels correspond to a body part of the insect. A computer calculates an outer product of the first feature map and the second feature map to form an integrated feature map. Extracting fully connected layers from respective sets of integrated feature maps and applying the fully connected layers to a classification network for identifying the genus and the species of the insect.

Targeting Tumor Microenvironmental Factors In Bladder Cancer To Enhance Responses With Immunotherapy, Sarah Bazargan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Bladder cancer is the tenth most common cancer in the world and has one of the highest recurrence rates. Despite the local delivery options and mutational status of bladder tumors, responses with immunotherapies have been limited with low durability. The bladder tumor microenvironment is enriched with highly immunosuppressive populations and harsh conditions that restrict anti-tumor immunity and subsequently attenuate immunotherapy response. We predict that targeting two of these immunosuppressive components, namely acidity and myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), will bolster T cell responses and enhance outcomes with immunotherapy. In Chapter 2, we characterized the effects of acidity on T cell …

Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Aggregate Formation In The Cystic Fibrosis Airway, Alexa D. Gannon

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Bacterial aggregates are observed in both natural and artificial environments. In the context of disease, aggregates have been isolated from both chronic and acute infections. Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pa) aggregates contribute significantly to chronic infections, particularly in the lungs of people with cystic fibrosis (CF). Unlike the large biofilm structures observed in vitro, Pa in CF sputum forms smaller aggregates (~10-1000 cells), and the mechanisms behind their formation remain underexplored. This study aims to identify genes essential and unique to Pa aggregate formation in a synthetic CF sputum media (SCFM2). We cultured Pa strain PAO1 in SCFM2 and LB, both with …

Chikungunya Pathogenesis In Cardiac Tissues And Its Evaluation In Stem Cell Derived Cardiac Models, Elizabeth M. Traverse

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Chikungunya Virus (CHIKV) is a single stranded RNA alphavirus primarily vectored by Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitos. CHIKV has circulated in tropical and sub-tropical regions of Africa and Asia, but outbreaks in the past two decades have seen the virus spread to Europe, South America, and the Caribbean. Disease from CHIKV infection typically results in fever, malaise, and sometimes debilitating arthralgia. However, there are concerning abnormal presentations that affect the human heart, including myocarditis, heart failure, and death. These symptoms are seen in all age groups and sexes and are not connected to particular strains or mutations in the …

Essays On Information Technology In Healthcare, Gleb Zavadskiy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Information technologies (IT) and information systems (IS) have profound significance across various sectors of society, including healthcare, business, education, government, and beyond. First, IT facilitates instant communication globally through email, messaging apps, video conferencing, and social media, revolutionizing how individuals and organizations interact, collaborate, and share information (Hacker et al. 2020; Tang and Hew 2020).

Secondly, the Internet and digital libraries provide worldwide access to vast amounts of information, what makes knowledge and education available to everyone, empowering individuals to learn and stay informed on diverse topics (Haleem et al. 2022). Another aspect of IT systems in various industries is …

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus Leucocephalus) Mortalities In Maryland, 1988–2017, Glenn D. Therres

Maryland Birdlife

No abstract provided.

Promoting Resilience To Genocide: An Evidence-Based Approach, Deborah Mayersen

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

Preventing genocide is more achievable than ever before. In the past two decades, there has been an upsurge in research and resources dedicated to genocide and mass atrocity prevention. There is now substantial knowledge of risk factors for genocide, of current countries at risk of genocide and mass atrocities, and, most importantly, a small but passionate field of practitioners dedicated to prevention. Crucial to their effectiveness, however, is the adoption of evidence-based strategies. One important methodological approach to identifying proven strategies is through comparative analysis of historical case studies of resilience to genocide. From these case studies, in which a …

Reviews, Mississippi Kite

Mississippi Kite

No abstract provided.

Dynamics Of Conjunctivitis And Mycoplasma Gallisepticum Infections In House Finches, Barry K. Hartup, Jean M. Dhondt, David H. Ley, George V. Kollias

The Auk

No abstract provided.

Disease Emergence In Birds: Challenges For The Twenty-First Century, Milton Friend, Robert G. Mclean, F. Joshua Dein

The Auk

No abstract provided.