Digital Commons Network^™

Mapping Seagrass Extent Using Sentinel-2 Satellite Imagery: A Case Study In Salt River Bay, United States Virgin Islands, Chelsea O. Bryant

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Seagrass beds provide important services in many coastal ecosystems. They provide habitat and food for a wide range of marine species, stabilize sediments, and prevent coastal erosion. These services support local fisheries and tourism-driven economies. Yet, seagrass ecosystems are threatened by changes in water quality, sedimentation, and other stressors. This study investigated the interannual variability in seagrass extent in Salt River Bay, United States Virgin Islands (USVI), from 2018 to 2024. The goals were to better understand temporal dynamics in seagrass extent and evaluate the influence of turbidity as a driver of seagrass health and distribution. The overarching research question …

Dissolved Inorganic Carbon Metabolism In Bacteria, Jana Wieschollek

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC: CO2, HCO3⁻, CO32⁻) plays a central role in the metabolism of all living organisms. DIC is necessary for steps in essential biosynthetic processes, such as the synthesis of amino acids and nucleobases; in autotrophic bacteria, organic molecules are synthesized entirely from DIC. To ensure a steady supply of CO2 and HCO3 - needed for biosynthesis and/or autotrophy, organisms use bicarbonate transporters to increase the cytoplasmic concentration of this anion, and carbonic anhydrase (CA) to speed the interconversion of CO2 and HCO3 -, both in the cytoplasm and at the cell surface. This dissertation investigates DIC metabolism …

Exploring The Behaviors Of Women Who Are Mentally Thriving With Autoimmune Disease: A Mixed Methods Approach, Emilie Ann Ellenberg

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Autoimmune diseases encompass a variety of conditions that impact millions of Americans, with a higher prevalence among women than men. These diseases involve immune system dysregulation, leading to tissue damage and dysfunction. Despite progress in understanding their underlying mechanisms, important aspects remain inadequately understood, such as the relationships among immune dysregulation, medical outcomes, and psychiatric comorbidities. Preliminary qualitative research indicates that perceived diagnostic invalidation leads to the mental health needs among women with autoimmune diseases often being unmet, and behavioral health help-seeking behaviors being reduced. Although perceived diagnostic invalidation can lead to increased mental health symptomology and decreased help-seeking behaviors, …

Myfoodrx: A Personalized Food-As-Medicine Mhealth Application For Food-Insecure Adults With Chronic Conditions, Jay Hiteshkumar Jariwala

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Food insecurity (FI) remains a persistent public health challenge in the United States, disproportionately affecting underserved populations and contributing to higher rates of chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and obesity. Traditional Food-as-Medicine programs have emerged as promising interventions, but often follow a generalized, non-personalized approach that limits long-term effectiveness, especially among diverse, high-risk communities. This thesis presents MyFoodRx, a personalized mobile health (mHealth) application designed to address the intersection of food insecurity and chronic disease through tailored nutritional guidance, real-time pantry integration, and adaptive educational content.

Developed through a User-Centered Design (UCD) process, MyFoodRx leverages a modular client–server architecture, …

Marigold-Silver Nanoparticles (Agnps) Complex: Characterization, Therapeutic Potential, And Future Approaches For Lung Injury Via Antioxidant And Anti-Inflammatory Effects, Navdeep Kaur

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) and other lung conditions are a key cause of the problems facing global health, as they greatly increase morbidity, death, and the financial burden. In order to achieve the third Sustainable Development Goal of the United Nations, which is to reduce premature mortality from non-communicable illnesses by one-third by 2030, updated epidemiological statistics are crucial for directing prevention, control, and treatment measures. One of the major reasons of illness and death globally is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Lung damage and the emergence of CRDs, such as asthma, emphysema, COPD, and other respiratory disorders, are largely …

Formulation And Characterization Of Albumin Nanoparticles For Nsclc Photochemotherapy, Faisal Mohammad Shamim Khan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Non-small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) is the most common type of lung cancer and is a leading cause of worldwide cancer-related death, which is a strong motivation to develop more efficacious approaches to its treatment. This thesis outlines the construction of folate-targeted bovine serum albumin (FA-BSA) nanoparticles co-loading Chlorin e6 (Ce6), a photodynamic therapy photosensitizer, and Evofosfamide (EVO), a hypoxia-activated prodrug, to enable synergistic photochemotherapy. The 1-Ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide (EDC) is a water-soluble carbodiimide coupling reagent and used for amide bonds between carboxylic acid and amines. FA-BSA nanoparticles were prepared through a desolvation approach and stabilized through crosslinking by the carbodiimide reagent …

The Orange Glow In The Sunshine State: Three Visions Of Plato In Florida (1970-1990), Ryan Mcgahan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The PLATO network, a collection of mainframe computers, terminals, and educational software, has received an increasing amount of scholarly attention in the last decade as a social precursor to the modern internet. Existing histories have neglected to investigate the ways in which PLATO and its related business enterprise worked to accelerate the shift in university governance away from classical liberal ideas centering the public good and towards a more profit-centered neoliberal rationality. By tracing the rise of PLATO in Florida universities, this paper argues that PLATO aided and was aided by the shifting priorities of American universities in the 1970s …

Crow's Nest, October 20, 2025, Crow's Nest Staff

Crow's Nest

The October 20, 2025 issue of Crow's Nest.

Barriers To Machine Learning Adoption In Regulated Electric Utilities, Donald R. Shiflet Jr.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Machine learning (ML) technologies have the potential to revolutionize regulated electric utilities by improving operational efficiency, enabling predictive maintenance, and optimizing energy management. Despite these advantages, the adoption of ML in this sector lags other industries due to technical, organizational, and regulatory barriers. This research, grounded in the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework, explores these barriers to uncover actionable solutions for integration. The study identifies key challenges, including explainability, cybersecurity, workforce resistance, and regulatory ambiguity to ML adoption in electric utilities. Utilizing an exploratory qualitative methodology, this approach integrates insights from the literature and industry interviews to rank barriers by frequency, severity, …

Timing Of Leg Scale Molt In The Black-Capped Vireo, David A. Cimprich

North American Bird Bander

The podotheca is the scaly covering of the bare portions of bird legs. Although it is known that birds periodically replace these scales, the process has only been described in any detail for two species. The purpose of this investigation was to describe the timing of podothecal molt in the Black-capped Vireo (Vireo atricapilla) in relation to both date and the progress of the prebasic feather molt. I captured these birds throughout the time they were present at a site within their breeding range in central Texas. I noted the presence of leg scale molt and scored the molt of …

Full Issue, North American Bird Bander

North American Bird Bander

No abstract provided.

An Integrated Pcb-Based Heating And Auto-Ranging Platform For Volatile Organic Compound (Voc) Detection Using Carbon Nanotube Based Sensors, Thomas Kalach

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents the development, characterization, and integration of a novel low-cost, high-dynamic-range sensor platform for the detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), leveraging the unique electrical properties of carbon nanotube (CNT) thin films. The platform introduces a fully integrated auto-ranging analog front-end circuit capable of real-time resistance measurement spanning over eight orders of magnitude ranging from tens of ohms to hundreds of megaohms, without compromising signal resolution or precision. This was achieved through a digitally controlled, multi-path feedback architecture and controllable current source.

To further enhance sensor performance, the system incorporates a copper trace heater beneath the sensor array, …

"What's A Computer?" Exploring Insurance Agents' Role In Small Business Cyber Insurance Transactions, Dalton A. Crabtree

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This mixed-methods study examined how insurance agents' role identity impacts cyber insurance transactions, addressing gaps in professional practice and academic literature. Small businesses increasingly rely on cyber insurance for protection as cyber risk continues to evolve. The study employed sequential explanatory methodology with 25 interviews across three groups: insurance agents (n=15), corporate cyber insurance professionals (n=5), and small business owners (n=5). Thematic analysis using Katz and Khan's Role Episode Model informed development of the Cyber Insurance Role Identity Scale (CIRIS), tested with 100 agents. Six themes emerged. Key findings reveal that successful cyber insurance transactions require agents to transition from …

A Discussion Of Community: An Ethnography Of Designing Asynchronous Video Discussions To Reveal Student Perceptions Of Digital Presence In Online Learning, Chad S. Garcia

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This mixed-methods digital ethnography investigates how video-based discussions (VBD) influence community building in asynchronous graduate education. Using the Community of Inquiry (COI) framework, this study looks at student experiences in a History of Higher Education class where traditional text-based discussions were replaced with video presentations and peer responses. The research explores how video discussions affect students' sense of presence, how video presence impacts engagement patterns, and which multimedia elements contribute to community development.

Data collection included semi-structured interviews with students and instructors, LMS analytics, video content analysis, and ethnographic observation throughout Spring 2024. Analysis revealed a notable disconnect between traditional …

Abundance And Distribution Of An Exceptional Number Of Red-Necked Grebes In Western Lake Ontario During Spring 2019, Ross W. Wood, Shannon S. Badzinski, Barbara A. Campbell, Brigitte Collins, Shawn W. Meyer, Denby Sadler

Ontario Birds

The Red-necked Grebe is a regular spring migrant on the Great Lakes and occasionally observed in very large numbers, particularly along the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. Aerial surveys were flown to document abundance, distribution and habitat use of waterfowl and conspicuous waterbirds along the Ontario shorelines of the lower Great Lakes. On 7 April 2019, we observed a very large number of Red-necked Grebes, estimated at 12,395 individuals, concentrated in western Lake Ontario. The majority of these birds were located offshore along a 20 km span of shoreline between Frenchman’s Bay (Pickering, Ontario) and Bluffer’s Beach (Scarborough, Ontario). However, …

Full Issue, Ontario Field Ornithologists

Ontario Birds

No abstract provided.

Feeding Niche Overlap And Segregation Among Three Grouse Species Wintering In Hudson Bay Lowlands Of Northern Ontario, Vernon G. Thomas

Ontario Birds

The Hudson Bay Lowlands of northern Ontario (comprising tundra and taiga) provide winter habitats for Willow Ptarmigan and Sharp-tailed Grouse as well as Rock Ptarmigan that occasionally fly in from arctic and subarctic regions. Winter food niche segregation/overlap was measured among these three species to investigate potential feeding competition; tamarack and berries were quantified by number and mass in the crops of grouse collected from the vicinity of the former community of Winisk, Ontario (now Peawanuck). All grouse species fed on birch and it was the principal food for Sharp-tailed Grouse. Willow was eaten primarily by Willow and Rock Ptarmigan. …

Introductory Chemistry Student Success: Investigating Study Strategies And Evaluating An Informative Utility Value Intervention, Pallavi Nayyar

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Improving retention in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) programs is essential to meet the growing demand for skilled professionals in the domestic workforce. To achieve this, it is critical to understand and address the factors that influence student persistence in STEM degrees. Gateway courses such as general chemistry often serve as early barriers to STEM degree completion, with high rates of attrition that impact not only individual students but also institutions and society. Therefore, the aim of this work was to examine and influence the factors that contribute to student withdrawal from introductory chemistry courses in order to promote …

Investigating Factors Influencing Organic Chemistry Learners' Explanation Sophistication And Representational Competence, Caroline J. Crowder

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The research presented in this dissertation has two themes: organic chemistry learners’ written explanations and representational competence. Chapters 3 and 4 explore how organic chemistry learners construct explanations of reaction mechanisms, specifically focusing on electrophile and nucleophile components. Chapter 5 investigates organic chemistry learners’ representational competence skills and the relationship between these skills and their performance in the course.

Understanding reaction mechanisms is critical for success in organic chemistry, yet learners often struggle to reason beyond explicit, surface-level features. Constructed-response prompts that ask learners to explain what is happening in a reaction mechanism and why it occurs can provide insight …

The Cost Of Quantum Wars: Small State Standpoint, Gayane Harutyunyan

Journal of Strategic Security

As an emerging technology, quantum technology claims to have a tremendous impact on all spheres of social activity, as well as to significantly change the perception of war and peace, diversify the nature of security threats, opening up new, previously unknown layers in them. The development of quantum technologies is of exceptional importance for small states in terms of defense and security, because due to some important features (efficiency, speed, accuracy, dataflow security) it can offset the scarcity of resources (financial, material and human) typical of small countries, enabling the opportunity to address the issues of low efficiency due to …

Growth Of Reusable Space Technology: Commercial Opportunities And Military Advantages, Khyati Singh

Journal of Strategic Security

This paper examines the evolution and implications of reusable space technology, focusing on its impact on commercial opportunities and military advantages. The analysis traces the development from early concepts through the current "third space age," marked by successful commercial ventures like SpaceX and Blue Origin. The study explores how reusable technology has transformed space access by significantly reducing launch costs and increasing mission frequency. It evaluates key technological breakthroughs, including advanced materials, precision landing systems, and improved propulsion systems that enable reusability. The paper further analyses the commercial landscape, discussing emerging markets in satellite constellations, space tourism, and orbital manufacturing. …

The Element Of Surprise: Highly Maneuverable Satellites And Ssa, Simone L. Montandon

Journal of Strategic Security

Military, commercial, and civil space missions rely on accurate space situational awareness (SSA) to avoid collisions and inform the analysis of the threat environment. Historically, man-made objects in space have been highly predictable because their trajectories were mostly constrained within the orbit they occupied. However, fast-paced progress in engine/thruster technology, energy efficiency, and on-orbit servicing and refueling have allowed satellites to maneuver often and quickly within their lifespan. This added an element of unpredictability that adds further uncertainty to an operational environment that is already highly uncertain. This paper argues that solving this issue will require pursuing continued custody of …

Subterranean Warfare’S Strategic Coming Of Age: The Israel-Hamas War Of 2023-Present, Nadav Morag

Journal of Strategic Security

This article posits the question as to whether subterranean warfare, which has been a tactic used in warfare since ancient times, has evolved to being an operational tactic in some contexts (such as in the Vietnam War and some Israeli-Hamas clashes in Gaza prior to 2023) and has now, for the first time, has “come of age” to the strategic level in the Israel-Hamas war that broke out in October 2023. The article argues that the current war in Gaza is one in which subterranean warfare has become strategic because the outcomes of this form of warfare in this context …

Cold-Shock Protein Scaffold For Engineering Non-Antibody Binding Proteins, Jack Mathew Webster

USF Patents

Disclosed herein are compositions and methods directed to non-antibody protein scaffolds derived from cold-shock proteins.

Crow's Nest, September 29, 2025, Crow's Nest Staff

Crow's Nest

The September 29, 2025 issue of the Crow's Nest.

Alternative Delivery Systems In Gene Therapy For Parkinson's Disease, Sebastian Rakowski, Mahek Khiantani, Aaryan Wali, Talia Koussayer, Ameera Jamil, J'Nya Harry

OneUSF Undergraduate Research Conference

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor and non-motor impairments resulting from dopaminergic neuron loss in the substantia nigra. Gene therapy presents a promising approach to restoring dopamine synthesis and alleviating PD symptoms. This study reviews and evaluates current gene therapy strategies, including the use of adeno-associated virus (AAV) and lentiviral vectors, as well as direct infusion of neurotrophic growth factors. By analyzing 50 peer-reviewed articles from 1993 to 2024, the project explores the therapeutic potential and limitations of these delivery systems. AAV and lentiviral vectors show promise in increasing dopaminergic function and sustained protein expression …

Economic Impact Of Nicotine Addiction: A Multi-Stakeholder Cost Analysis, Shikha Patel

OneUSF Undergraduate Research Conference

Extensive research has examined the health consequences of nicotine addiction, but economic analyses incorporating multiple stakeholder perspectives remain scarce. This study quantifies the annual financial burden of nicotine addiction across users, employers, and insurers. A systematic analysis was conducted on direct and indirect costs, utilizing data from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Bureau of Labor Statistics, and insurance industry reports (2022-2024). The financial impact was assessed for each stakeholder, including consumption expenses, productivity losses, healthcare utilization, and insurance claims. The estimated annual economic burden of nicotine addiction was ₹1,773.4 billion in India, while in the U.S., costs …

Impact Of Background Music In Information Retention Techniques On Short-Term Memory In Engineering Students, Eduardo Barbosa Sanchez, Beatriz Primo E Silva, Ana Carolina Rezende Neves

OneUSF Undergraduate Research Conference

The relationship between background music and memory retention is a growing area of interest, particularly among students who frequently use music during study sessions. According to the Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, around 75% of students listen to music while studying. Based on a Harvard publication, understanding short-term memory is essential for study efficiency, as it is influenced by word exposure modes, auditory environments, and individual factors. This study investigates the impact of auditory environments on short-term memory retention in College of Engineering students aged 18–25. Using a within-subject factorial design combined with a Randomized Complete Block Design, …

L-Ergothioneine Shows Benefits In Reducing Age-Related Hearing Loss: Improved Signal-In-Noise Detection In Mice, Evin Roji, Muhammad Hassam Amir

OneUSF Undergraduate Research Conference

The amino acid, L-ergothioneine (EGT), has gained attention as a potential therapeutic for age-related conditions due to its antioxidant and antiinflammatory properties. EGT is naturally found in various foods and shows promise in protecting against oxidative stress, inflammation, and neurodegeneration. Recent studies have highlighted its role in improving physiological functions in aging models, particularly in mitigating age-related declines in sensory and neurological systems. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether long-term oral administration of EGT via gavage could improve hearing function in aged mice. Hearing sensitivity and signal-in-noise detection were measured to determine the therapeutic potential of EGT for …

The United States’ Secret Warfare Against Democracy, Ashtyn J. Smith

OneUSF Undergraduate Research Conference

This study examines the methods used by the U.S government to orchestrate the overthrow of the democratically elected Guatemalan president Jacobo Árbenz in 1954, by focusing on declassified CIA and State Department documents. Through operation PBSUCCESS, the U.S employed a combination of psychological warfare, economic pressure, diplomatic isolation, and paramilitary operations to destabilize the Árbenz administration. CIA documents reveal the role of propaganda campaigns, assassination proposals, and the arming of opposition forces to create internal chaos. By using primary sources such as CIA memos, and the Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) archives, this research will outline the step-by-step …