Digital Commons Network^™

The Characterization Of The Neuropathological Consequences Of Plac1 Ablation In A Mutant Mouse Model, Jacob Robert Bourgeois

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Placenta-specific 1 (Plac1) is an X-linked gene that is essential for normal placental development. Previous studies have shown that Plac1 is also expressed in the fetal brain and paternally imprinted. Its expression in the fetal brain is markedly downregulated immediately after birth. Plac1 ablation predisposes Plac1-null males and X^m-X Hets (inactive maternal allele) to an increased risk of developing lethal postnatal hydrocephalus suggesting a functional role for Plac1 during embryonic development. The objective of this study was to characterize the effect of Plac1 on brain development and postnatal function. In order to address this, a …

Impedance Measurements As A Means To Improve The Biological Response Of Gene Electrotransfer, Lina Fajardo Gomez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

When an electric field is locally applied to tissues in vivo the uptake of exogenous DNA can be greatly increased. This approach to gene transfer, called electroporation (EP) or gene electro transfer (GET), has potential applications in the treatment of skin disorders, vaccinations, some types of cancer and metabolic diseases. The eect of electric elds on cells and tissues has been studied and related to the uptake of DNA. Tissue impedance changes have been measured as a result of electroporation. The aim of this study is to explore the predictive accuracy of impedance spectroscopy for the success of GET. Mice …

2,4-Disubstituted Quinazolines With Antileishmanial Or Antibacterial Activity, Megan Marie Barber

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Herein 47 2,4-disubstituted quinazolines were synthesized and tested against Leishmania donovani intracellular amastigotes. A structure-activity relationship was conducted and lead to the identification of quinazolines with EC50s in the single digit and high nanomolar range with favorable antileishmanial selectivity indexes. Quinazoline 2.6 and 2.31 underwent in vivo efficacy studies in murine models of visceral leishmaniasis, reducing liver parasitemia by 12 % and 24 %, respectively, when given by the intraperitoneal route at 15 mg/kg/day x 5 days. The antileishmanial efficacy and easy of synthesis make the 2,4-disubstituted quinazoline compound series a suitable platform for the future development of antileishmanial agents. …

Weakness Of Will: An Inquiry On Value, Michael Funke

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

One dominant scientific view holds that willpower is a type of muscle which can be weakened through use in the short term and strengthened through use over time. However, evidence from neuroscience, social psychology and behavioral economics suggest that willpower is regional, subverted through desire and strengthened by strategy--these are features a muscular account would not predict. It is better to think about willpower as a skill with a physiological component. Willpower strategies extend the brute effort of self-control through the use of reason and have the practical effect of increasing self-regulation. Willpower is "worth wanting" because there is a …

Silicone Elastomer-Based Combinatorial Biomaterial Gradients For High Throughput Screening Of Cell-Substrate Interactions, Greeshma Mohan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Biomaterials have evolved over the years from the passive role of mere biocompatibility to an increasingly active role of presenting instructive cues to elicit precise responses at the molecular and cellular levels. Various characteristics common to synthetic biomaterials in vitro and extracellular matrices in vivo, such as immobilized functional or peptide groups, mechanical stiffness, bulk physical properties and topographical features, are key players that regulate cell response. The dynamics in the cell microenvironment and at the cell adhesive interface trigger a web of cell-material and cell-cell information exchanges that have a profound impact in directing the ultimate cell fate …

Exploring The Role Of Intracellular Aminopeptidases In Staphylococcus Aureus Pathogenesis, Devon Nicole Marking

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Staphylococcus aureus is a remarkably pathogenic bacterium that is widely prevalent among the human population. It is the leading agent of skin and soft tissue infections, and is also responsible for causing an array of severe and life threatening diseases. The invasiveness of the pathogen, coupled with increasing antibiotic resistance seen for S. aureus infections, makes this bacterium a prominent public health concern. The extended pathogenicity of S. aureus is largely due to its repertoire of virulence factors, which are typically characterized by being bound to the cell wall, or secreted into the extracellular environment. Previously, our lab identified a …

Patterns Of Consumption: Ceramic Residue Analysis At Liangchengzhen, Shandong, China, Rheta E. Lanehart

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis was to identify the different patterns of food consumption across space and time at Liangchengzhen, a Longshan (ca. 2600-1900 B.C.) site located in Shandong Province, China. The primary hypothesis of the research contended that evidence of increasing social inequality with respect to food consumption would be found from early to late phases at Liangchengzhen. In addition, rice and meat from mammals, especially pigs, were hypothesized as the most likely types of prestigious foods for daily and ritual activities. Fish and marine foods in general were hypothesized to be foods that average households could obtain since …

Endocrine-Disrupting Compounds: Measurement In Tampa Bay, Removal From Sewage And Development Of An Estrogen Receptor Model, Monica Mion Cook

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The significance of endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) in the environment has only recently come to the forefront of scientific research, policy debates, water utilities management and public awareness. EDCs have the ability to interfere with the normal functioning of the endocrine system of humans and other animals. Numerous chemicals are included in the class of compounds known as EDCs, and exposure is widespread. These compounds are found in a variety of environmental matrices (e.g., marine and freshwater systems, sediment, soil), transported there primarily through sewage effluent discharge and recycling of sewage sludge for topical fertilizer use. This transport to the environment …

A Composite Spatial Model Incorporating Groundwater Vulnerability And Environmental Disturbance To Guide Land Management, Johanna L. Kovarik

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research has long recognized and studied the dynamics of groundwater processes. More recently, groundwater dependent ecosystems (GDEs) are being recognized for their diversity and vulnerability to anthropogenic impact. Groundwater in karst landscapes presents a distinctive situation where flow through the subsurface often moves rapidly on the scale of days and weeks as opposed to years or millennia in other systems. This distinctive situation of karst systems and their vulnerability to human impacts necessitate an integrated and multifaceted approach for the management of these important resources. However, development of such an approach is complicated by the difficulty of obtaining detailed data …

A Mixed Method Study Examining Synchronous-Enhanced Learning In Distance Education, Kimberly M. Wheeler

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This mixed method study examined how integration of synchronous Web-based desktop conferencing affects undergraduate distance learning students' educational experience. Specifically, it compared students in one distance learning section of an introductory technology course delivered through a synchronous-enhanced mode (employing both synchronous and asynchronous tools) with students in a second section of the same distance learning course provided in the asynchronous only mode to examine variations in cognitive presence, social presence, and teaching presence through the lens of the Community of Inquiry model (Garrison, Anderson, and Archer, 2000). Additionally, this study measured perceived learning, learner-instructor interaction, and learner-learner interaction to determine …

Quantifying The Interaction Of Wildlife And Roads: A Habitat And Movement Approach, Rebecca Whitehead Loraamm

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is a growing need to address the effects of roadway presence on wildlife. Not only do roads directly impact gene dispersal from a movement perspective, but they limit movement of the individual animal from a habitat perspective by presenting an artificial barrier between one area of viable habitat and another. For this reason it is becoming increasingly important to quantify contact between humans and wildlife and to develop better methods for mitigating these types of conflicts. Studying habitat connectivity and animal mobility in the context of roads can provide actionable information on how, where, and when these encounters might …

Development Of Orally Bioavailable 4(1H)-Quinolones And 1,2,3,4-Tetrahydroacridin-9(10H)-Ones With Potent Anti-Malarial Activity, Jordany Richarlson Maignan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although Malaria rates are on the decline due to the efforts of the World Health Organization and other organizations dedicated to the eradication of this disease, a relaxed attitude towards the development of new antimalarial entities would be flawed. Due to the emergence of resistance in the parasite, the almost 50% world-wide reduction in malarial death rates that have been produced over the past 15 years are threatening to be lost

New drugs are urgently needed and our approach focuses on the re-evaluation and optimization of the historic antimalarial ICI 56,780. Due to its causal prophylactic activity, along with its …

A Study Of Fe3O4 Magnetic Nanoparticle Rf Heating In Gellan Gum Polymer Under Various Experimental Conditions For Potential Application In Drug Delivery, Gabriel Marcus

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have found use in a wide variety of biomedical applications including hyperthermia, imaging and drug delivery. Certain physical properties, such as the ability to generate heat in response to an alternating magnetic field, make these structures ideal for such purposes. This study's objective was to elucidate the mechanisms primarily responsible for RF MNP heating and determine how such processes affect polymer solutions that might be useful in drug delivery. 15-20 nm magnetite (Fe₃O₄) nanoparticles at 0.2% and 0.5% concentrations were heated with RF fields of different strengths (200 Oe, 400 Oe and 600 …

Structural Processes And Local Meaning: Explanatory Models, Political Economy, And Chagas Disease In Tropical Bolivia, Colin James Forsyth

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This project describes and analyzes explanatory models of Chagas disease among people in a highly endemic area of eastern Bolivia, and examines the role that cultural and structural factors play in shaping explanatory models of this disease. Dressler (2001) characterizes medical anthropology as divided between two poles; the constructivist, which focuses on the "meaning and significance that events have for people," and the structuralist, which emphasizes the relationships between the components of a given society. This project endeavors to synthesize structuralist and constructivist perspectives by understanding the interaction between structural processes and explanatory models of Chagas disease.

The research took …

High Dimensional Non-Linear Optimization Of Molecular Models, Joseph C. Fogarty

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Molecular models allow computer simulations to predict the microscopic properties of macroscopic systems. Molecular modeling can also provide a fully understood test system for the application of theoretical methods. The power of a model lies in the accuracy of the parameter values which govern its mathematical behavior. In this work, a new software, called ParOpt, for general high dimensional non-linear optimization will be presented. The software provides a very general framework for the optimization of a wide variety of parameter sets. The software is especially powerful when applied to the difficult task of molecular model parameter optimization. Three applications of …

Variability In The Spatial And Temporal Patterns Of Larval Scombrid Abundance In The Gulf Of Mexico, Sennai Y. Habtes

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Accurate fishery-independent methods for assessing the abundance of marine fish stocks are important tools for proper pelagic fisheries management. The review and improvement of standardized sampling methods used in fisheries-independent sampling, and the establishment of improved models of abundance and population dynamics utilizing novel statistical techniques for fisheries management will further improve our understanding of the way in which marine fish stocks vary spatially and temporally. One of the most important and longest running surveys of fisheries-independent data in the Southeastern United States is the spring ichthyoplankton survey conducted through the Southeast Area Mapping and Assessment Program (SEAMAP).

These surveys …

Metallopeptides From Design To Catalysis: Structure, Oxidative Activities, And Inhibition Studies Of Designed And Naturally Occurring Metallopeptides, Alaa Hassan Hashim

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Structural and mechanistic complexities of copper-dioxygen systems have attracted much attention in the field of bioinorganic chemistry, both in model systems and trapped protein intermediates. The research presented herein is focused on model and naturally occurring metallopeptide systems, from its design to catalysis. Copper is used as the coordinating metal ion, with cobalt and zinc as probes for metal binding. The bioinorganic chemistry of copper proteins and its coordination and spectroscopic properties are briefly discussed in chapter 1. The next two chapters are centered on the de novo design of a minimalistic metallopeptide system with an amino acid sequence of …

A Novel Role For Nf-Κb In Proximal T Cell Signaling, Crystina Bronk Watson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The interrogation of T cell signaling over the past fifty years has led to the discovery of amazingly intricate cascade networks and elaborate descriptions of individual proteins' domains and functions. A complex landscape has been rendered in which proteins relay messages from the extracellular ligation of the TCR by a cognate peptide loaded MHC via changes in sub-cellular location, phosphorylation, and binding affinities and partners to enact nuclear localization of three key transcription factors required for cellular effector function and proliferation: AP-1, NF-AT, and NF-κB. Dogma has favored activation of each of these transcription regulating elements to be a linear …

Generation And Characterization Of Nanoaerosols Using A Portable Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer And Electron Microscopy, Adam J. Marty

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to demonstrate the ability to generate and characterize a nanometer sized aerosol using solutions, suspensions, and a bulk nanopowder, and to research the viability of using an acoustic dry aerosol generator/elutriator (ADAGE) to aerosolize a bulk nanopowder into a nanometer sized aerosol. The research compares the results from a portable scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) to the more traditional method of counting and sizing particles on a filter sample using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Sodium chloride aerosol was used for the comparisons. The sputter coating thickness, a conductive coating necessary for SEM, was measured …

Responsibility And Responsiveness In The Novels Of Ann Radcliffe And Mary Shelley, Katherine Marie Mcgee

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation looks at the ways in which humans interact with and respond to other humans and nonhumans in Ann Radcliffe's and Mary Shelley's novels. I argue that in light of the social and political turmoil surrounding the French Revolution, Radcliffe and Shelley call not so much for Revolution or drastic reform but for a change in the ways in which individuals respond to the needs of others, both human and nonhuman, and take responsibility for each other. The ways in which humans interact with the nonhuman inform the positive and negative practices that they should use to interact with …

Examination Of Possible Protective Effect Of Rhesus D Positive Blood Factor On Toxoplasma-Related Depressive Symptoms In Pregnancy, Lisa Lynn Parnell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Toxoplasma gondii infects approximately one third of the population worldwide. There is strong evidence that a relationship between T. gondii titer and depressive symptoms exists. There is also evidence suggesting a protective effect of RhD positive blood factor on toxoplasma-induced behavioral and personality changes. This protective effect may influence the relationship between T. gondii and prenatal depressive symptoms. The purpose of this secondary data analysis was to examine the possible protective effect of RhD positive blood factor on prenatal depressive symptoms in 56 pregnant women with T. gondii infection. The cross-sectional design was utilized to answer the question “Does positive …

Task-Based Robotic Grasp Planning, Yun Lin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Grasp should be selected intelligently to fulfill different stability properties and manipulative requirements. Currently, most grasping approaches consider only pick-and-place tasks without any physical interaction with other objects or the environment, which are common in an industry setting with limited uncertainty. When robots move to our daily-living environment and perform a broad range of tasks in an unstructured environment, all sorts of physical interactions will occur, which will result in random physical interactive wrenches: forces and torques on the tool.

In addition, for a tool to perform a required task, certain motions need to occur. We call it "functional tool …

Development Of A Reusable Nutrient Recovery System To Sustainably Integrate Small-Scale Sanitation And Agriculture, Jorge Luis Calabria

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Emerging technologies in sanitation and food production foster the potential to advance progress towards key sustainable development goals of ensuring adequate sanitation and food security to all. Non-Sewered Sanitation Systems (NSSSs), as detailed by the recent International Organization for Standardization’s (ISO) 30500 standard, are being developed to overcome challenges of lacking sanitation infrastructure and resource scarcity by providing autonomous, off-grid wastewater treatment (WWT) service in a much smaller footprints than large centralized treatment facilities. A promising NSSS platform is the anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) that can achieve high (WWT) throughput in a small footprint using ultrafiltration (UF) membrane filtration to …

A Functional Approach To Resolving The Biogeocomplexity Of Two Extreme Environments, Haydn Rubelmann Iii

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The biodiversity of two distinct marine environments was observed to describe the biogeocomplexity of these extreme ecological systems. A shallow-water hydrothermal vent in Papua New Guinea served as a study of a thermophilic ecosystem influenced by arsenic rich vent fluids while a 60 m deep offshore primarily anoxic karst sink served as a study of an anaerobic sulfur-influenced habitat. Both environments support unique biological communities that are influenced by the physical and chemical pressures imposed on them by the harsh conditions of these systems. In Tutum Bay, Ambitle Isle, Papua New Guinea, a transect was created from a shallow hydrothermal …

Functional Morphology And Feeding Mechanics Of Billfishes, María Laura Habegger

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Billfishes (marlins, spearfishes, sailfishes and swordfish) are one of the fastest and largest marine apex predators, and perhaps their most recognizable attribute is their bill or rostrum. The proposed function for this novel structure has ranged from hydrodynamic enhancement to defensive weaponry. However, the most supported hypothesis for its function has been linked to feeding. Billfishes have been observed to subdue their prey with their rostrum, either stunning or cutting them into pieces before ingestion. Due to their large body sizes and pelagic lifestyles a thorough investigation of the function of this structure has been logistically challenging. The goal of …

Muscling Consumers To Optimal Option Differentiation: The Influence Of Incidental Muscular Sensations On Option Differentiation, Courtney Szocs

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Marketers often extend product lines by introducing slight variations of existing products (e.g., there are 53 varieties of Crest toothpaste, 15 varieties of Cheerios). As a result, consumers select from assortments containing relatively similar options. Unfortunately, consumers sometimes fail to differentiate among options, and instead consider the different options as similar and choose. Consequently, prior research shows that selecting from choice sets containing relatively similar options can sometimes lead to negative consequences such as decreased satisfaction. In light of these negative consequences, and given the frequency with which consumers choose from sets of similar options, it becomes important to identify …

Developing An Animal Model Of Polysubstance Abuse In Adolescence: The Role Of Nmda Receptors In Alcohol/Cocaine Reward, Adriana Rebecca Uruena-Agnes

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Repeated exposure to drugs of abuse conditions individuals to anticipate the behavioral consequences of drug use specifically in the presence of a drug-associated context. In rodents, preferences and aversions for alcohol and cocaine have been conditioned; however, the mechanisms underlying the expression of these conditioned effects remain unknown. Given that alcohol and cocaine polysubstance abuse is prevalent in young individuals, with more than 50% of these polysubstance abusers reporting to be under the age of 21, it is important to understand the mechanisms contributing to the behavioral effects of alcohol and cocaine co-dependency. Aim 1 determined if age differentially impacted …

Growth Rates In Gulf Of Mexico Red Snapper, Lutjanus Campechanus, Before And After The Deepwater Horizon Blowout, Elizabeth Shea Herdter

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Deepwater Horizon blowout occurred on April 20^th, 2010 and released nearly 5 million barrels of crude oil into the northern Gulf of Mexico causing pollution of the water and sediment inhabited by many fishes for at least 87 days while the wellhead went uncapped. Populations of the Gulf of Mexico Red snapper, Lutjanus campechanus, an important fish to the ecology and economy in the region, exhibit affinity to shallow water oil infrastructure such as the Deepwater Horizon making them especially vulnerable to crude oil contamination. The objective of this study is to determine growth of Red …

A Forgotten Community: Archaeological Documentation Of Old St. Joseph, Gulf County, Florida, Christopher N. Hunt

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The town of St. Joseph, established in 1835, served as an important deep-water port for receiving and shipping dry goods up the Apalachicola River north along the vast network of navigable inland waterways in southeastern U.S. during the early nineteenth century. Unfortunately, this town was hit with a yellow fever epidemic and a series of hurricanes that, combined with the infancy of its cotton trade activities, eventually devastated its economy and population. The town disappeared by 1842, only much later to be replaced by modern Port St. Joe (est. 1909), located north of the original settlement. However, St. Joseph's influence …

The Influence Of The Projected Coordinate System On Animal Home Range Estimation Area, Michael Barr

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Animal home range estimations are important for conservation planning and protecting the habitat of threatened species. The accuracy of home range calculations is influenced by the map projection chosen in a geographic information system (GIS) for data analysis. Different methods of projection will distort spatial data in different ways, so it is important to choose a projection that meets the needs of the research. The large number of projections in use today and the lack of distortion comparison between the various types make selecting the most appropriate projection a difficult decision. The purpose of this study is to quantify and …