Digital Commons Network^™

Remote Medical Diagnosis Via Infrared Thermography And Augmented Reality, Frederick M. Selkey

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Fast, accurate, and non-invasive diagnostic techniques are required by the medical industry to increase the success of medical treatments and enhance the quality of patient care. Medical IRT has been demonstrated reasonably effective at diagnosing and monitoring several physiological conditions. Diversities in the human body, physical and psychological condition, measurement equipment, and environment all influence the sensitive readings obtained by passive IR measurement devices. New standards for medical IRT and fever screening have been demonstrated effective, but there is limited adherence to the guidelines [36]. Absolute temperature readings require regular calibration checks and can easily be thrown off by noise. …

Evaluation Of A Story-Telling Approach To Educate Minority Populations About Inherited Cancer, Celestyn B. Angot

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Utilization of hereditary cancer genetic counseling and testing services is substantially lower among minority populations compared to white populations due, in part, to lower levels of awareness and knowledge. To help improve awareness, we designed a 7-minute video that uses storytelling to translate knowledge of genetic testing and hereditary cancer to individuals who have a personal history or family history of cancer. Consented participants were asked baseline questions about hereditary cancer and genetic testing, reviewed the video, and provided feedback on its content, understandability, and visual appeal during semi-structured interviews. Data were coded and analyzed to identify themes and determine …

Ecohydrology, Cultural Perceptions, And Recovery Of Freshwater Wetlands In A Heavily Managed Urban Aquifer, Jessica Ashley Balerna

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Freshwater wetlands provide essential ecosystem services that influence, and are influenced by, human perceptions and behaviors. I explore these feedbacks in the Tampa Bay region, which hosts numerous freshwater wetlands subjected to population increases, economic growth, and shifting management policies. These wetlands are embedded in urban and residential areas, where people can observe and respond to changes in wetland condition over time. I utilized long-term (1991–2018), high sample size (n=152) datasets to assess how wetland inundation responds to the interactive effects of climate variation and shifts in water conservation policies primarily related to cutbacks in groundwater extraction. As wetland ecosystem …

"Emerging And Submerging": Silence, Commemoration, And Sexual Violence In Minneapolis, Alissa Roy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Dedicated in Minneapolis in October 2020, the Survivors Memorial became the first permanent memorial to survivors of sexual violence in the United States. However, as my research reveals, sexual violence has long been a part of the commemorative landscape in northeast Minneapolis. Whereas the Survivors Memorial explicitly commemorates survivors of sexual violence, a much older site, the 1936 Pioneers Monument - commemorates sexual violence through silence. This thesis argues that with the building and dedication of the Survivors Memorial, a different memory than the one embodied within the Pioneers Monument begins to take shape. An older narrative of peaceful conquest …

The Role Of Eco-Tourism In The Environmental Protection Of The Mountains Of Pamirs, Furough Shakarmamadova

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACTThe Central Asian nation of Tajikistan became independent in 1991. Tajikistan is a mountainous country with a great potential for tourism development. Nevertheless, there are limitations to the development of eco-tourism. I conducted my study to investigate the potential for developing eco-tourism in the eastern part of Tajikistan (the Pamirs). My overarching question was how does eco-tourism relate to the protection of the environment in Pamirs and can it improve the quality of people's lives? To answer this question, I focused on identifying the Best Management Practices (BMP) of eco-tourism in the region and what specific policies, if any, exist …

Diatom Diversity And Functional Groups In 72 Florida Lakes: Assessing Ecological Changes For Improved Protection And Management, Francesca M. Lauterman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Florida lakes are diverse ecosystems and are an important part of the state's biodiversity and ecosystem services. As human population and development increase across the state, many lakes have been documented as nutrient impaired and are unable to maintain essential ecological functions. In this study, diatom diversity and functional groups in 72 Florida lakes were assessed for their relationships with associated water-quality data. Common alpha diversity indices, including Shannon-Weiner Index, the Gini-Simpson Index, and Hill’s numbers were utilized to measure trends in diatom communities, while the relationships between diatom lifeform characteristics and environmental data were explored using multivariate methods and …

Field-Base Exploratory Study Of Microbial Activity In Eight Potable Water Storage Tanks In Barbados, Katelyn M. Long

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There have been many initiatives to combat the global phenomenon of water scarcity. Potable water storage tanks have become widely known among water insecure countries and communities to provide adequate water quantity and quality for consumer use. Despite ubiquitous use in many low- and middle-income communities (LMIC), knowledge of microbial activity inside potable water storage tanks is limited. Barbados is a Small Island Developing State (SIDS), labeled as a high income country, and also water scarce. The Barbados Water Authority (BWA) has adapted potable water storage tanks for hundreds of residents as a solution to water quantity and water quality …

Diazirines And Oxaziridines As Nitrogen Transfer Reagents In Drug Discovery, Khalilia C. Tillett

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Synthetic organic chemistry has long served as a driver of innovation in the drug discovery and development process. Given the prevalence of the nitrogen atom in small molecule drugs, improved methods for C–N bond installation are in high demand. Heteroatom transfer reagents such as oxaziridines and diazirines can be used to selectively deliver nitrogen atom(s) to organic compounds. Herein, I’ll describe my work utilizing Armstrong’s oxaziridine (TBDOT) in peptide backbone modification, and diazirines (TPD) in the development of a hydroamination reaction.

Peptide backbone N-amination has emerged as an attractive peptidomimetic strategy in the design of amyloid aggregation inhibitors. In addition …

Process Automation And Robotics Engineering For Industrial Processing Systems, Drake Stimpson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Automation in industrial systems applications has emerged as the fundamental solution for improving quality, production rate, and efficiency of a process. Much of the recent popularity surrounding the transition of processes from manually operated tasks to automated systems can be attributed to the concept of Industry 4.0, which outlines the fundamental guidelines for integrating cyber-physical systems into industrial processes. Due to rapid advancement of technology in robotics and automation as well as the increase in accessibility of resources to this technology, the capability to develop automated systems has become feasible for small-scale enterprise. This work presents a two-part initiative to …

Against God, Good Faith, And Reason: The 1381 Peasants’ Revolt In Cambridge, Reagan T. Vernon

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This paper focuses on the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 as it occurred in the university town of Cambridge. The historiographic understanding of the Cambridge wing of the Peasants’ Revolt has categorized it as foundationally motivated by town and gown resentment. Using legal records and chronicle accounts, this thesis demonstrates that the crowd did not exclusively target the university. As one of the town’s wealthier and increasingly authoritative institutions, the university and its constituents were targets in the uprising—but this was in addition to several attacks on local churches, monastic institutions, and manors. These attacks against higher authorities reflect a loss …

Of Mētis And Cuttlefish: Employing Collective Mētis As A Theoretical Framework For Marginalized Communities, Justiss Wilder Burry

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This LGBTQ+ rhetoric of health and medicine (RHM) community-based research explores the ways community members and queer community participants communicate about potential intimate partner selection in Central Florida. The dissertation introduces the theoretical framework of “collective mētis” as a way to analyze and discuss community communication against Florida’s required HIV disclosure laws that attempt to medicalize this and control this community’s intimate partner selection. Research questions include: 1) How do people in counterpublic enclaves (Chávez, 2011) communicate their potential intimate partner desires to others in the community including the types of disclosures they express and negotiate, and how? 2) How …

Nrf2 Sequestration By Ssh1 Tips The Balance From Neuroprotection To Neurodegeneration In Alzheimer’S Disease, Sara G. Cazzaro Buosi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Oxidative damage is one of the earliest events in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathogenesis and precedes the clinical stage of disease. The nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor (Nrf2) is activated in response to oxidative stress, which protects the brain from oxidative damage and AD pathogenesis. Although Nrf2-mediated oxidative stress response declines with age and becomes dysfunctional in AD brains, the mechanistic basis for this dysfunction is unknown. Here, we demonstrate through in vitro and in vivo models, as well as in human AD brain tissue, that Slingshot homolog-1 (SSH1) acts as a counterweight to neuroprotective Nrf2 in response to oxidative stress …

Utilizing Neoantigen-Specific Cd4* T Cells And Immune Checkpoint Modulation To Advance Adoptive Cell Therapy With Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes For Metastatic Melanoma Patients, Maclean Scott Hall

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Adoptive cell therapy (ACT) with tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) is a promising immunotherapeutic approach for patients with advanced solid tumors. Metastatic melanoma is a tumor type amenable to immunotherapy in part due to the presence of antigen-specific TIL. These T cells can be activated and expanded for ACT, which has resulted in relatively high rates of clinical responses. While numerous advances have been made, the inclusion of neoantigen-specific CD4+ T cells within TIL infusion products remains underexplored and therefore offers a significant opportunity for progress. Similarly, immune checkpoint inhibitors, specifically PD-1 blocking antibodies, augment antitumor immunity and may improve the outcomes …

Atrial Fibrillation In Aging: Mechanisms And Potential Therapeutics, Mengmeng Chang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is one of the most common cardiac arrhythmias seen in the clinics, and currently available antiarrhythmic pharmacotherapies in AF are not very effective. Although AF has been recognized as an aging-mediated disease, our understanding of the electrophysiological pathways that link aging and AF remain incomplete, which limits breakthroughs in the development of novel antiarrhythmic treatments for this disease. Studies have shown that aging increases the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the heart, and high levels of ROS have been associated with development of AF in animals and patients. Additionally, in some forms of AF, the …

Population Demography, Spatial Ecology, And Habitat Use Of The Florida Box Turtle (Terrapene Bauri) On A Barrier Island, Michael D. Mills

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Turtles are one the most threatened vertebrate groups in the world due to anthropogenic threats such as habitat loss and overexploitation. In addition to occupying a range that has been vulnerable to major habitat loss, the Florida box turtle (Terrapene bauri) is particularly at risk of overexploitation due to its popularity in the pet trade. Sanibel Island is a barrier island in southwest Florida that has experienced major habitat loss and is the site of a recent poaching event. In response to these threats, studies of both the population demography and spatial ecology were conducted on Sanibel’s Florida box turtle …

Does Time Equal Money? Temporal Discounting And Self-Control: Insight Into The Rationality Of Personal Financial Decision-Making, Joshua Epstein

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Exponential and hyperbolic intertemporal choice models have been widely investigated to measure an individual’s degree of impulsivity in behavioral economics. Hyperbolic discounting research identifies subject’s disproportionately high subjective value to immediate rewards, to the extent that it is not in their best interest. Furthermore, preference reversals have shown subjective value demonstrates an inversely relationship proportional to delay.

Investigation into whether visual representations influence conservative personal finance savings behavior was demonstrated in this study by presenting a multitude of visualizations before allocation of limited monetary resources. Evaluation of the neighbor effect was tested to determine whether comparing individuals to their peers …

Reducing Instrumentation Barriers Of Diffuse Correlation Spectroscopy For Low-Cost Deep Tissue Blood Flow Monitoring, Arindam Biswas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cerebral blood flow (CBF) is a good indicator of brain health as blood carries necessary nutrients, oxygen, and metabolic byproducts. Quantitative blood flow information can be used in several clinical and therapeutic applications such as stroke detection, measuring autoregulation, evaluating brain injury, or determining neuronal activity. Over the past few decades, light-based deep tissue hemodynamic detection modalities have become popular for non-invasive CBF measurements. In particular, noninvasive Diffuse Correlation Spectroscopy (DCS), has become a tool of choice for research and clinical applications due to its depth sensitivity (>1 cm), portability, validity against other technologies such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging …

Neroimaging Of Brain Activaion Using Diffuse Optical Tomography, Jingyu Huang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research has two parts. The first part focuses on the use of non-invasive imaging technique, diffuse optical tomography (DOT), to study the brain activation during the stimulation in the clinical room. It further extends the application of DOT by using it to monitor the hemodynamic response during the TMS stimulation in different parameters. Diffuse optical tomography (DOT) is based on NIR light that exploits the relative transparency of biological tissue. The part two and three extends the application in the hospital for delirium patient study and arm muscle dystrophy by adding the sources and detectors to monitor the brain …

Biochar Amended Biological Systems For Enhanced Landfill Leachate And Lignocellulosic Banana Waste Treatment, Xia Yang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Biochar is an inexpensive and environmentally friendly carbonaceous pyrolysis byproduct with a high surface area, pore volume, and adsorption capacities for inorganic and organic compounds. The goal of this dissertation is to evaluate the feasibility of biochar application in biological treatment systems for enhanced waste management. Three major objectives guided this research to provide a compressive understanding of biochar enhancement effects on biological treatment systems for contaminant removal, energy recovery, and environmental impacts as well as essential factors influencing biochar production and properties.

In Objective 1 a low-cost hybrid Constructed Wetland (CW) system modified with biochar/zeolite was developed for enhanced …

A Multiple Input Multiple Output Framework For The Automatic Optical Fractionator-Based Cell Counting In Z-Stacks Using Deep Learning, Palak Dave

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Quantifying cells in a defined region of biological tissue is critical for many clinical and preclinical studies, especially in pathology, toxicology, cancer, and behavior. Unbiased stereology is the state-of-art method for quantification of the total number and other morphometric parameters of stained objects in a defined region of biological tissue. As part of a program to develop accurate, precise, and more efficient automatic approaches for quantifying morphometric changes in biological tissue, our group has shown that both deep learning-based and hand-crafted algorithms can estimate the total number of histologically stained cells at their maximal profile of focus in extended depth …

Aldosterone Treatment Protects Connexin 30 And 43 Expression For Age-Related Hearing Loss, Jennifer A. Pineros Valencia

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Age-related hearing loss (ARHL), also known as presbycusis, is the number one communication disorder affecting our aged population. Connexin proteins are essential for intercellular communication throughout the human body. Mutations in connexin genes have been linked to human syndromic and nonsyndromic deafness; thus, we hypothesize changes in connexin gene and protein expression with age may be involved in the development of ARHL. In our current study, connexin mRNA gene expression for CBA/CaJ mice at different age points were examined and correlations were analyzed between the changes in gene expression and functional hearing measures, such as ABRs and DPOAEs. Moreover, we …

Quantifying Environmental Sensitivity Of Marine Resources To Oil Well Blowouts In The Gulf Of Mexico, Emily Chancellor

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation focused on oil spill risk assessment techniques historically utilized for coastal resources (e.g., environmental sensitivity indices (ESIs), vulnerability assessments, species-specific vulnerability frameworks) and their application and expansion to offshore resources found in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). Additional included techniques (e.g., multi-sector trade-off analysis, marine spatial planning (MSP) software) provide support in decision making processes regarding the potential siting of oil production sites and/or the withdrawal of areas from oil and natural gas production. Chapter 1 included an overview and justification for this study. Chapter 2 demonstrated an initial methodology for the creation of offshore ESIs and how …

Reproduction In Relation To Heavy-Metal Contamination Along An Urbanization Gradient In Aninvasive Florida Lizard Species (Anolis Sagrei), Elizabeth Hauck

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Environmental contamination is accumulating rapidly worldwide due to increasing urbanization rates. Heavy metals are known to be particularly toxic to organisms, to accumulate in biological systems, and to be found in higher concentrations in animals located in areas of high urban levels. However, the physiological impacts of these toxic heavy metals in wildlife remain largely unknown. Lizards are excellent bioindicator species for environmental contaminants due to their trophic level as mesopredators and their susceptibility of exposure via air, water, diet, and soil through egg deposition. To assess the impacts heavy-metal contamination has on reproductive parameters in lizards and how these …

L-Ergothioneine Treatment In Old Cba/Caj Male Mice Slows The Progression Of Age-Related Hearing Loss, Mark A. Bauer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The naturally occurring amino acid, L-Ergothioneine (EGT), has immense potential as a therapeutic, having shown promise in the treatment of other disease models, including neurological disorders. EGT is naturally uptaken into cells via its specific receptor, OCTN1, suggesting that it is highly conserved, to be utilized by cells as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, particularly under stressed conditions. In our current study, EGT was administered over a period of 6 months to 25-26 month old CBA/CaJ mice as a possible treatment for age-related hearing loss (ARHL), since presbycusis has been linked to higher levels of cochlear oxidative stress, apoptosis and chronic …

Community Heritage: A Source Of Health/Medical Aspirational Capital For Black Males, Lafrance Clarke Jr.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is a recognized need for more Black male healers who pursue careers in medical fields.Thus, the purpose of this study was twofold: to explore historical documents to tell the histories of men of African descent who practiced healing in Florida and, from those histories, create a virtual heritage tour to support teaching about leadership through African American history and narratives of healing. The research questions were: How does the heritage curriculum history about Black men healers of FL provide a historical counter-narrative about Black men and their leadership in connection to health/medicine?How do historical counter-narratives about Black men support …

The Effects Of Motivationally Enhanced Digital Game-Based Learning On Undergraduate Students’ Learning Motivation, Mathematics Achievement, And Learning Retention In College Algebra, Dennis Ward

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to design, develop, and test the effects of digital game-based learning on undergraduate students’ learning motivation, mathematics achievement, and learning retention in a college algebra course. Digital games utilize interactive digital media that offer rules-based challenges and react to the individual’s choices. Digital games have been used in preschool, K-12, higher education, and workplace environments in a wide range of subject areas, including language arts, secondary language acquisition, social studies, science, and math. Specifically, the effectiveness of digital game-based learning on students’ learning and motivation has been studied in college-level mathematics courses. However, previous …

Low-Pressure Plasma Surface Treatment Of Polycarbonate And Polyacrylic Plates With Different Plasmas And Their Characterization, Suleyman Gorkem Gizer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, polycarbonate (PC) and acrylic (PMMA) surfaces were treated with carbon tetrafluoride (CF4), oxygen (O2), and air plasmas with a low-pressure plasma method in order to change their surface properties such as surface free energy and wettability. Moreover, different pattern sized, line, triangular and square shaped surface patterns were used to determine the shape and size-dependent changes. The characteristics of untreated and plasma treated surfaces were examined via contact angle (CA) measurements with distilled (DI) water, against plasma treatment number. Moreover, surface free energy (SFE) calculations of the PC and PMMA surfaces were carried out from sessile drop …

Farmer Adoption Of Advanced Technology In Agribusiness, Justin W. Belcher

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Normally, family-owned farms are slow to adopt advanced technologies though these technologies can provide several benefits to the farm and have the potential to increase farm production volumes to help meet future population growth. The goal of this study was to document the factors that influence the adoption decision of advanced technologies by family-owned farms and what strategies can be used to motivate adoption. Case study research was conducted to gather data in a more structured way from family-owned farms typically excluded from past research for the purpose of comparing similarities across similar and dissimilar farms. For generalizing similarities, a …

Surviving A Broken System: Synergies Between Solidarity Economies And Sustainable Development Goals, Julie Beach

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Capitalism has created problems including wealth polarization, rapid depletion of natural resources, and pervasive systemic societal issues. Hard work is not enough to solve the unequal distribution and barriers preventing access to necessities. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were created to remedy the harsh reality of global inequities and negative environmental impacts by working towards a more just and equitable future for all. Solidarity Economies (SE) offer an alternative framework to achieve these goals.

This research used multiple qualitative methods to investigate the synergies between SE and SDGs in a growing urban environment. St. Petersburg, FL struggles with affordable housing, food …

Development Of An Automated Platform For Sensing And Differentiating Vapor-Phase Btex Constituents, Jonathan Samuelson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Light aromatic hydrocarbons are an inevitable byproduct of fossil fuel extraction, refinement, distribution, and use. The four lightest and most prevalent of these are benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene, which are known collectively as BTEX. In spite of their chemical similarity these species have markedly different effects on human health and substantially different concentrations are permitted by OSHA in workplaces and by the EPA in ambient air and groundwater. Real-time detection, identification, and quantification of these species is therefore of great importance wherever they see industrial use.This work represents the continuation and advancement of a line of research in which …