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Cornus Officinalis Extract Activates The Keap1/Nrf2 Pathway And Delays T1d Onset In The Nod Mouse, Justin D. Fletcher

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disorder that results in the destruction of the insulin producing pancreatic β cells. The only therapeutic option following T1D clinical onset is exogenous insulin supplementation. At present, there is no cure for T1D and attempted interventional therapy has been focused on modulating the immune system. Few attempts have been pursued at preserving β cell function and survival. Here we provide a novel approach using extract from the fruit of the Cornus officinalis (CO) tree to preserve β cell function through the prevention of β cell stress. CO has been used in traditional Chinese …

Androgen Drives Melanoma Invasiveness And Metastatic Spread By Inducing Tumorigenic Fucosylation, Qian Liu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Melanoma incidence and mortality rates are historically higher for men than women, with an estimated ~47% more new cases and twice the lethality in men in the US in 2023. Consistent with these discrepancies, emerging studies have highlighted the tumorigenic role of the male sex hormone androgen and its receptor (AR) in promoting melanoma aggressiveness. However, underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms and their precise pathological contributions are not well-defined. We recently discovered a sex-associated disparity in melanoma fucosylation, the post-translational modification of proteins with the dietary sugar L-fucose. Fucosylation, the conjugation of fucose moieties onto different glycan linkages on target …

Synthesis And Antibacterial Testing Of Novel Thiosulfonate Compounds, Lindsay I. Blume

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA) are increasing concerns in the medical community. In addition to the threat of Staphylococcus aureus, the increase in number and severity of infections caused by other antibiotic-resistant bacteria is problematic to human health, particularly among the ESKAPE pathogens (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter). The antibiotics like the penicillins and cephalosporins used commonly to treat MRSA, VRSA, and ESKAPE pathogens have continued to decline in the effectiveness. Our laboratory has developed a number of new families of anti-MRSA and anti-VRSA antibacterial compounds. In this thesis, …

Targeting The Side-Chain Convergence Of Α-Helical Hot Spots To Design Small-Molecule Mimetics Disrupting Protein-Protein Interaction, Zhen Wang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

α-Helix accounts for the largest class of protein secondary structures and plays a key role in mediating protein-protein interactions (PPIs). Small-molecule α-helix mimetics mimic the structural features of α-helical hot spots and offer a powerful tool to unravel complex signaling networks and mitigate aberrant PPIs. In this dissertation, the side-chain conformational convergence of α-helical hot spots was disclosed, and insights into the side-chain convergence were exploited to instruct the design of small-molecule α-helix mimetics. The first chapter of this dissertation provides an overview of the characteristics of α-helical hot spots and current strategies to design small-molecule α-helix mimetics. In chapter …

Exploring The Structure And Activity Of Metallo-Tetracyclines, Shahedul Islam

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Copper as a key component of electron transport chain of eukaryotes is an essential transition metal ion. Copper homeostasis in mammals complex and tightly regulated. Its strong reactivity together with binding with biologically important chemicals can have important repercussions in human health and overall environment. Tetracycline as one of most abundantly used antibiotic of the world has become abundant in the environment as well. Herein in this dissertation we take the journey to explore the complexation of tetracycline with metals in the environment and the intricate interaction between copper and tetracycline by investigating their oxidative behavior once they are complexed. …

The Little Things That Count: Mapping Diversity Of West Florida’S Shelf, Nicole L. Seiden

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Biodiversity is essential to the ecosystem functions responsible for generating the multi-billion-dollar industries that the US relies on for food, storm mitigation, tourism and recreation, but is facing increasing natural and anthropogenic threats. High-resolution diversity data covering large spatial areas would enhance current ecology knowledge and better address conservation concerns in the Gulf of Mexico. However, acquiring and handling data of this nature is resource intensive and has not yet been established. In this study, high spatial resolution data was collected from gastropod living and death assemblages collected over 10 years from the West Florida Shelf (WFS). A multivariate regression …

Bone Microenvironmental Control Of Skeletal Malignancy, Chen Hao Lo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Bone is a common site of metastasis for many solid malignancies. Bone-metastatic cancers pose a significant clinical problem worldwide and is among the main causes for cancer patient morbidity and mortality. Patients with advanced bone-metastatic diseases often present with either osteolytic or osteogenic bone diseases as their cancers progress. These bone pathologies are products of the cancer co-opting the local bone remodeling stroma to yield important growth nutrients and factors. Unfortunately, skeletal metastases remain incurable and are fatal. Identifying and understanding the causal multicellular and molecular interactions underlying skeletal malignancies can yield crucial ideas for targeting and inhibiting disease progression. …

Posttranslational Modification And Protein Disorder Regulate Protein-Protein Interactions And Dna Binding Specificity Of P53, Robin Levy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

p53 is an intrinsically disordered transcription factor that suppresses tumor development by arresting the cell cycle and promoting DNA repair. p53 deletions or mutations can lead to cancer due to the inability of cells to respond to stress. The protein levels and post-translational modification state of p53 changes in response to cellular stress like DNA damage. Previous studies have shown that p53 can undergo coupled folding and binding with the E3 ubiquitin ligase, Mdm2, and the histone deacetylase, p300. In normal cells, p53 is kept at a low level by Mdm2, which marks it with ubiquitin, targeting p53 for proteasome …

The Potential Of Marine Microbes, Flora And Fauna In Drug Discovery, Santana Alexa Lavonia Thomas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Natural products are chemical compounds synthesized by a living organism. These compounds have been utilized by humans from ancient times to the present for their pharmacological and biological activities. Terrestrial organisms are considered a lucrative source of bioactive compounds and chemical diversity. Within the past 60 years, the marine environment has presented its potential as a validated source for structural diversity and biologically active compounds. Technology has given access from shallow waters down to the abyssal plane for exploration and investigation of the inhabitants. Marine organisms have displayed their benefits in the pharmaceutical industry with the approval of several marine-derived …

Validation Of A New Concept For Measuring Respirable Dusts, Xiao Liu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sampling of airborne dust in industry is influenced by the potential health effects associated with human exposure. Health effects depend on mass concentration and particle size which influences the site of pulmonary deposition. Occupational diseases tend to be associated with dust deposition in specific regions of the respiratory tract. The ACGIH size selective TLVs are expressed in three forms: Inhalable Particulate Matter, Thoracic Particulate Matter, and Respirable Particulate Matter. In pneuomoconioses, the amount of dust deposited in the lungs can be estimated by sampling the respirable fraction. Dose-response relationships are derived by relating the health experience of workers to the …

Chemical Investigation Of Bioactive Marine Extracts, Selam Hagos

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Natural products have been a fundamental source of medicinal scaffolds for decades; with sixty percent of marketed drugs. Many synthetic chemists are focused on synthesizing potent and nontoxic compounds for pharmaceutical targets, however, nature is still proving to be a source of new bioactive compounds. Produced by the host organism for defense, reproduction and communication, secondary metabolites also demonstrate promising bioactivity against human pathogens. Hence, natural product chemists continue their quest for new leads.

As a continuation of these efforts, this thesis attempts to explore fungi and sponges for new chemistry, and ultimately, new drug candidates. Antarctica is largely untapped; …

Ripple Effects Of The Belo Monte Dam: A Syndemic Approach To Addressing Health Impacts For The Downstream Community Of Gurupá, Cynthia A. Pace

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the public health impacts of a large dam project on a downstream community using the framework of Syndemic Theory. The particular focus is the Belo Monte Dam, located in the Brazilian Amazon, and its impact on the community of Gurupá, Pará. At the present time the Belo Monte Dam, which is nearing completion, stands out in scale as being the world’s third largest dam complex. Gurupá is a community well known (and well-studied) in the social science literature as Amazon Town. The aims of this study are to assess the pre-existing public health of Gurupá, as well …

Scalable Unsupervised Learning With Game Theory, Alireza Chakeri

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recently dominant sets, a generalization of the notion of the maximal clique to edge-weighted graphs, have proven to be an effective tool for unsupervised learning and have found applications in different domains. Although, they were initially established using optimization and graph theory concepts, recent work has shown fascinating connections with evolutionary game theory, that leads to the clustering game framework. However, considering size of today's data sets, existing methods need to be modified in order to handle massive data. Hence, in this research work, first we address the limitations of the clustering game framework for large data sets theoretically. We …

Abundance And Habitat Preferences Of Introduced Muscovy Ducks (Cairina Moschata), Jacqueline Marie Perry Cahanin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Muscovy ducks are native only to Central and South America, Mexico, and parts of southern Texas and are considered invasive in some areas outside of their native range. Although they have been introduced worldwide, they remain largely unstudied. The primary focus of this study was to relate Muscovy duck abundance to habitat characteristics of wetlands in Tampa, Florida. Muscovy abundance was measured using point count methods at 21 wetland sites that occur within an eight km radius of the University of South Florida’s main campus. Habitat features at these sites were assessed using field methods and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) …

Nano-Photonic Waveguides For Chemical And Biomedical Sensing, Surya Venkatasekhar Cheemalapati

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, advances in the fields of Photonics, and Plasmonics, and specifically, single cell analysis and waveguide sensing will be addressed. The first part of the dissertation is on Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) optimization and experimental demonstration of a nano-scale instrument that allows sensing at the cellular and subcellular levels. A new design of plasmonic coupler into a nanoscale waveguide is proposed and optimized using FDTD simulations. Following this, a subcellular nanoendoscope that can locally excite fluorescence in labelled cell organelles and collect the emitted fluorescent light for detailed spectrum analysis is fabricated and tested. The nanoendoscope has …

Design And Synthesis Of Bioactive Peptidomimetics, Yaogang Hu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Protein-Protein Interactions (PPIs) play a very important role in biological functions and therefore the inhibition of specific Protein-Protein Interactions has a huge therapeutic value. The most successful small molecular PPIs inhibitors do not fit with the prevalent `Rule of Five' drug profile. To overcome the disadvantages of small molecular PPIs inhibitors, peptide based PPIs inhibitors were developed. Herein we describe the development of a new class of peptidomimetics AA-peptides. The AApeptides were designed based on chiral PNA backbone. Substitution of nucleobases yields AApeptides that are resistant to proteolysis and capable of mimicking peptides. Two types of AApeptides were discussed in …

A Distributed Local-Leg Feedback Algorithm For Robust Walking On Uneven Terrain, Mayur Ramakant Palankar

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Legged animals can traverse significantly more of the Earth's land mass than man-made wheeled and tracked vehicles~\cite{Anonymous67}. Their impressive mobility is largely due to multiple dexterous legs and the robust algorithms that coordinate and control them. A legged animal such as a squirrel can exhibit multiple locomotion modes such as walking, running and jumping and also multiple gaits or leg phase timings within each mode. A robot that could mimic this level of robust locomotion would be highly useful for planetary exploration, military reconnaissance, and time-critical search and rescue in cluttered or collapsed buildings.

A number of biological studies on …

Computational Approaches For Structure Based Drug Design And Protein Structure-Function Prediction, Sai Lakshmana Kumar Vankayala

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation thesis consists of a series of chapters that are interwoven by solving interesting biological problems, employing various computational methodologies. These techniques provide meaningful physical insights to promote the scientific fields of interest. Focus of chapter 1 concerns, the importance of computational tools like docking studies in advancing structure based drug design processes. This chapter also addresses the prime concerns like scoring functions, sampling algorithms and flexible docking studies that hamper the docking successes. Information about the different kinds of flexible dockings in terms of accuracy, time limitations and success studies are presented. Later the importance of Induced fit …

Ecology Of The Late Neogene Extinctions: Perspectives From The Plio-Pleistocene Of Florida, Shubhabrata Paul

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The ecological impact of past extinction events is one of the central issues in paleobiology. In face of present environmental changes, a better understanding of past extinctions will enable us to identify the magnitude of biodiversity crises and their underlying processes. The Late Neogene was a time of extraordinary climatic reorganization, including Northern Hemisphere glaciation, the rise of the Central American Isthmus, and associated changes in environmental conditions. Therefore, the Late Neogene extinctions of marine molluscs of South Florida present an ideal platform to examine the interaction between environmental changes and biotic response. In the present study, three different aspects …

Assessment Of The Oxbow Morphology Of The Caloosahatchee River And Its Evolution Over Time: A Case Study In South Florida, Chloe Delhomme

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Caloosahatchee River, located in Southern Florida, was originally a meandering and relatively shallow river. During the 1920s, the Caloosahatchee River was channelized and became the C-43 canal. The channelization has significantly impacted the river ecosystem, particularly the oxbows. The oxbows are the U-shaped water bodies on each side of the river channel, which are the remnant bends of the original river. To understand how anthropogenic influence affects hydrologic systems, the proposed case study was designed to assess the geomorphic changes of the oxbows of the Caloosahatchee River, Florida. Understanding and documenting the evolution of river morphology is becoming increasingly …

Hydrophilic Polymers Of Poly (2-Hydroxy Ethyl Methacrylate) With Tunable Properties For Drug Release, Sequestration Of Blistering Agent, Preparation Of Ultra-Strong Hydrogels & Thermal Stability Of Various Organic Azides, Ramakanth Ananthoji

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The design and synthesis of new finely tunable porous materials has spurred interest in developing novel uses in a variety of systems. Zeolites, inorganic materials with high thermal and mechanical stability, in particular, have been widely examined for use in applications such as catalysis, ion exchange and separation. A relatively new class of inorganic-organic hybrid materials known as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) has recently surfaced, and many have exhibited their efficiency in potential applications such as ion exchange and drug delivery. A more recent development is the design and synthesis of a subclass of MOFs based on zeolite topologies (i.e. ZMOFs), …

Behavioral And Immunological Phenotypes Of Transgenic Mice Overexpressing Human Secreted Amyloid Precursor Protein Alpha: Implications For Autism, Antoinette R. Bailey

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Autism is a heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorder that is characterized by impaired social interaction and communication as well as restricted and repetitive behaviors and focused interests. In addition to the cardinal behavioral characteristics observed for diagnosis, autistic individuals exhibit a number of comorbid conditions as well as a variety of aberrant immunological features. Recent studies report that plasma from autistic children contained elevated levels of secreted amyloid precursor protein alpha (sAPP-á), the á-secretase cleavage product of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) which is ubiquitously expressed in the brain, spleen, thymus and other organs. Interestingly, the sAPP-á fragment functions as a neurotrophic …

The Effects Of Food Insecurity On Mental Wellbeing In Monteverde Costa Rica, Robert Eugene Cowherd

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The rapid expansion of ecotourism in the Monteverde zone of Costa Rica has increased the incidence in food insecurity in the area. Changes in food preferences and availability have led to a more homogenized diet that is increasingly delocalized and reliant on processed foods. Additionally, there has been a rapid economic shift away from agricultural and dairy farming to an economy more reliant on tourism. This NSF supported study builds upon data from a longitudinal investigation (#BNS 0753017) examining the nutritional effects of this rapid economic transition. Using a mixed methods approach, a culturally appropriate scale of stress was developed …

Environmental Change And Place-Based Identities: Sponge Fishing In Tarpon Springs, Florida, Michael Suver

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

As the environmental consequences of urbanization and climate change become apparent in coastal communities, it has become important to understand how residents of these communities experience and approach their changing environments. This becomes especially significant in places where nature-based livelihoods constitute a major part of the economy. This thesis focuses on the city of Tarpon Springs, located along the Gulf of Mexico in Florida, where sea sponge fishing is an important contributor to the local economy while also being central to place-based tourist and ethnic identities. It seeks to understand how environmental changes in the sea sponge economy will …

Egyptian Body Size: A Regional And Worldwide Comparison, Michelle H. Raxter

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Human body size and limb proportions can provide important information about adaptation, population movements, and health disparities. This study investigated changes in body size and limb proportions of adult Egyptians temporally and geographically in relation to climatological, sociopolitical and economic developments. It was predicted that Egyptian groups that experienced more environmental stress would be shorter and exhibit less sexual dimorphism. It was also predicted that Egyptians would be intermediate between higher and lower latitude populations in body form and limb length ratios. The main skeletal sample consisted of 492 males and 528 females, all adults from the Predynastic and Dynastic …

Computational Discovery Of Phenotype Related Biochemical Processes For Engineering, Andrea M. Rocha

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Application of bioengineering technologies for enhanced biological hydrogen production is a promising approach that may play a vital role in sustainable energy. Due to the ability of several naturally occurring microorganisms to generate hydrogen through varying metabolic processes, biological hydrogen has become an attractive alternative energy and fuel source.

One area of particular interest is the production of biological hydrogen in organically-rich engineered systems, such as those associated with waste treatment. Despite the potential for high energy yields, hydrogen yields generated by bacteria in waste systems are often limited due to a focus on microbial utilization of organic material towards …

The Design And Synthesis Of Functionalized Porphyrins And Their Applications In Group Transfer Reactions, Medicine, And Materials, Kimberly Bliss Fields

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Porphyrins and their analogs are a class of chemically and biologically important compounds that have found a variety of applications in different fields such as catalysis, medicine, and materials. The physical, chemical, and biological dependence of the peripheral substituents of porphyrins on their properties has prompted great effort towards the synthesis of new porphyrins with different electronic, steric, and conformational environments. To this end, porphyrins have been prepared using a modular approach from bromo- and triflate synthons. These synthons underwent palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling with chiral amines, amides, alcohols, and boronic esters to create products that were tested for biological activity.

Metalloporphyrins …

Gold Nanoparticles And Their Polymer Composites: Synthesis Characterization And Applications, Nidhi Joshi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Gold nanoparticles are excellent candidates for all the biomedical applications due to their size and shape dependent optical and physiological properties. In this study, gold nanoparticles were synthesized chemically for bio-application. It was observed that the size and shape of gold nanoparticles depend strongly on the concentration of chemical solution, type of reducing agent used in the reaction, temperature of the solution and stabilizing agent for reaction. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has been used extensively to determine the size and shape of the gold nanoparticles. Optical properties of the size and shape selected nanoparticles were studied using UV-vis spectrophotometer in …

The Effects Of Learning-Styles Information On The Achievement Of Community College Developmental Math Students, Kevin A. Hoeffner

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Four out of five Americans will require some postsecondary education. Therefore, a majority of population will return to a community college for retraining and personal growth (McCabe, 2003). Since the turn of this century, many studies have been conducted to examine the success and challenges of the relatively new community college system. One of the most significant challenges is the large percentage of the U.S. population requiring remedial coursework. Fifty-five percent of students entering Florida's postsecondary system require remediation. Of this large remedial population, only 51% will complete their preparatory classes. Students who do complete classes take an average of …

Toward An Applied Anthropology Of Gis: Spatial Analysis Of Adolescent Childbearing In Hillsborough And Pinellas Counties, Florida, Kathleen I. Maes

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This work investigates births to white, African American and Hispanic adolescents in Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties, Florida, from 1992 to 1997 in two age groups - 13 to 17 year-olds and 18 to 19 year-olds - using spatial statistical techniques along with key informant interviews to provide insights into the utility of the research findings. The research developed a method for estimating the adolescent population in inter-census years, which was used to determine denominators for calculating teen birth rates. It also developed a composite deprivation index using socioeconomic indicators at the census block group level. The index provided context for …