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What You Know Counts: Why We Should Elicit Prior Probabilities From Experts To Improve Quantitative Analysis With Qualitative Knowledge In Special Education Science, Tyler Aaron Hicks

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Qualitative knowledge is about types of things, and their excellences. There are many ways we humans produce qualitative knowledge about the world, and much of it is derived from non-quantitative sources (e.g., narratives, clinical experiences, intuitions). The purpose of my dissertation was to investigate the possibility of using Bayesian inferences to improve quantitative analysis in special education research with qualitative knowledge.

It is impossible, however, to fully disentangle philosophy of inquiry, methodology, and methods. My evaluation of Bayesian estimators, thus, addresses each of these areas. Chapter Two offers a philosophical argument to substantiate the thesis that Bayesian inference is usually …

Parental Deportation And Cape Verdean Youth Experiences: A Case Study, Leila Rosa

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The consistent academic underperformance of students from diverse backgrounds is a national concern and the subject of study by numerous researchers. Some scholars suggest this underperformance indicates teacher lack of preparation to address the needs of a highly diverse student population (Hollins & Guzman, 2005; Ford, 2008; Darling-Hamond, 2004). Central to the overall efforts for improving achievement outcomes should be a focus on the educational experiences of the segment of population that is underperforming, namely students of color, from diverse cultural and linguistic background. Policies of immigration are particularly relevant for the students who are immigrants to the United States …

Thermal Fluctuations Tunneling In Doped Conjugated Polymers, Troy C. Stedman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The possibility of using conducting polymers as organic alternatives to widely used inorganic materials for thermoelectric (TE) applications has received much attention in the past few decades. Since conducting polymers are generally inefficient compared to inorganic TE materials, research into their underlying transport mechanisms is required to improve their efficiency. We use a model based on the effects of local thermal fluctuations to characterize the transport in conducting polymer composites. With this model, full linear responses for the current and electronic heat current are obtained. From these responses, the local temperature dependent conductivity, electronic contribution to the thermal conductivity, and …

Design, Synthesis And Applications Of Polymer Biomaterials, Frankie Costanza

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria has prompted the research into novel kinds of antibacterial small molecules and polymers. Nature has solved this issue with the use of cationic antimicrobial peptides, which act as nonspecific antibiotics against invading species. Herein, we have tried to mimic this general mechanism in a biocompatible and biodegradable polymer micelle based on the polymerization of naturally occurring amino acids lysine and phenylalanine linked to a PEG tether. This amphiphilic structure allows for the spontaneous collapse into stable nanoparticles in solution, which contains a hydrophilic outer layer and a hydrophobic core. Our polymers have shown activity …

Gamma-Aapeptides As A New Class Of Peptidomimetics: Synthesis, Structures, And Functions, Haifan Wu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Peptidomimetics are synthetic oligomers that resemble the activities of peptides. Their advantages over peptides include high stability towards proteolysis and enormous chemical diversity. Over the past two decades, there have been extensive efforts to develop peptide mimics, such as beta-peptides, peptoids, D-peptides, etc. The research on peptidomimetics have led to many important applications in both medicinal and material science. In order to explore new functions, the discovery of peptidomimetics with novel frameworks is essential. We reported the synthesis and evaluation of a new class of peptidomimetics, termed as gamma-AApeptides. Previous studies of gamma-AApeptides have revealed that gamma-AApeptides are highly resistant …

Relationships Between Perceived Parenting Behaviors And Academic Achievement Among High School Students In International Baccalaureate (Ib) Programs: A Comparison Of Asian American And White Students, Wenjun Chen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Parenting style as a predictor of students' academic achievement is gaining increased interest by parents, educators, and psychologists. Current literature suggests that a combination of three parenting dimensions (i.e., responsiveness, supervision, and autonomy granting) is relevant to characterizing one's parenting style into four types (i.e., authoritative, authoritarian, indulgent, and neglectful), and each dimension of parenting behavior has a different effect on students' academic performance. Based on the different cultural backgrounds and the methods parents use to educate their children at home, some literature suggests that the school performance of some Asian American students could benefit from different parenting behaviors as …

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 …

Optimization Of Aggregating Agents And Sers Substrates For Sers Detection Of Cotinine And Trans 3'-Hydroxycotinine, Sungyub Han

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation mainly focuses on applications of Surface Enhance Raman Scattering (SERS) to detect tobacco-related biomarkers with optimized experimental conditions (pH and aggregating agents) and SERS substrates (silica core and silver shell nanoparticles). Cotinine (COT) and trans 3-hydroxycotinine (3HC), metabolized from nicotine as one of main chemicals of tobacco, have been used as tobacco biomarkers because their half-life are longer than that of nicotine, which enable to monitor the tobacco exposure. The effects of aggregating agents and pH on SERS detection of COT and 3HC were investigated. Aggregating agents play an important role in SERS detection of target molecules since …

Coherent Digital Holographic Adaptive Optics, Changgeng Liu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A new type of adaptive optics (AO) based on the principles of digital holography (DH) is proposed and developed for the use in wide-field and confocal retinal imaging. Digital holographic adaptive optics (DHAO) dispenses with the wavefront sensor and wavefront corrector of the conventional AO system. DH is an emergent imaging technology that gives direct numerical access to the phase of the optical field, thus allowing precise control and manipulation of the optical field. Incorporation of DH in an ophthalmic imaging system can lead to versatile imaging capabilities at substantially reduced complexity and cost of the instrument. A typical conventional …

Identification And Characterization Of N-Acyltransferase Enzymes That Are Involved In The Biosynthesis Of Fatty Acid Amides, Daniel Robert Dempsey

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Fatty acid amides are an emerging family of bioactive lipids that consists of N-acylethanolamines, N-acylarylalkylamides, N-acylglycines, N-acyl amino acids, N-monoacylpolyamides, and primary fatty acid amides. Short chain fatty acid amides are products of inactivated biogenic amines such as dopamine, histamine, octopamine, and serotonin, whereas long chain fatty acid amides have been implicated in a number of physiological process such as the perception and inhibition of chronic pain through binding to their specific receptors. The most famous; therefore, the most studied long chain fatty acid amide is anandamide or also known as N-arachidonylethanolamine. The biosynthesis …

An Analysis Of The Reported And Unreported Baccalaureate Degree Recipients In Ipeds At A Large Public Research Institution, Mary Elizabeth Wallace

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

One of the challenges facing higher education today is to graduate undergraduate students in a timely manner. Graduation rates are reported to students, parents, and the general public as well as academic and political leaders. The rates are derived using different methodologies. The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) collects data annually by law from every institution offering federal financial aid in the United States. The "IPEDS reported" students are considered students who start in the fall semester, full-time, first-time in college, and graduate from the original institution (no transfers). The adult, part-time, returning, and transfer students, or "IPEDS unreported" …

A Comparative Study Of Dual-Tree Algorithms For Computing Spatial Distance Histogram, Chengcheng Mou

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Particle simulation has become an important research technique in many scientific and engineering fields in latest years. However, these simulations will generate countless data, and database they required would therefore deal with very challenging tasks in terms of data management, storage, and query processing. The two-body correlation function (2-BCFs), a statistical learning measurement to evaluate the datasets, has been mainly utilized to measure the spatial distance histogram (SDH). By using a straightforward method, the process of SDH query takes quadratic time. Recently, a novel algorithm has been proposed to compute the SDH based on the concept of density map (DM), …

Reducing The Control Burden Of Legged Robotic Locomotion Through Biomimetic Consonance In Mechanical Design And Control, Caitrin Elizabeth Eaton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Terrestrial robots must be capable of negotiating rough terrain if they are to become autonomous outside of the lab. Although the control mechanism offered by wheels is attractive in its simplicity, any wheeled system is confined to relatively flat terrain. Wheels will also only ever be useful for rolling, while limbs observed in nature are highly multimodal. The robust locomotive utility of legs is evidenced by the many animals that walk, run, jump, swim, and climb in a world full of challenging terrain.

On the other hand, legs with multiple degrees of freedom (DoF) require much more complex control and …

Region Of Interest Based Compression Of Grayscale Images, Adhokshaja Achar Budihal Prasad

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Image compression based on Region of Interest (ROI) has been one of the hot topics of interest in image processing. There is not a single widely accepted method for detecting the ROI automatically form an image. To reduce the transmission bandwidth and storage space requirements of gray scale images, an algorithm is suggested for detecting the ROI automatically based on Tsallis entropy method.

Tsallis entropy method is used to segment the image into two segments, the ROI and the background. These two segments can then be compressed at different rates, to avoid losing information in the ROI while achieving a …

Reading In The Digital Era: Using Video Self-Modeling To Improve Reading Fluency In At-Risk Students, Monica Anestin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Reading fluency bridges the concepts of word recognition and reading comprehension, both of which are vital skills needed to become a successful reader. This study evaluated the impact of video self-modeling (VSM) on oral reading fluency in four upper elementary students at-risk for failing in reading. A multiple-baseline design across participants was used to evaluate the outcomes of the VSM intervention. The results indicate that VSM may have a positive impact on reading fluency of students at-risk for reading failure; the use of VSM was positively associated with increases in reading fluency in three of the four participants. The participant …

Patient Populations, Clinical Associations, And System Efficiency In Healthcare Delivery System, Yazhuo Liu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The efforts to improve health care delivery usually involve studies and analysis of patient populations and healthcare systems. In this dissertation, I present the research conducted in the following areas: identifying patient groups, improving treatments for specific conditions by using statistical as well as data mining techniques, and developing new operation research models to increase system efficiency from the health institutes’ perspective. The results provide better understanding of high risk patient groups, more accuracy in detecting disease’ correlations and practical scheduling tools that consider uncertain operation durations and real-life constraints.

Improvements On Scientific System Analysis, Vladimir Grupchev

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Thanks to the advancement of the modern computer simulation systems, many scientific applications generate, and require manipulation of large volumes of data. Scientific exploration substantially relies on effective and accurate data analysis. The shear size of the generated data, however, imposes big challenges in the process of analyzing the system. In this dissertation we propose novel techniques as well as using some known designs in a novel way in order to improve scientific data analysis.

We develop an efficient method to compute an analytical query called spatial distance histogram (SDH). Special heuristics are exploited to process SDH efficiently and accurately. …

The Use Of Textural Kinetic Habitats To Mine Diagnostic Information From Dce Mr Images Of Breast Tumors, Baishali Chaudhury

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Dynamic contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) of the breast is a widely used non-invasive approach to gather information about the underlying physiology of breast tumors. Recent studies indicate that breast tumor heterogeneity may reflect the presence of different levels of cellular aggressiveness or habitats within the tumor. This heterogeneity has been correlated to the variations in the contrast enhancement patterns within the tumor apparent on gadolinium-enhanced DCE-MRI. Although pathological and qualitative (based on contrast enhancement patterns) studies suggest the presence of clini- cal and molecular predictive tumor sub-regions, this has not been fully investigated in the quantitative domain.

The …

Design, Testing And Implementation Of A New Authentication Method Using Multiple Devices, Cagri Cetin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Authentication protocols are very common mechanisms to confirm the legitimacy of someone’s or something’s identity in digital and physical systems.

This thesis presents a new and robust authentication method based on users’ multiple devices. Due to the popularity of mobile devices, users are becoming more likely to have more than one device (e.g., smartwatch, smartphone, laptop, tablet, smart-car, smart-ring, etc.). The authentication system presented here takes advantage of these multiple devices to implement authentication mechanisms. In particular, the system requires the devices to collaborate with each other in order for the authentication to succeed. This new authentication protocol is robust …

Analysis Of Carbon Policies For Electricity Networks With High Penetration Of Green Generation, Felipe Feijoo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In recent decades, climate change has become one of the most crucial challenges for humanity. Climate change has a direct correlation with global warming, caused mainly by the green house gas emissions (GHG). The Environmental Protection Agency in the U.S. (EPA) attributes carbon dioxide to account for approximately 82\% of the GHG emissions. Unfortunately, the energy sector is the main producer of carbon dioxide, with China and the U.S. as the highest emitters. Therefore, there is a strong (positive) correlation between energy production, global warming, and climate change. Stringent carbon emissions reduction targets have been established in order to reduce …

Robust, Low Power, Discrete Gate Sizing, Anthony Joseph Casagrande

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Ultra-deep submicron circuits require accurate modeling of gate delay in order to meetaggressive timing constraints. With the lack of statistical data, variability due to the mechanical manufacturing process and its chemical properties poses a challenging problem. Discrete gate sizing requires (i) accurate models that take into account random parametric variation and (ii) a fair allocation of resources to optimize the solution. The proposed GTFUZZ gate sizing algorithm handles both tasks. Gate sizing is modeled as a resource allocation problem using fuzzy game theory. Delay is modeled as a constraint and power is optimized in this algorithm. In GTFUZZ, delay is …

Computational Investigations Of Potential Energy Function Development For Metal-Organic Framework Simulations, Metal Carbenes, And Chemical Warfare Agents, Christian R. Cioce

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) are three-dimensional porous nanomaterials with a variety of applications, including catalysis, gas storage and separation, and sustainable energy. Their potential as air filtration systems is of interest for designer carbon capture materials. The chemical constituents (i.e. organic ligands) can be functionalized to create rationally designed CO2 sequestration platforms, for example. Hardware and software alike at the bleeding edge of supercomputing are utilized for designing first principles-based molecular models for the simulation of gas sorption in these frameworks. The classical potentials developed herein are named PHAST -- Potentials with High Accuracy, Speed, and Transferability, and thus are designed …

The Continuum Of Ethno-Racial Socialization: Learning About Culture And Race In Middle-Class Latina/O Families, Maria D. Duenas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the discursive messages and specific practices that Latino families use to transmit messages about culture, race, and racism. Scholars have not fully explored the complexity and range of practices and discourses that are involved in Latinos’ ethno-racial socialization. The use of the phrase “ethno-racial socialization” is important because it combines the concepts of racial socialization and ethnic socialization in an effort to account for how the lived experiences of Latinos who mostly think of themselves as a racial group, are treated as one race, and thus, discuss race with family members. This research explores this process using …

Mmv Malaria Box Activity Screening In Dormant Plasmodium Falciparum Phenotypes, Sandra Galusic

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The causative agent of malignant tertian malaria, Plasmodium falciparum undergoes an arrested growth phenotype of its erythrocytic stage when under drug-stress. Recent artemisinin treatment failures seem to be indicative of such induction followed by recrudescence rather than actual therapeutic failure. Likewise, P. vivax hypnozoites are the prototypic dormants and the latent infections for which they are responsible prove most difficult to treat. Dihydroartemisinin, an artemisinin-derivative, can be used to exploit this mechanism by inducing a dormant state in ring-stage P. falciparum parasites and in turn, their recovery may be used as a screening period for compounds that inhibit or foster …

A Numerical And Experimental Investigation Of Flow Induced Noise In Hydraulic Counterbalance Valves, Mutasim Mohamed Elsheikh

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The main objective of this study is to explore the complex fluid flow phenomena that result in the generation of a high frequency noise in counterbalance valves through an experimental and numerical investigation of the flow. Once the influence of the different components involved in noise generation is established, a secondary objective is the introduction of design modifications that eliminate the undesired effect without altering the operation envelope or the performance of the valve.

A hydraulic test bench was used to carry out an experimental investigation of the noise generation process. A computer based data acquisition system was used to …

Comparison Of Isotope-Based Biomass Pathways With Groundfish Community Structure In The Eastern Gulf Of Mexico, Sheri Ann Huelster

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study compared traditional community analysis with stable-isotope trophic analysis to define process-based trophic elements of community structure in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and developed a predictive capability regarding changes to fish community structure that would be expected from increasing eutrophication. Specifically, it used an existing trawl survey program (SEAMAP) to compare invertebrate herbivore (sponge and sea urchin) isotopes with groundfish isotopes, and then compared the resulting spatial patterns with spatial variation in community structure, as identified by cluster analysis. The comparison was applied to seven NMFS survey zones that extended offshore from the Caloosahatchee River, FL northwest to …

Tornado Fatalities: An In-Depth Look At Physical And Societal Influences, Heather Joann Key

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to model and determine significant predictors of tornado death index values, and to investigate these significant predictors and what makes people vulnerable to tornado fatalities through expert interviews. This study also provides an understanding of the study participant’s perceptions of their county’s vulnerability to tornado fatality and demonstrates a true integration of methods and fields by studying geographic, meteorological, and sociological phenomena by use of quantitative and qualitative methods. The study consists of two parts: 1) A quantitative exploration of variables hypothesized to predict Tornado Death Index (TDI) values, 2) A qualitative investigation to …

Schreibersite: Synthesis, Characterization And Corrosion And Possible Implications For Origin Of Life, Nikita Latesha La Cruz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

We present study of the synthesis and reactions of an analog of the meteoritic mineral schreibersite with formula (Fe,Ni)3P, believed to be a prebiotic source of reactive phosphorus that may have prompted the formation of phosphorylated biomolecules near the time of the origin of life (Pasek and Lauretta, 2005). The mineral was synthesized by mixing stoichiometric proportions of elemental iron, nickel and phosphorus and heating in a tube furnace at 820°C for approximately 235 hours under argon or under vacuum, a modification of the method of Skála and Drábek (2002). The mineral was characterized using X-ray diffractometry (XRD), X-ray photoelectron …

Experimental Reporting And Networks Of Political Information: Lorenzo Magalotti's Framing Of Courts And Nature, Bradley L'Herrou

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores changes in experimental reporting during the scientific revolution of the seventeenth century. In particular, I examine and compare some of the works of Count Lorenzo Magalotti, namely the Saggi di Naturali Esperienza or Essays on Natural Experiments and the Relazione d'Inghilterra. In 1667, as secretary of the Accademia del Cimento – the Tuscan experimental academy founded in 1657 – Magalotti (1637-1712) authored the Saggi, a collection of experimental reports. These reports included extensive written descriptions of experiments along with dozens of engravings depicting the instruments custom-made for the experiments. Magalotti also served as ambassador and agent of …

Nearest Neighbor Foreign Exchange Rate Forecasting With Mahalanobis Distance, Vindya Kumari Pathirana

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Foreign exchange (FX) rate forecasting has been a challenging area of study in the past. Various linear and nonlinear methods have been used to forecast FX rates. As the currency data are nonlinear and highly correlated, forecasting through nonlinear dynamical systems is becoming more relevant. The nearest neighbor (NN) algorithm is one of the most commonly used nonlinear pattern recognition and forecasting methods that outperforms the available linear forecasting methods for the high frequency foreign exchange data. The basic idea behind the NN is to capture the local behavior of the data by selecting the instances having similar dynamic behavior. …