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The Effects Of Labyrinthula Sp. Infection, Salinity, And Light On The Production Of Phenolic Compounds In Thalassia Testudinum, Jennifer M. Sneed

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the fall of 1987, several areas of Florida Bay were severely affected by the sudden die-off of the seagrass Thalassia testudinum Banks ex Konig (turtle grass). Although the cause is still unknown, several factors were suggested as influencing the on-set of the die-off event including increased salinity, light stress due to self-shading, and disease. Blades of seagrass plants found in the area of die-off were infected by Labyrinthula sp, a pathogenic protist. A similar die-off occurred in another species of seagrass, Zostera marina, in the 1930s that was attributed to the pathogenic protist, Labyrinthula zosterae. Zostera …

Cloning, Expression, And Sequence Analysis Of Camelysin, A Zinc Metalloprotease From Bacillus Anthracis And B. Cereus, Andrew Ross Myers

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Bacillus anthracis and B. cereus are well known etiological agents, which cause disease in healthy and immunocompromised individuals. Considering the abundance and lethality of these organisms it is imperative that research is performed to identify and analyze new factors that may contribute to their pathogenicity. Camelysin is a membrane bound, zinc metalloprotease isolated from B. cereus. Assays performed on purified camelysin demonstrate that the protease exhibits fibrinolytic, collagenolytic, and actin degradation activity, any of which can contribute to the organisms ability to invade host tissues and cause damage. Considering the putative role of camelysin in pathogenicity, it would be …

Self-Schema And Social Comparison Explanations Of Body Dissatisfaction, Patricia Van Den Berg

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The current study was an investigation of the self-schema and social comparison theories of the development of body dissatisfaction. Social comparison stimuli, consisting of photographs of women, were piloted and selected to form 3 stimuli sets: upward comparison, downward comparison, and no comparison. A priming manipulation consisting of an imagery exercise intended to prime participants appearance self-schema was also piloted. Participants completed state measures of body image and mood at pretest, were given the priming manipulation and the social comparison stimuli, then completed posttest measures of mood and body image, as well as providing demographic information. Results indicated no significant …

Strain, Personality Traits, And Deviance Among Adolescents: Moderating Factors, Jennifer J. Wareham

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

General strain theory has received a fair amount of empirical support and theoretical elaboration over the past several years. Since the introduction of general strain theory, Agnew and others have attempted to increase the comprehensiveness of the processes involved in strain theory. Until recently, the general strain theory literature has ignored what Agnew and associates (Agnew, Brezina, Wright, & Cullen, 2002) argue may be one of the most important conditioning effects of the strain-crime relationship, namely the dispositions or personality traits of the individual experiencing strain. Recently, Agnew and associates (2002) published results from a study examining the conditioning effects …

An Analysis Of Pedagogical Strategies: Using Synchronous Web-Based Course Systems In The Online Classroom, Shauna J. Schullo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated a synchronous web-based course system (SWBCS) as a supplement todistance learning courses. Although challenges exist (such as the complex interface and potentialtechnological problems); these systems hold the potential to enhance the distance learning experiencethrough increased interaction, immediacy, social presence, group work, and collaboration.

Using a rigorous blend of research methods, the study investigated the following questions: (1) what types of pedagogical strategies do instructors implement, (2) how do instructors utilize the tools, (3) which tools do instructors choose to use, (4) why do instructors use the tools and strategies that they choose, and (5) what perceptions do …

African American Adult Education Professors: Perceptions Of Graduate Studies In Adult Education, Sharon Gatling Waldrum

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to provide historical and philosophical information regarding the field of Adult Education from the perspective of 15 African Americans. This studys design utilized the findings from African-American Adult Educators (A-AAE) to add to the depth and breadth of information about Adult Education by engaging participants in reflective dialogue regarding the field and their experiences.

This qualitative design used semi-structured interviews to obtain information about the relationships among and influences of major professors and dissertation committees. The study included influences, direct and indirect, as well as influential authors, books, and publications. Adult Education was analyzed …

Perceptions On Policy: The Effects Of The U.S. Greater Middle East Initiative On Egyptian Political Attitudes, Maureen M. Mansour

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the political attitudes of seven educated Egyptians from Alexandria, Egypt. It seeks to understand their interpretations of the U.S. democratization policy in the Middle East, the Greater Middle East Initiative. The goal is to understand if these Egyptians are receptive to the suggestion of democratic reforms and Egypt. Personal interviews with open-ended questions allowed for individual insights and rich depth of information.

Interviews were conducted in Alexandria, Egypt as a traditionally liberal city with a long history of exposure to Western ideas. The respondents are a part of a small elite subgroup of Egyptian society. As …

A Theoretical Description Of The Vibrational Sum Frequency Generation Spectroscopy Of Interfaces, Angela S. Perry

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Our work investigates theoretical approximations to the interface specific sum frequency generation (SFG) spectra at aqueous interfaces constructed using time correlation function (TCF) and instantaneous normal mode (INM) methods. Both approaches lead to signals in excellent agreement with experimental measurements. This work demonstrates how TCF and INM methods can be used in a complementary fashion to describe interfacial vibrational spectroscopy.

Our approach is to compare TCF spectra with experiment to establish that our molecular dynamics (MD) methods can reliably describe the system of interest. We then employ INM methods to analyze the molecular and dynamical basis for the observed spectroscopy. …

A Fuzzy Logic Based Controller To Provide End-To-End Congestion Control For Streaming Media Applications, Bay Pavlick

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The stability of the Internet is at risk if the amount of voice and video traffic continues to increase at the current pace. While current transport layer protocols do work well for most applications, they still present some problems. TCP is reliable, tracks the state of some network conditions and reacts drastically to an indication of congestion. TCP serves data-oriented applications very well but it can lead to unacceptably low quality for streaming applications by multiplicatively reducing the congestion window upon a sign of congestion. The other main transport layer protocol, UDP, provides good service for streaming applications but is …

Human Umbilical Cord Blood Cells Migration To Stroke Cns Tissue Extracts And The Potential Cytokines And Chemokines Involved, Mary B. Newman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Human umbilical cord blood (HUCB) cells consist of a heterogeneous population of cells, rich in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. These cells have been used in the treatment of various nonmalignant and malignant hematopoietic diseases. With in the last few years HUCB cells have been used in pre-clinical animal models of brain and spinal cord injuries, in which functional recovery has been shown. The properties of cord blood cells that could be important in cell transplantation (repair or replacement) of CNS injury or disease are currently being evaluated. The major focus of this study was to determine whether HUCB cells …

Virtual Cadaver Navigation System: Using Virtual Reality For Learning Human Anatomy, Abhijit V. Lothe

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The use of virtual reality (VR) for visualization can revolutionize medical training by simulating real world medical training procedures through intuitive and engaging user interface. Existing virtual reality based visualization systems for human anatomy are based on 3D surface and volumetric models and simulative systems based on model libraries. The visual impact as well as facilitation for learning are inadequate in such systems. This thesis research is aimed at eliminating such inadequacies by developing a non-immersive virtual reality system framework for storage, access and navigation of real human cadaveric data. Based on this framework, a real time software system called …

Performance Optimization In Three-Dimensional Programmable Logic Arrays (Plas), Supriya Sunki

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Increased chip size and reduced feature size has helped following Moores law for long decades. This has an impact on interconnect length, which is resulting in chip performance degradation. Despite the introduction of new materials with Low-K dielectrics for interconnects, their delay is expected to substantially limit the chip performance. To overcome this problem the need for new technology has arrived. One such promising technology is the three-dimensional Integrated chips (3D ICs) with multiple silicon layers.

In this thesis, three dimensional integrated chip (3D IC) technology has been implemented on programmable logic arrays (PLAs). The two-dimensional PLAs are converted to …

Negotiating Curricular Boundaries And Sexual Orientation: The Lived Experiences Of Gay Secondary Teachers In West Central Florida, Jr., James B Mayo Jr.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is little known about the daily lives of gay teachers at school. Studies have been conducted in this area, but the wide range of individual life experiences makes it difficult to define the gay teacher experience. Gay teachers geographic location, gender, age,and race, are a few of those factors that will have a direct influence upon their lives.Therefore, I believe more focused, regional or case studies will yield better understandings of the lives that gay teachers lead at school.

Until now, no other study had investigated the lives of gay teachers in West Central Florida. I decided to focus …

Role Of Stat3 In Regulating Hif-1alpha Expression And Tumor Angiogenesis, Jon J. Briggs

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Increased vascularization (angiogenesis) is a required adaptation for sustained tumor growth, and the primary mediator of de novo blood vessel formation is vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). The central transcriptional activator of VEGF is hypoxia inducible factor-1 (HIF-1), a heterodimeric transcription factor composed of an inducible HIF-1α subunit and a constitutively expressed HIF-1β subunit. In addition to HIF-1, it has recently been reported that signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (Stat3) is required for VEGF production and angiogenesis. Although it is known that Stat3 is an important mediator of many of the oncogenic signaling pathways that regulate HIF-1α, it …

Measuring Transactional Distance In Online Courses: The Structure Component, Cheryl Sandoe

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Online or web-based courses have become prolific in our educational environment over the past several years. The development of these courses can be guided by systematic design models to ensure quality instructional design. Transactional distance, the theory that claims the distance an online student feels is more of a pedagogical distance than a geographic one, consists of three factors: structure, dialogue, and learner autonomy. Accurate measurement of these three factors is needed in order to substantiate its claims and to best determine the delivery implications. This study produced an instrument that measures the structure component of the transactional distance theory …

Robust Algorithms For Property Recovery In Motion Modeling, Medical Imaging And Biometrics, Yong Zhang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The past two decades has witnessed growing interest in physics based techniques in computer vision, computer graphics and medical imaging. The main advantage of a physical model is its mathematical rigor and physical soundness, which makes it an ideal tool to study complex nonrigid motion. However, since a model based on continuum mechanics is computationally demanding, an idealized framework is often adopted where physical motion parameters are significantly simplified, which inevitably affects the accuracy and reliability of modeling results.

In this study, a new modeling approach is developed that features the reconstruction of actual material properties such as the Young's …

Dissertations: Past, Present, And Future, Matthew D. Barton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Current policies and traditions regulating the dissertation process are responsible for a devaluation of dissertations and fail to recognize the economic and technological developments wrought by the emerging Internet. Some of the problems with the current process involve ideology, such as the insistence that dissertations be single-authored, original, and owned by someone. Others involve adherence to traditions that no longer serve a useful purpose, such as forcing authors to conform to a format better suited to a printed book than an online project. Finally, economical considerations such as the costs involved with purchasing and training authors to use advanced technology …

The Voices Of Sex Workers (Prostitutes?) And The Dilemma Of Feminist Discourse, Justine L. Kessler

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The existence of prostitution has been a longtime concern for many societies. It has also been a complicated issue within feminist discourse. Some women choose sex work as a viable economic option while others are forced into prostitution by traffickers and pimps and some are forced into it due to disadvantaged circumstances. The presence of sex work and prostitution is one of the occurrences that accompany a patriarchal capitalist system. Many feminists indeed argue that prostitution is a byproduct of a patriarchal capitalist system. The migration of women for sex work and the trafficking of women into prostitution cannot occur …

Establishing A Farmers Market For A Low-Income Latino Community, Ann L. Bretnall

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

For the past decade, Florida’s Latino population has significantly increased and is now the third largest in the United States. The same trend has also occurred in Hillsborough County. Social and economic disparities are significant as Latinos earn less than non-Hispanic whites and many live in poverty. A major concern of this population is the lack of access to inexpensive fresh fruits and vegetables. Findings from prior research show that the diet of immigrants often change quickly upon their arrival to the United States, with an increased emphasis on fast food and soft drinks and a reduction in the consumption …

Hiv/Aids Workplace Interventions In South Africa And The United States, Joel Christian Reed

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis focuses on the private sector response to the human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) in the Republic of South Africa (RSA) and the United States (US) in multinational businesses and corporations. From an epidemiological perspective HIV/AIDS and its co infections cause acute and chronic illness in the workforce leading to programs and interventions of various complexity and effectiveness. Workforce HIV/AIDS epidemiology in South Africa and the US is reviewed and discussed. From a critical medical anthropology perspective multinational corporations are political and economic entities with immense resources and power over people, communities, and governments globally. …

Assessment Of Invasive Activities Of Ovarian Cancer Cells In Vitro, Hetal Shah

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The interactions between neighboring cells and between cells and their attached substrate have long been studied in tissue culture. These in vitro studies may provide information regarding cell behavior in vivo including cell movement, cell proliferation, tissue development and wound healing. Transcellular resistance (or impedance) measurements, using various dc or ac techniques have been used to study the barrier function of epithelial and endothelial cell layers. With an appropriate equivalent circuit used for data analysis, junctional resistance between cells and other cellular properties, including cell membrane capacitance, can be determined. However, these techniques have seldom been applied to fibroblastic cell …

Professional Wrestling, Embodied Morality, And Altered States Of Consciousness, Lawrence B. Mcbride

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Much of the scholarly work on professional wrestling is based on the assumption that beyond a simple mimicking of sporting combat, the wrestling show is a spectacle that constructs and interrelates socially situated, morally significant categories. In this thesis, I focus on wrestlers themselves, and treat wrestling as a traditional practice that guides how wrestlers relate to their bodies and how they interact with their audience. This project was carried out using ethnographic methods of observation and interviewing. While participant-observation of three independent wrestling promotions provided context, twelve semi-structured interviews carried out with wrestlers at the Florida Wrestleplex in St. …

Isabel Undone, Lynne Berggren

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Isabel, a forty-year-old woman, measured her successes and failures against her perfect sister Natalie’s. But after Natalie is murdered by her husband, Isabel’s identity unravels as she picks up the pieces of her sister’s life and becomes the mother substitute for Natalie’s daughter.

While Isabel tries to understand how Natalie’s life spiraled out of control, she develops feelings for a horse trainer named Sam. As Isabel discovers that her sister was having an affair, Isabel and Sam begin a relationship of their own. However, conflicts arise when clues implicate Sam as Natalie’s lover. Isabel retreats, and realizes she will have …

A Quantitative Assessment Of Internal Publics Perception Of Their Relationship With The Organization, Lindsay C. Smith

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on relationships. Specifically, it measures the relationship between the administration of a large public university in the southeastern United States, USF, and its primary internal public the faculty. The purpose of this study is to measure the quality and type of relationship between an organization and it public, as perceived by the public. This study seeks to replicate and extend previous relational research by examining how the variables of trust, commitment, control mutuality, and satisfaction are related to the quality of relationships in organizations. In addition, the type of relationshipcommunal or exchangethat the faculty has with the …

Pervasive Sensing And Computing For Natural Disaster Mitigation, Daniel H. Quintela

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research proposed the use of state-of-the-art wireless communications and networked embedded systems technologies to provide environmental sensing for the early detection of natural disasters. The data is acquired, processed and transmitted, from the location where the disaster originates, to potentially threatened conurbations in order to promptly notify the population. The acquired data is transformed from its raw form into information that can be utilized by local authorities to rapidly assess emergency situations and then to apply disaster management procedures. Alternatively, the system can generate alerting signals without human intervention. Furthermore, recorded historical data can be made available for scientists …

The Effects Of Moisture On Thin Film Delamination And Adhesion, Patrick Waters

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Significant drops in adhesion have been measured for copper and diamond like carbon (DLC) films with the introduction of water at the film/substrate interface. A 1 thick tungsten superlayer with high compressive residual stress was deposited on the films of interest to help induce interfacial debonding by indentation. Modifications were made to the superlayer indentation technique to introduce water at the interface while performing indents. Film adhesion dropped by a factor of 10 to 20 for the copper films and 50 to 60 for the DLC films. The reduction in adhesion is believed to be caused by a combination of …

The Effects Of Interracial Interaction On Behavior As A Function Of Prejudice And Race, Jason R. Read

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In a series of two experiments, the first involving 121 participants and the second 114, I investigated whether level of racial prejudice is related to performance on a cognitive task and helping behavior in participants who had just interacted with the target of their prejudice. The moderating effect of control was tested and, unlike previous research, the responses of African-American participants were studied too. It was proposed that when people interact with the target of their prejudice, they will experience stress and the aftereffects of stress will lead to a decrement in Stroop task performance and a lower likelihood of …

Generation Of Carbon Dioxide And Mobilization Of Antimony Trioxide By Fungal Decomposition Of Building Materials, John D. Krause

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Fungal contamination of buildings poses numerous challenges to researchers, building owners and occupants. Public health agencies promote prevention and remediation of mold and water damage, but lack sensitive methods to detect hidden mold growth and a complete understanding of the biological mechanisms that make occupying moldy buildings a hazard. The wide spread use of the fire retardant antimony trioxide (Sb₂O₃) on building materials and furnishings makes it inevitable that mold growth on treated materials will occur in some buildings with water damage. Several authors have speculation that microbial growth on materials treated with antimony trioxide could …

The Effects Of The Presence Of A Dog On The Social Interactions Of Children With Developmental Disabilities, Stephanie Walters

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The effects of the presence of a dog on the social interactions between children with developmental disabilities and their teacher were analyzed in this study. We examined whether the presentation of a dog would improve the social interactions of three children with developmental disabilities. A baseline condition consisting of the child and teacher in the presence of three toys, one of which was a toy dog was followed by an intervention in which a real dog was added to the sessions. A multiple baseline design across participants was employed to assess experimental changes in interactions during the intervention condition.

All …

Giving Voice To Parents Of Young Children With Challenging Behavior, Jonathan Worcester

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, there has been increased interest in the science of child development, particularly relative to early childhood (i.e., birth to 5 years) and children with challenging behavior. A broad interest in brain-behavior relationships and prevention services for young children has led to a renewed interest in the developmental significance of early life experiences (National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, 2000). Armed with an increasingly large body of neuroscience research, researchers have begun to examine the efficacy of prevention services and supports for young children and families, particularly those with challenging behavior (i.e., behaviors that interfere with optimal …