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The Role Of Phosphohistidine Phosphatase 1 In Ethanol-Induced Liver Injury, Daniel Richard Martin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Chronic liver diseases, which includes alcoholic liver disease (ALD), are consistently among the top 15 leading causes of death in the United States. ALD is characterized by progression from a normal liver to fatty liver disease (hepatic steatosis), which can lead to cirrhosis, alcoholic hepatitis, and liver failure. We have identified a novel role of phosphohistidine signaling, mediated through phosphohistidine phosphatase 1 (PHPT1), in the onset of hepatic steatosis. We have identified PHPT1 as a target of selective oxidation following acute ethanol exposure as well as being downregulated following chronic ethanol exposure. We mapped the oxidative modification site and developed …

As Good As It Gets: Redefining Survival Through Post-Race And Post-Feminism In Apocalyptic Film And Television, Mark R. Mccarthy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Concentrating on six representative media sites, 28 Days Later (2002), Dawn of the Dead (2004), Land of the Dead (2005), Children of Men (2007), Snowpiercer (2013), and one television series The Walking Dead (2010-present), this dissertation examines the strain of post-millennial apocalyptic media emphasizing a neo-liberal form of collaboration as the path to survival. Unlike traditional collaboration, the neo-liberal construction centers on the individual’s responsibility in maintaining harmony through intra-group homogeny. Through close textual analysis, critical race theory, and feminist media studies, this project seeks to understand how post-racial and post-feminist representational strategies elide inequality and ignore tensions surrounding racial …

Enrollment And Disenrollment In Voluntary Prekindergarten: A Study Of Educational Leaders’ Decision-Making, Angela Cherie Passero Jones

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative case study focused on how school leaders’ understandings of (dis)ability were implicated in decision-making and affected student (dis)enrollment in Florida’s Voluntary Prekindergarten Program (VPK). More specifically it explored how leaders in private VPK programs invoked conceptions of normality, and subsequently abnormality, during decision-making processes for student (dis)enrollment. Combining a critical poststructuralist approach (critical disability studies, critical policy analysis), decision-making on (dis)enrollment was contextualized within the current policy ecology. This policy ecology was framed as an historical development of policies regarding preschool for children with and without disabilities in a marketplace shaped by the convergence of federal, state, and …

An Exploratory Study Of Health Promotion And Disease Prevention Communication Among Haitian Mother–Daughter Dyads In West Central Florida, Stacy Eileen Kratz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This exploratory study examined links between health communication and other constructs affecting health promotion and disease prevention among Haitian mother-daughter dyads living in West Central Florida, and the risk or protective factors for HIV. Risky sexual behaviors can be reduced with accurate and effective information provided through parent-adolescent communication (Coetzee et al, 2014; Ogle, Glasier & Riley, 2008; Hadley et al., 2009). In Haiti, a country that bears a disproportionate burden of HIV/AIDS, women are the most vulnerable (UNAIDS, 2016a); In the United States (U.S.), foreign-born Haitian women in the state of Florida experience health disparities in many areas and …

Analyzing The Effects Of Ca2+ Dynamics On Mitochondrial Function In Health And Disease, Patrick Toglia

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mitochondria plays a crucial role in cells by maintaining energy metabolism and directing cell death mechanisms by buffering calcium (Ca²⁺ )from cytosol. Therefore, the Ca²⁺ overload of mitochondria due to the upregulated cytosolic Ca²⁺ , observed in many neurological disorders is hypothesized to be a key pathway leading to mitochondrial dysfunction and cell death. In particular, Ca²⁺ homeostasis disruptions due to Alzheimer’ s disease (AD)-causing presenilins (PS1/PS2) and oligomeric forms of β-amyloid peptides Aβ commonly found in AD patients are presumed to cause detrimental effects on the mitochondria and its ability to function properly. We begin …

Becoming A Woman Of Isis, Zoe D. Fine

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this study, I examine how terrorism is produced and consumed in communication. Using discourse analysis, I investigate how terrorism is constituted in the accounts of four women described in online news reports as having joined, or almost joined the so-called Islamic State (IS): “Alex,” constructed as having been lonely and flirted with IS; “Khadija,” presented as a schoolteacher turned member of IS’s all-women’s brigade; Laura, described as a woman whose partner abandoned her, who met a man online, and who brought her son with her to join IS; and Tareena, referred to as a health worker who brought her …

Elastin-Like Polypeptide Fusion Tag As A Protein-Dependent Solubility Enhancer Of Cysteine-Knot Growth Factors, Tamina L. Johnson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Elastin-like peptide (ELP) fusions promote therapeutic delivery and efficacy. Recombinant proteins, like neurotrophins, lack bioavailability, have short in vivo half-lives, and require high manufacturing costs. Fusing recombinant proteins with genetically encodable ELPs will increase bioavailability, enhance in vivo solubilization, as well as provide a cost-effective method for purification without the need for chromatography. During expression of neurotrophin-ELP (N-ELP) fusions, dense water-insoluble aggregates known as inclusion bodies (IBs) are formed. Inclusion bodies are partially and misfolded proteins that usually require denaturants like Urea for solubilization. Strong denaturants arrest ELPs stimuli-responsive property and increase unwanted aggregation, making purification difficult, yet possible. The …

A Multivariate Approach For An Improved Assessment Of Pre-Erythrocytic Stage Therapies Targeting Plasmodium Vivax And Plasmodium Falciparum, Alison E. Roth

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The malaria pre-erythrocytic stages have been identified as an ideal therapeutic target, but complex in vitro models for Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum lack the efficiency needed for rapid screening and evaluation of new vaccines and drugs, especially targeting the P. vivax hypnozoite. To address this challenge, we employed a multi-parameter approach using “omics’” to identify pre-erythrocytic targets and biomarkers, guide phenotypic therapeutic screening, and study parasite functionality with innovative bioassays using highcontent screening. Herein, we discuss three novel bioassays formatted in 384-well plate systems with utilization of commercially-available materials and application of high-content imaging for rapid bio-image analysis. To …

A Novel Framework To Determine Physiological Signals From Blood Flow Dynamics, Prashanth Chetlur Adithya

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that more than 11.2 million people require critical and emergency care in the United States per year. Optimizing and improving patient morbidity and mortality outcomes are the primary objectives of monitoring in critical and emergency care. Patients in need of critical or emergency care in general are at a risk of single or multiple organ failures occurring due to a traumatic injury, a surgical event, or an underlying pathology that results in severe patient hemodynamic instability. Hence, continuous monitoring of fundamental cardiovascular hemodynamic parameters, such as heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, …

Flow And Transport In Low-Gradient Rivers And Estuaries, Hunter Lee Clasen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

For this dissertation I studied flow and transport in low gradient Florida streams. Chapter 2 is a statewide analysis of long-term variations in stream discharge. The results from Chapter 2 suggest that changes in mean annual stream discharge are controlled by the Atlantic Multi-Decadal Oscillation (AMO). During the warm phase, mean annual discharge decreases in central Florida and increases in north Florida. The opposite is true during the cool phase, with mean annual discharge increasing in central Florida and decreasing in north Florida. This pattern is observed for both components of stream discharge, base flow and runoff.

The following two …

Synthesis Of Novel Agents For The Treatment Of Infectious And Neurodegenerative Diseases, Benjamin Joe Eduful

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Infectious and neurodegenerative diseases continue to be a major concern worldwide. In spite of the great advances in drug therapy for treating various infectious and neurodegenerative diseases, there is still an urgent need for new and improved drugs due to increasing drug resistance among pathogens, emergence of new pathogens, ease of transmission of infections, ineffective available treatments, toxicity associated with current standard of care, aging populations and the lack of better alternative treatment options.

The first part of this manuscript (chapters 1 - 5) describes the synthesis of novel agents active against Leishmania donovani. According to the World Health Organization …

Jewish Trail Of Tears Ii: Children Refugee Bills Of 1939 And 1940, Dennis Ross Laffer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to compare and contrast the origins, formulation, course, and outcome of three major American immigration schemes to provide haven for German Jewish and non-Aryan refugees and British children: The Intergovernmental Committee for Political Refugees (better known as the Evian Conference), and particularly the German Refugee Children’s Bill (also labeled as the Wagner-Rogers Bill) and the Hennings Bill. The Evian Conference, called for by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the aftermath of the Anschluss, the German annexation of Austria, sought to create a global solution to the problem of forced migration. The Wagner-Rogers Bill, influenced …

Daily Fatigue And Subjective Cognitive Function: What Influences Daily Quality Of Life Issues Among Breast Cancer Survivors?, Sarah L. Eisel

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There are over 15.5 million cancer survivors in the U.S. currently, increasing to over 20 million by 2026. Long-term cancer survival has raised awareness for the issues that affect quality of life (QoL) after treatment. Fatigue and subjective cognitive dysfunction are common quality of life concerns for survivors but little is known regarding prevalence of these problems in daily life. The purpose of the current project is to examine these concerns after treatment using data from a 2 week daily diary study of breast cancer survivors up to 3 years post-treatment. Of importance is determining the factors that contribute to …

Selection Of Energy Systems In Aquaculture Through A Decision Support Tool Considering Economic And Environmental Sustainability, Youngwoon Kim

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Aquaculture had already been distinguished as an important component of global food security and economics. However, aquaculture has expanded at the cost of natural resources and the environment. The vulnerability of the aquaculture industry due to the consequences of global environmental changes and energy price fluctuations has been addressed in various studies. The identification, planning, and implementation of sustainable energy systems are important to ensure the long term economic and environmental sustainability of aquaculture.

This research investigated sustainable energy systems for aquaculture using a life cycle approach, allowing for the identification of the most sustainable energy options under different geographical …

Strategic Negligence: Why The United States Failed To Provide Military Support To The Syrian Resistance In 2011-2014, Konrad J. Trautman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The US military’s culture, structure, and process for providing advice to the president and his national security decision-making team are flawed due to the marginalization of unconventional warfare (UW) expertise -- UW is the military’s doctrinal term for support to resistance activities and movements. This marginalization results in inadequate consideration for applying UW as a strategic option for the nation.

Through a qualitative methods case study analysis utilizing macro- and micro-level process-tracing with a conceptual framework based on Niklas Luhmann’s Systems Theory, the author shows that viable and acceptable resistance elements existed in Syria in March 2011 to June 2014 …

The Relationship Between Sleep Quality And Motor Function In Hospitalized Older Adult Survivors Of Critical Illness, Maya N. Elías

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The primary, descriptive aim of this dissertation was to describe the nighttime sleep quality of previously mechanically ventilated older adult patients within 24-48 hours of transfer out of the intensive care unit (ICU) to a medical-surgical floor. The secondary, exploratory aim was to examine the relationships between post-ICU sleep efficiency (SE) and wake after sleep onset (WASO) with grip strength in previously mechanically ventilated older adult patients within 24-48 hours of transfer out of the ICU.

The study included 30 adults ages 65 and older (11 women, 19 men; age 71.37 ± 5.35, range 65-86 years), who were functionally independent …

Application Of Modern Foraminiferal Assemblages To Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction: Case Studies From Coastal And Shelf Environments, Christian Haller

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The aim of paleoenvironmental studies is to reconstruct characteristics of the past environment from fossil assemblages preserved in sedimentary strata. Thus, studies of modern surface assemblages, quantitatively correlated to the environmental parameters, are required before reliable interpretations can be made. For this dissertation, two different techniques were applied in two case studies: a reconstruction making use of a benthic foraminiferal transfer function from the intertidal marshes in the eastern Mississippi Sound, Alabama/Mississippi, and a qualitative reconstruction of ocean current activity on the Western Australian shelf.

Modern salt-marsh foraminifera were collected from Grand Bay, Pascagoula, Fowl River, and Dauphin Island across …

Remote Sensing And Spatial Metrics For Quantifying Seagrass Landscape Changes: A Study On The 2011 Indian River Lagoon Florida Seagrass Die-Off Event, René Dieter Baumstark

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Florida’s seagrasses are ecologically important marine environments which have suffered major degradation caused by increasing anthropogenic pressures. A 2011 seagrass die-off event caused by an algal bloom in the Florida Indian River Lagoon (IRL) was particularly severe with a majority of seagrass lost in areas such as the Banana River. An understanding of how this coastal marine environment changed is an important step toward better managing resources for conservation. Modern tools and methods provide new opportunities to study these changes at the landscape scale, a scale that informs on the larger more comprehensive state of a system. Classified satellite imagery …

Transition Of Persons With Developmental Disabilities From Parental To Sibling Co-Residential Care: Effects On Sibling Caregiver Well-Being And Family Functioning, Richard Steven Glaesser

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Comprehensive improvements in medical care, technology and residential settings have resulted in persons with developmental disabilities (DD) advancing to older age and outliving parental caregivers (Heller & Arnold, 2010). Typical siblings are expected to become the primary caregiver to their sibling with DD when parents become ill or die and unable to provide care (Burke, Fish, & Lawton, 2015; Heller & Arnold, 2010). This dissertation looks at the wellbeing and family functioning of siblings who become the co-residential caregiver following the transition of a brother or sister with DD from parental to sibling co-residential care. The family systems framework was …

Operationalizing The Pressure And Release Theoretical Framework Using Risk Ratio Analysis To Measure Vulnerability And Predict Risk From Natural Hazards In The Tampa, Fl Metropolitan Area, Jessica A. Wilder

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Significant damage and loss is experienced every year due to natural hazards such as hurricanes, tornadoes, droughts, floods, wildfires, volcanoes, and earthquakes. NOAA’s National Center for Environmental Information (NCEI) reports that in 2016 the United States experienced more than a dozen climate disaster events with damages and loss in excess of a billion dollars (NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, 2017). Identifying vulnerabilities and risk associated with disaster threats is now a major focus of natural hazards research. Natural hazards research has yielded numerous theoretical frameworks over the last 25 years that have explained important elements of risk and vulnerability …

“I Am More Than My Addiction”: Perceptions Of Stigma And Access To Care In Acute Opioid Crisis, Heather D. Henderson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this research is to analyze the stigmatization of opioid addiction within the framework of emergency care from an ethnographic perspective. Interviews with those who have been swept up in the current opioid epidemic indicate that stigma, or a shame or dishonor, and socioeconomic insecurity emerge often as common themes in their emergency care experiences. In many cases, socioeconomic insecurity most intensely translates into a lack of access to healthcare and emergency rooms across the country often function as primary care for uninsured populations. The central field site selected for this study was the emergency department of an …

"He Didn't Mean It": What Kubrick's The Shining Can Teach Us About Domestic Violence, Kelley O'Brien

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With Second Wave Feminism and the Women’s Rights Movement, 1970’s Americans began to see a shift in gender norms affecting how we relate to one another, particularly within a family structure. Scholars have noted an anxiety permeating the decade over the potential negative ramifications of such a drastic cultural shift. We see these issues of gender politics played out in numerous popular films from the 1970s and into the 1980s. Kubrick’s The Shining, like many horror films of the time, preys upon the societal fear for the family, due to these shifting gender norms, by featuring a crumbling patriarch (Jack), …

Adolescents’ Perceptions Of Parenting Practices And Their Influence On Success, Academic Motivation, And School Belonging, David Rubio Jr.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although academic motivation and school belonging positively influence student adjustment and experiences in school, early adolescence marks a time when motivation, belonging, and success in school tend to decline. Research has investigated ways that teachers and peers can support school success and student adjustment. However, there is less research on the role that parents play in supporting students’ success, motivation, and belonging in middle school. Additionally, most research examining the role of parents has focused on parenting styles rather than parenting practices (e.g., parental involvement and parental monitoring). Our understanding of the ways that specific parenting practices may support success, …

Anticipatory Motivation For Drinking Alcohol: An In-Vivo Study, Bryan Benitez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Numerous studies from various research groups have already shown the usefulness of alcohol expectancies as predictors of long-term future alcohol consumption. The present study extends this line of research by directly testing whether alcohol expectancies measured in the moment using free association are useful as predictors of alcohol consumption in the next few hours. An ecological momentary assessment (EMA) procedure was used to examine how alcohol expectancies might fluctuate during days in which many people expect to drink (e.g. Fridays, Saturdays) and how these fluctuations in alcohol expectancies might predict future drinking and/or co-vary with important contextual variables during that …

Identification Of Regulatory Mirnas Associated With Ethanol-Induced Microglial Activation Using Integrated Proteomic And Transcriptomic Approaches, Brandi Jo Cook

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Chronic consumption of, and acute intoxication from, alcohol can have profound effects on the functional integrity of the central nervous system (CNS). The resident immunomodulatory cells of the CNS, microglia, provide signaling factors with both pro- and anti-inflammatory effects for protection. Microglial activation ranges through a multiplex of phases, of which have yet to be defined when induced by exposure to alcohol, and how the activation impacts surrounding cells. Exposure of alcohol has been revealed to induce an immune response in microglia, which can exhibit characteristics unique to a pro-inflammatory response depending on dose and time of alcohol exposure. To …

Molecular Phylogenetics Of Floridian Boletes, Arian Farid

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The boletes are macrofungi which have undergone extensive taxonomic revisions since the advent of molecular tools. To further our understanding of the boletes in peninsular Florida, we sequenced two common Floridian boletes, and analyzed them with molecular phylogenetic tools. Boletus rubricitrinus, a common Florida bolete often found in lawns under Quercus, and likely has a distribution that extends to Texas. Based on ITS and LSU sequences and morphological studies, this species belongs in the genus Pulchroboletus. As the holotype is in poor condition, an epitype is established here. A thorough description of macroscopic and microscopic features is also provided for …

Impact Of Substrate To Inoculum Ratio On Methane Production In High Solids Anaerobic Digestion (Hs-Ad) Of Food Waste, Yard Waste, And Biosolids, Phillip James Dixon

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

High solids anaerobic digestion (HS-AD) is an alternative for managing the organic fraction of municipal solids waste (MSW), which produces mainly methane (CH4) and fertilizer as byproducts. HS-AD offers a potentially more economically and environmentally sustainable option compared with landfilling or incineration waste-to-energy facilities. However, HS-AD is a complex process requiring specific microbial communities working together symbiotically. Previous studies have found that the substrate to inoculum (S/I) ratio affects CH4 production and yield in HS-AD reactors by affecting substrate mass and energy transfer as well as microbial activity. In this thesis, biochemical methane potential (BMP) assays were used to investigate …

Optimal Latin Hypercube Designs For Computer Experiments Based On Multiple Objectives, Ruizhe Hou

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Latin hypercube designs (LHDs) have broad applications in constructing computer experiments and sampling for Monte-Carlo integration due to its nice property of having projections evenly distributed on the univariate distribution of each input variable. The LHDs have been combined with some commonly used computer experimental design criteria to achieve enhanced design performance. For example, the Maximin-LHDs were developed to improve its space-filling property in the full dimension of all input variables. The MaxPro-LHDs were proposed in recent years to obtain nicer projections in any subspace of input variables. This thesis integrates both space-filling and projection characteristics for LHDs and develops …

Impact Of Obesity And Expression Of Obesity-Related Genes In The Progression Of Prostate Cancer In African American Men, Mmadili Nancy Ilozumba

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the US, the incidence and mortality rates of prostate cancer (PCa) are higher among African American men compared to European American men. Obesity is an important risk factor of PCa. Obesity is known to alter the gene expression profiles in prostate tumors. This study evaluates the impact of obesity and the expression of obesity-related genes on the progression of PCa in African American men.

The primary outcome of interest is biochemical recurrence (BCR) of PCa. There were 48 African American prostate cancer patients in the study. The tissue samples included 42 normal tissues, 40 Prostate Intraepithelial Neoplasia (PIN) and …

A Queer And Crip Grotesque: Katherine Dunn's, Megan Wiedeman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The grotesque has long been utilized in literature as a means for subverting societal constraints and inverting constructions of normalcy. Unfortunately, in many instances, it has been constructed at the expense of disabled characters using their embodiment as metaphorical plot devices rather than social and political agents. Criticism of the grotesque’s use of bodily difference has prompted this analytical project in order to rethink disability as socially and politically positioned within texts, rather than simply aesthetics for symbolic means. The aim of this paper is to explore the ways the literary grotesque can be reread using queer theory and crip …