Digital Commons Network^™

Memory - Ness: The Collaboration Between A Library And Museum, Kelsey Doughty

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Picture a historical library and a historical art museum coming together to challenge the interaction between each other to help experience, explore, and discover the past within the present. While it sounds like a good idea, it is rare to see a library and museum under one roof.

With the increasing population of tourists looking to visit places and buildings that reconnect with history, there is a higher demand for places to be able to 're-live the past' through art and literature. People enjoy visiting places where history was made and where it becomes part of a city's identity. With …

Development And Deployment Of An Underwater Mass Spectrometer For Quantitative Measurements Of Dissolved Gases, Ryan J. Bell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Manual collection and processing of seawater samples for dissolved gas analyses are technically challenging, time consuming and costly. Accordingly, in situ analysis techniques present attractive alternatives to conventional gas measurement procedures. To meet the demands of sustained, high-resolution chemical observations of the oceans, the University of South Florida and SRI International developed underwater mass spectrometer systems for quantitative measurements of dissolved gases and volatile organic compounds. This work describes the influence of variable in situ conditions on the performance of a membrane introduction mass spectrometer used for measurements in both the water column and sediment porewater.

Laboratory experiments to simulate …

Theory And Simulation Of Metal-Organic Materials And Biomolecules, Jonathan L. Belof

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The emerging field of nanomaterials has raised a number of fascinating scientific questions that remain unanswered. Molecular theory and computer simulation are key tools to unlocking future discoveries in materials science, and various computational techniques and results toward this goal are elucidated here. High-performance computing methods (utilizing the latest supercomputers and codes) have been developed to explore and predict the chemistry and physical properties of systems as diverse as Metal-Organic Frameworks, discrete nanocubes, photoswitch molecules, porphyrins and several interesting enzymes. In addition, highlights of fundamental statistical physics, such as the Feynman-Hibbs effective partition function and generalized ensemble theory, are expounded …

Towards The Development Of A Coastal Prediction System For The Tampa Bay Estuary, Heather Holm Havens

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this research is to evaluate a coastal prediction system under various real world scenarios to test the efficacy of the system as a management tool in Tampa Bay. The prediction system, comprised of a three-dimensional numerical circulation model and a Lagrangian based particle tracking model, simulates oceanographic scenarios in the bay for past (hindcast), present (nowcast) and future (forecast) time frames. Instantaneous velocity output from the numerical circulation model drives the movement of particles, each representing a fraction of the total material, within the model grid cells.

This work introduces a probability calculation that allows for rapid …

Exploring The Effects Of Bmi Health Report Card Letters Among 6Th Grade Students And Parents: An Application Of The Social Cognitive Theory, Jenna M. Kaczmarski

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In response to the growing child and adolescent obesity epidemic, some states and local school authorities are mandating the measurement of Body Mass Index (BMI). However, there is limited research addressing whether schools are an appropriate setting and the intended as well as unintended effects of sharing this information with parents. Furthermore, there is yet to be conclusive evidence that shows that BMI screening in the school setting is an effective way to improve student BMI status. Therefore, the purpose of this research study was to explore the effects of BMI Health Report Card Letters among 6th grade students and …

Characterization Of The Underwater Light Environment And Its Relevance To Seagrass Recovery And Sustainability In Tampa Bay, Florida, Christopher J. Anastasiou

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The availability of light is a primary limiting factor for seagrass recovery and sustainability. Understanding not only the quantity but the quality of light reaching the bottom is an important component to successful seagrass management and the key focus of this study. This study explores the spectral properties of the sub-surface light field in four shallow Seagrass Management Areas (SMA) in Tampa Bay. Wavelength-specific photosynthetically active radiation (PAR(λ)) and the spectral light attenuation coefficient (K_d(λ)) are used to estimate the percent blue, green, and red light remaining at the bottom relative to the surface. LIDAR Bathymetry is combined …

Computer Simulations Of Apomyoglobin Folding, Mariangela Dametto

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The differences between refolding mechanisms of sperm whale apomyoglobin subsequent to three different unfolding conditions have been examined by atomistic level computer simulations. The three unfolding conditions used in this work are high-temperature, low temperature and low pH. The folding of this protein has been extensively studied experimentally, providing a large data base of folding parameters which can be probed using simulations.

The crystal structure of sperm whale myoglobin was taken from Protein Data Bank, followed by the removal of the heme unit and a subsequent energy minimization was performed in order to generate the native apomyoblogin form. Thus, the …

The Role Of Cocrystals In Solid-State Synthesis Of Imides And The Development Of Novel Crystalline Forms Of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients, Miranda L. Cheney

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With a greater understanding of the fundamentals of crystal engineering lays the

potential for the development of a vast array of novel materials for a plethora of

applications. Addressed herein is the latent potential of the current knowledge base with

an emphasis upon cocrystallization and the desire for scientific exploration that will lead

to the development of a future generation of novel cocrystals. The focus of this

dissertation is to expand the cocrystallization knowledge base in two directions with the

utilization of cocrystals in the novel synthetic technique of cocrystal controlled solid-state

synthesis and in the development of active pharmaceutical …

The Influence Of Perceived Social Support From Parents, Classmates, And Teachers On Early Adolescents’ Mental Health, Tiffany N. White

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined the relationships among perceived social support, mental health, and achievement in early adolescents, via analysis of an archival data set consisting of 390 middle school students. Specifically of interest was how various sources of social support (i.e., parent, classmate, and teacher) independently and uniquely predicted pathology (i.e., internalizing and externalizing symptoms) and wellness (i.e., life satisfaction) in youth. This study also examined the role of gender in the relationship between social support and mental health outcomes in order to delineate the specific types of support most salient to boys versus girls. Finally, this study explored the …

The Development Of A Human Polyomavirus Quantitative Pcr Assay To Assess Viral Persistence, Water Quality, And Human Health Risks, Shannon M. Mcquaig

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Microbial water quality is generally assessed using fecal indictor organisms; however host-specific microbial source tracking (MST) methodologies can be employed to differentiate sources of fecal pollution. The central goal of this research was to develop and validate a QPCR assay for the quantification of two human-specific polyomaviruses (HPyVs) in environmental water samples. These viruses are prevalent worldwide and produce lifelong, asymptomatic viruria in immunocompetent individuals.

A Taqman® quantitative PCR (QPCR) assay based on the conserved T-antigen of two HPyVs (JCV and BKV) was developed and optimized (Chapter 2). HPyVs were detected in a high proportion of human-associated waste samples (e.g. …

Interrogating Virginia Woolf And The British Suffrage Movement, Gwen Trowbridge Anderson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Interrogating Virginia Woolf and the British Suffrage Movement Gwen Trowbridge Anderson ABSTRACT Much has been written about Virginia Woolf's involvement with feminism and women's rights, but there has been far less exploration about her ties to suffrage. Many of her friends and family are involved in this exploration: Vanessa Stephen Bell, Ethel Smyth, and the Pankhursts (Emmeline, Sylvia, and Cristobel). Other important figures who are relevant to Woolf's work are Sonia Delaunay, Lewis Carroll, and Edmund Spenser. Important concepts like the New Woman, the suffrage movement, feminism, and women's rights are vital to understanding Woolf's involvement with suffrage. This dissertation …

A Computational Kinematics And Evolutionary Approach To Model Molecular Flexibility For Bionanotechnology, Athina N. Brintaki

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Modeling molecular structures is critical for understanding the principles that govern the behavior of molecules and for facilitating the exploration of potential pharmaceutical drugs and nanoscale designs. Biological molecules are flexible bodies that can adopt many different shapes (or conformations) until they reach a stable molecular state that is usually described by the minimum internal energy. A major challenge in modeling flexible molecules is the exponential explosion in computational complexity as the molecular size increases and many degrees of freedom are considered to represent the molecules' flexibility. This research work proposes a novel generic computational geometric approach called enhanced BioGeoFilter …

Effects Of Geomorphic Setting On Shallow-Groundwater Exchange And Water Temperature Of Salmon-Bearing Headwater Streams Of The Lower Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, Jason C. Bellino

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Temperature is an important physical characteristic of headwater streams that controls the presence and health of juvenile salmonids. Surface water temperature is controlled by many factors including exchanges with groundwater. A study of the hydrology of wetlands associated with headwater streams on the Lower Kenai Peninsula was conducted to determine the effect of geomorphic setting on groundwater discharge to streams and ultimately on in-stream water temperature. Attention was focused on drainage-way and discharge slope wetlands as two end-members of the geomorphic settings of the study area.

Data were collected at 18 study reaches spanning four major watersheds in the study …

Microbial Population Analysis In Leachate From Simulated Solid Waste Bioreactors And Evaluation Of Genetic Relationships And Prevalence Of Vancomycin Resistance Among Environmental Enterococci, Bina S. Nayak

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Degradation of the several million tons of solid waste produced in the U.S. annually is microbially mediated, yet little is known about the structure of prokaryotic communities actively involved in the waste degradation process. In the first study, leachates generated during degradation of municipal solid waste (MSW) in the presence (co-disposal) or absence of biosolids were analyzed using laboratory-scale bioreactors over an eight-month period. Archaeal and bacterial community structures were investigated by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) targeting 16S rRNA genes. Regardless of waste composition, microbial communities in bioreactor leachates exhibited high diversity and temporal trends. Methanogen sequences from a …

The Citric Acid Cycle Of Thiomicrospira Crunogena: An Oddity Amongst The Proteobacteria, Ishtiaque Quasem

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Thiomicrospira crunogena,

a deep-sea hydrothermal vent chemolithoautotroph,

uses the Calvin-Bensen-Bassham cycle to fix carbon. To meet its biosynthetic needs for

oxaloacetate, oxoglutarate, and succinyl-coA, one would expect that this obligately

autotrophic

Gammaproteobacterium would use a ‘wishbone’ version of the citric acid

cycle (CAC) to synthesize the intermediates necessary for biosynthesis, instead of the

fully oxidative version to minimize carbon loss as carbon dioxide. However, upon

examination of its complete genome sequence, it became apparent that this organism did

not fulfill this expectation.

Instead of a wishbone pathway,

T. crunogena appears to run a fully oxidative

CAC. The cycle is ‘locked’ …

Performance Analysis Of A Binary-Tree-Based Algorithm For Computing Spatial Distance Histograms, Sadhana Sharma Luetel

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The environment is made up of composition of small particles. Hence, particle simulation is an important tool in many scientific and engineering research fields to simulate the real life processes of the environment. Because of the enormous amount of data in such simulations, data management, storage and processing are very challenging tasks. Spatial Distance Histogram (SDH) is one of the most popular queries being used in this field. In this thesis, we are interested in investigating the performance of improvement of an existing algorithm for computing SDH. The algorithm already being used is using a conceptual data structure called density …

Hemocompatibility Assessment Of 3c-Sic For Cardiovascular Applications, Norelli Schettini

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The hemocompatibility of crystalline Silicon Carbide (SiC), in its cubic form (i.e., 3C-SiC), has been evaluated and compared to Silicon (Si), the leading material in biosensing applications. Silicon carbide (SiC) is a hard, chemically robust material, very well suited for harsh environment applications, and has been suggested to have very good biocompatibility. Additionally, SiC in its amorphous form, has been used as a coating for medical implantable devices such as bone prosthetics and cardiovascular stents. However, assessment of single crystal 3C-SiC for cardiovascular applications has not been reported. In this research we have studied the interactions of single crystal 3C-SiC …

The Effect Of Growth Factors On The Corneal Stroma Extracellular Matrix Production By Keratocytes, Latia Shaquan Etheredge

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The corneal wound healing process is a complex process, which often leads to the development of scar tissue with loss of transparency. When the cornea is wounded, some of the viable keratocytes are activated by growth factors to proliferate, and repair the wound by the production of a new extracellular matrix (ECM) that is either normal or is disorganized (fibrotic). The first part of this dissertation aims to show that the growth factors IGF-I, TGF-ß, FGF-2, and PDGF stimulate keratocytes to synthesize different levels of collagens and proteoglycans and are therefore responsible for initiating the wound healing repair process. FGF-2 …

Fireproofing The Lawn: Reclaimed Water And Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers In Tampa Bay, Ryan C. Davis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Reclaimed water has increased in popularity as a means to recycle water and thus decrease the amount of wasteful water use. This process is widely used in Tampa Bay for watering of lawns. This increase in popularity and use has raised questions as to what contaminants are in the reclaimed water.

The purpose of this study was to analyze reclaimed water for contaminants believed to be detrimental to health and conduct interviews to ascertain perceptions of risk in the local population. As water reuse grows in popularity further research will need to be conducted to address potential human health concerns. …

Living With Sugar: Socioeconomic Status And Cultural Beliefs About Type 2 Diabetes Among Afro-Caribbean Women, Chrystal A.S Smith

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the U.S., individuals of Afro-Caribbean and Latino descent are two to three times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than non-Hispanic whites. Caribbean and Latin America migrants, particularly minority women bear a disproportionate burden of type 2 diabetes and its risk factors. The purpose of this research is to investigate if Afro-Caribbean women share a cultural belief model about type 2 diabetes and how this belief model, along with structural barriers to health care, influence disease risk and management.

A sample of 40 women, primarily Jamaican and Trinidadian, 35 to 90 years of age previously diagnosed with type …

Molecular Intervention In Mouse Models Of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis And Alzheimer’S Disease – Neuropathology And Behavior, Steven Prescott Bennett

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Neurodegeneration describes the progressive loss of structure and function of neurons, leading ultimately to cell and organism death. Although the initiating factors of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis may be different, they share common pathophysiologies. Proteinopathies, as these diseases are now termed, are characterized by atypical deposits of proteins, often due to misfolding. Associated with these deposits are dysfunctional mitochondria, oxidative stress, disrupted axonal transport, inflammation, and apoptotic cell death. If this occurs in motor neurons, as in ALS, ataxia precedes death with little or no change in cognition. On the other hand, if …

Theoretical Studies Of Long-Range Interactions In Quasi-One Dimensional Cylindrical Structures, Kevin Tatur

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Casimir forces originating from vacuum fluctuations of the electromagnetic fields are of increasing importance in many scientific and technological areas. The manifestations of these long-range forces at the nanoscale have led to the need of better understanding of their contribution in relation to the stability of different physical systems as well as the operation of various technological components and devices. This dissertation presents mathematical and theoretical methods to calculate the Casimir interaction in various infinitely long cylindrical nanostructures. A dielectric-diamagnetic cylindrical layer immersed in a medium is first considered. The layer has a finite thickness characterized with specific dielectric and …

Development Of Three Dimensional Fluid-Structure Interaction Models For The Design Of Surface Acoustic Wave Devices: Application To Biosensing And Microfluidic Actuation, Reetu Singh

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices find uses in a plethora of applications including

but not limited to chemical, biological sensing, and microfluidic actuation. The primary aim of

this dissertation is to develop a SAW biosensor, capable of simultaneous detection of target

biomarkers in fluid media at concentrations of picogram/ml to nanogram/ml levels and removal

of non-specific proteins from sensor surface using the process of acoustic streaming, for potential

chemical sensing, medical, and clinical diagnostic applications. The focus is on the development

of three dimensional finite element structural and fluid-structure interaction models to study wave

propagation and acoustic actuation of fluids …

Literary Bodies: The Novel As Experience, Britt Dienes

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

For my MA thesis I propose to examine a series of novels that combine motifs of the body with structural and linguistic experimentation that parallels the state of the bodies within the text. Using Tsitsi Dangarembga's 1988 "bodybildungsroman" Nervous Conditions, Sherley Anne Williams' 1986 neo -slave narrative Dessa Rose, Samuel Beckett's 1938 existential novel Murphy, Vikram Seth's 1986 poetic novel Golden Gate, and Vladimir Nabokov's 1962 poetic novel Pale Fire, I will argue that these texts portray the body as a readable space of culture, a legible site of conflict or creation.

I contend that these novels …

Nursing Advocacy And The Accuracy Of Intravenous To Oral Opioid Conversion At Discharge In The Cancer Patient, Maria L. Gallo R.N., O.C.N.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Pain is a common problem for cancer patients at home and when hospitalized. Pain interferes with all aspects of a patient's life including sleep, appetite, sexual desire, emotion and productivity. The under-prescribing of opioids can lead to uncontrolled pain in cancer patients. This study examined nursing advocacy related to pain management and the accuracy of the intravenous (IV) to oral (PO) opioid conversion at discharge in cancer patients.

Retrospective chart audits were done on 50 cancer patients. The physicians in the charts surveyed who prescribed the discharge medications consisted of a mix of hematologist/oncologists, surgeons and internists/hospitalists in a southwest …

Martian Modules: Design Of A Programmable Martian Settlement, Craig A. Trover

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The evolution of human beings is marked

by adaptation. The ability to adapt to and

manipulate our environment is one definer of

intelligence, and ours is unique among life

on Earth. Since moving off of the African

Continent, humans have migrated to inhabit

every part of the Earth. Human existence

and perpetuity in the universe depends upon

the success of this adaptation, and inevitably,

migrating off of this planet. The technological

advances being developed today will change

our way of life, and enable people to travel to

and live permanently on the Moon and Mars.

This study involves the architectural …

Factors Surrounding And Strategies To Reduce Recapping Used Needles By Nurses At A Venezuelan Public Hospital, Luis J. Galindez Araujo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nurses as health care workers are at risk of biological agents such as bacteria, viruses and others. At health care settings exposure to bloodborne pathogens can cause infections through needlestick injuries. The objectives of this research were to determine factors surrounding recapping needles in hospital nurses and to implement an educational strategy to reduce the recapping practices.

It was a descriptive and exploratory approach where the PRECEDE component of the PRECEDE/PROCEDE Model was used as the framework to systematize and analyze the information obtained from the focus group sessions.

A total of 120 nurses participated from four different departments. The …

Motion Analysis Of Fluid Flow In A Spinning Disk Reactor, Valentina N. Korzhova

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The flow of a liquid film over a rapidly rotating horizontal disk has numerous industrial applications including pharmaceuticals, chemical engineering, bioengineering, etc. The analysis and control of complex fluid flows over a rapidly rotating horizontal disk is an important issue in the experimental fluid mechanics. The spinning disk reactor exploits the benefits of centrifugal force, which produces thin highly sheared films due to radial acceleration. The hydrodynamics of the film results in excellent fluid mixing and high heat or mass transfer rates.

This work focuses on developing a novel approach for fluid flow tracking and analysis. Specifically, the developed algorithm …

Density Functional Theory Studies Of Energetic Materials, Michael W. Conroy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

First-principles calculations employing density functional theory (DFT) were

performed on the energetic materials PETN, HMX, RDX, nitromethane, and a recently

discovered material, nitrate ester 1 (NEST-1). The aims of the study were to accurately

predict the isothermal equation of state for each material, improve the description of these

molecular crystals in DFT by introducing a correction for dispersion interactions, and

perform uniaxial compressions to investigate physical properties that might contribute to

anisotropic sensitivity.

For each system, hydrostatic-compression simulations were performed. Important

properties calculated from the simulations such as the equilibrium structure, isothermal

equation of state, and bulk moduli were compared …

Sustainable Design Analysis Of Waterjet Cutting Through Exergy/Energy And Lca Analysis, Matthew Johnson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A broad scope analysis of waterjet cutting systems has been developed using thermodynamics, life cycle analysis, and biological system comparison. The typical assessments associated with mechanical design include measures for performance and thermodynamic efficiency. Further analysis has been conducted using exergy, which is not typically incorporated into design practices.

Exergy measures the effectiveness of a process with respect to a base state, usually that of the systems surroundings. Comparing Gibbs free energy of biological processes to exergy efficiency has served to illustrate the need for various levels of comparison. Each biological process used in this comparison correlates to a different …