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Inositol Phospholipid And Tyrosine Phosphorylation Signaling In The Biology Of Hematopoietic Stem Cells, Amy L. Hazen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Blood cells are continuously produced throughout our lifetime by a rare pluripotent cell that primarily resides in the adult bone marrow. This hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) must maintain a careful balance between self-renewal, differentiation and apoptosis in order to support hematopoiesis for such a long duration. Understanding the mechanism of balance between these fates is crucial to our understanding and clinical application of these cells.

From previous studies, we know Src homology 2 domain containing 5' inositol phosphatase 1 (SHIP) plays an important role in HSC homeostasis and function. Most interestingly SHIP impacts HSC homing to the bone marrow niche. …

Adiposity, Stress, And Stigmatization: A Biopsychosocial Approach To Cardiovascular Disease Prediction, Kristi E. White

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to use a biopsychosocial approach to investigate the role of body image concerns and appearance-related evaluation stress in the relationship between adiposity and cardiovascular reactivity and recovery. Participants included 106 Caucasian female undergraduates at the University of South Florida. The laboratory procedure consisted of resting baseline, speech preparation and delivery, and recovery phases. Participants also completed a variety of body image questionnaires. To manipulate appearance-related evaluation stress, participants were randomly assigned to present their speech to a video camera or an audio recorder. Overall adiposity was measured as body mass index (BMI) and …

2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene (Tnt) Air Concentrations, Hemoglobin Changes, And Anemia Cases In Respirator Protected Tnt Munitions Demilitarization Workers, Melville D. Bradley M.D.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene, TNT, is an explosive used in munitions production that is known to cause both aplastic and hemolytic anemia in exposed workers. Deaths have been reported secondary to both varieties of anemia. Studies have shown that TNT systemic absorption is significant by both the respiratory and dermal routes. A literature review revealed that the most recent review article on TNT exposure arguing for a TWA drop from the PEL to the TLV was in 1977 -- this article cited anemia issues in addition to other untoward effects of TNT. No studies encountered looked at hemoglobin change or anemia cases in …

Correlates Of Body Depilation In Men, Michael Boroughs

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Body depilation is a relatively new area of research inquiry. Although women in many industrialized cultures have engaged in body depilation for some time, this behavior has been documented only recently in men. While originally thought to be the practice of just a small percentage of men, recent studies suggest that more men engage in body depilation than had been previously hypothesized (Boroughs & Thompson, 2002; Boroughs, Cafri, & Thompson, 2005; Martins, Tiggemann, & Churchett, 2008; Tiggemann, Martins, & Churchett, 2008). Nevertheless, this area of research is understudied and the relationship between body depilation and men's overall body image is …

Southern Black Women: Their Lived Realities, Robin M. Boylorn

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Focusing on the lived experiences of ten rural black women in a familial community in central North Carolina, this project documents the mundane and extraordinary events of their lives and how they create meaningful lives through storytelling. Theoretically grounded in black feminist thought, intersectionality theory and muted group theory the investigation calls for the use of storytelling and poetry to understand how rural black women experience, live, and communicate their lives. Merging the experiences of participants with the researcher, the study also considers the ethical implications of being an insider-outsider and offers suggestions for engaging in creative scholarship. The author …

Ecological Dynamics Of Livebottom Ledges And Artificial Reefs On The Inner Central West Florida Shelf, Jennifer Maria Dupont

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The West Florida Shelf (WFS) is one of the largest and most diversely-used continental shelf/slope systems in the world. The presence of paleoshorelines and scarped hardbottom outcrops (up to 4 m in relief) along the inner shelf (10-30 m depth) provide important habitat for a variety of infaunal, epifaunal, and fish assemblages that contribute to the productivity of the region. This dissertation will present a comprehensive overview of the geological, physical, and chemical settings of the inner West Florida Shelf, with particular focus on biological and ecological community dynamics of epibenthic macroinvertebrates, algae, and fish assemblages. Baseline and comparative data …

Nanostructure Morphology Variation Modeling And Estimation For Nanomanufacturing Process Yield Improvement, Gang Liu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nanomanufacturing is critical to the future growth of U.S. manufacturing. Yet the process yield of current nanodevices is typically 10% or less. Particularly in nanomaterials growth, there may exist large variability across the sites on a substrate, which could lead to variability in properties. Essential to the reduction of variability is to mathematically describe the spatial variation of nanostructure. This research therefore aims at a method of modeling and estimating nanostructure morphology variation for process yield improvement. This method consists of (1) morphology variation modeling based on Gaussian Markov random field (GMRF) theory, and (2) maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) of …

The Influence Of Parental Support On Antisocial Behavior Among Sixth Through Eleventh Graders, José Ordóñez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The primary objective of this study was to explore the influence of parental support on antisocial behavior among 1514 adolescents from Sarasota County (Florida). An integrated multilevel approach was developed considering elements of the social support paradigm and social learning theory. Using Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM), the results suggest that both paternal and maternal support were significant factors in the prevention of antisocial behavior. However, paternal support demonstrated to be stronger when students justified school misbehavior. At the school level, the findings suggest that the influence of parental support to reduce antisocial behavior competes with favorable definitions toward crime learned …

Temporal Registration Of Mammograms By Finite Element Simulation Of Mr Breast Volume Deformation, Yan Qiu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Clinically it is important to combine information provided by mammographic images from multiple views or at different times. Taking regular mammographic screening and comparing corresponding mammograms are necessary for early detection of breast cancer, which is the key to successful treatment. However, mammograms taken at different times are often obtained under different compressions, orientations or body positions. A temporal pair of mammograms may vary quite significantly due to the spatial disparities caused by the variety in acquisition environments, including the 3D position of the breast, the amount of the pressure applied, etc. Such disparities can be corrected through the process …

Power-Control Theory: An Examination Of Private And Public Patriarchy, Jessica Nicole Mitchell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The gender difference in crime is indisputable. In an attempt to explain gender differences in adolescents' involvement in crime, secondary data analysis of middle and high school students and their neighborhoods will be examined. Feminists have identified the concept of patriarchy as the root of gender differences in all behavior and particularly in criminal behavior. Hagan's Power-Control Theory incorporates the concept of patriarchy through measures within home to examine how differences in occupational authority between parents affects the gender difference in delinquency through differential controls placed on sons and daughters. However, it has been suggested that the measure of patriarchy …

Caregivers Of Adults With Intellectual Disabilities: The Relationship Of Compound Caregiving And Reciprocity To Quality Of Life, Elizabeth A. Perkins

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the relationship between compound caregiving (i.e. multiple caregiving roles), and reciprocity to the wellbeing of older caregivers of adult children with intellectual disabilities. The study sample was composed of 91 caregivers with a mean age of 60 years. Participants were a convenience sample of caregivers predominantly residing in Florida. Care recipients' mean age was 29 years. Thirty-four were currently compound caregivers. Quality of life indicators used as outcome measures in this dissertation were life satisfaction, depressive symptomatology, physical health, mental health, and desire for alternative residential placement of the care recipient. Compared with the non-compound caregivers, the …

Synthesis Of Small Molecule Inhibitors Targeting Signal Transduction Pathways, Divya Ramamoorthy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The main aim of the study described in this thesis is the development of small molecules as inhibitors targeting signal transduction pathways, thereby treating cancer. We attempted to synthesize compounds based on the hits obtained from high throughput screening of the Chemdiv diversity set compounds. Chapter One is a general introduction to cancer, history of chemotherapeutic drugs and an introduction to signal transduction pathways. The following two chapters briefly introduce the biological targets in the authors study. Chapter Two describes the role of B-cell lymphoma type xL (Bcl-xL), in apoptosis and the development of drugs targeting Bcl-xL. Examples of Bcl-xL …

Optimization And Characterization Of Lab-On-A-Chip Elements: Microfluidic Chambers And Microneedles, Puneet Khanna

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this work, MEMS based fabrication is used to engineer multifaceted enhancements to microfluidic systems such as lab-on-a-chip devices. Two specific elements of microfluidic systems are the focus of this study: microfluidic chambers and microneedles. Microfluidic chambers, which are back-end passive elements, via proposed material and structural modifications, are shown to exhibit reduced non-specific DNA binding and enable increased cell lysis efficiency. Microneedles, which are front-end interfacing elements, have been fabricated in silicon and in silicon dioxide varieties. The geometry of silicon microneedles has been varied via DRIE processing to yield sharpened tips. Sharpening of microneedle tips provides reduced skin …

The Spectrum Of Self-Harm In College Undergraduates: The Intersection Of Maladaptive Coping And Emotion Dysregulation, Christa D. Labouliere

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Suicidality and non-suicidal self-injury are highly prevalent on college campuses and death by suicide is the number two cause of death for that age demographic. Even with such a deadly public health concern, little is known about how self-harm behavior can be prevented or effectively treated. Research has suggested that differences in affect regulation may differentiate those who engage in self-harm from those who do not, but many of these studies have examined disparate pieces of affect regulation without addressing the overlap and interaction of regulatory behaviors. The field must discover what specific aspects of affect regulation go awry, if …

Synthesis And Characterization Of A Novel Poly(Methyl Methacrylate) Composites Using Copper-4, 4’- Trimethylenedipyridine Metal-Organic Framework As Fillers, Shisi Liu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A novel Poly (methyl methacrylate) Composites using Copper-4, 4'- Trimethylenedipyridine Metal-Organic Framework as Fillers (CTMOF) had been synthesized and analyzed. The CTMOF structure had been characterized by X-ray crystallography. The thermal and mechanical properties of CTMOF-PMMA composites had been examined via optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), microhardness, and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA). The results showed the increase of Glass transition temperatures and the improvement of mechanical properties of the PMMA composites as the concentration of CBMOF loading increased.

Investigation Into The Rate-Determining Step Of Mammalian Heme Biosynthesis: Molecular Recognition And Catalysis In 5-Aminolevulinate Synthase, Thomas Lendrihas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The biosynthesis of tetrapyrolles in eukaryotes and the alpha-subclass of purple photosynthetic bacteria is controlled by the pyridoxal 5?-phosphate (PLP)-dependent enzyme, 5-aminolevulinate synthase (ALAS). Aminolevulinate, the universal building block of these macromolecules, is produced together with Coenzyme A (CoA) and carbon dioxide from the condensation of glycine and succinyl-CoA. The three-dimensional structures of Rhodobacter capsulatus ALAS reveal a conserved active site serine that moves to within hydrogen bonding distance of the phenolic oxygen of the PLP cofactor in the closed, substrate-bound enzyme conformation, and simultaneously to within 3-4 angstroms of the thioester sulfur atom of bound succinyl-CoA. To elucidate the …

Student Reflections: The Impact Of Dual Enrollment On Transitions To A State University, Theresa Lyvette Lewis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Dual enrollment is one means of facilitating increased degree productivity, which can lead to the more educated workforce needed in today's society. This qualitative study was designed to obtain student perceptions about their dual enrollment experience, including how it impacted their decision to go to college and what comparisons they would make between their dual enrollment experience and their full university experience. Twenty-one students were interviewed via e-mail to provide responses that would help answer three research questions: 1.What are the initial experiences of dual enrollment students? 2.How does the dual enrollment experience impact the decision of high school graduates …

The Political Ecology Of Intestinal Parasites Among Nicaraguan Immigrants In Monteverde, Costa Rica, Jason D. Lind

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Over the past 15 years Monteverde, Costa Rica has undergone rapid economic, social, political, and environmental change due to a flourishing ecotourism economy. While the effects of ecotourism development in Monteverde are many, two important consequences have been: 1) the immigration of Nicaraguan nationals to the area seeking low-skilled wage labor; and 2) compromised water resources management due to pollution and rapid population growth. The objective of this research is to investigate and identify the inter-relationships between ecotourism development in Monteverde and its affect on infectious diseases outcomes within the context of immigration and water resources management. Specifically, this dissertation …

The Neoconservative War On Modernity: The Bush Doctrine And Its Resistance To Legitimation, Ben Luongo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Bush Doctrine represents a paradigm shift in international security policy. Never had a foreign policy demonstrated such will through unilateralism, preemptive militarism, and a sense of exceptionalism. I argue that this shift in policy resists modern international order in an attempt to reestablish ancient modes of power and control. The international system maintains order through rules and institutions which are perceived to be legitimate because they have the consent of the governed. An example of this would be the UN, where member states engage in a democratic deliberation geared towards reaching understanding and consensus. However, order breaks down when …

Multiple Approaches To The Validation Of The Scores From The Study Anxiety Inventory, George Douglas Lunsford

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Study Anxiety Inventory (SAI), consisting of the factors of worry and emotionality, was developed to measure college students' self-reported levels of anxiety while studying for an exam. Data from 2002 undergraduate students from four colleges (Arts and Sciences, Engineering, Business, and Education) at a southeastern state university were used to evaluate the validity of the scores from the 16-item Study Anxiety Inventory. Results of confirmatory factor analyses for the two factor model, conducted separately for each college, indicated marginally acceptable fit for the data (median fit measures across the four colleges: CFI =.915, SRMR=.049, RMSEA=.098), a pattern that was …

Mixture Distributions With Application To Microarray Data Analysis, O'Neil Lynch

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The main goal in analyzing microarray data is to determine the genes that are differentially expressed across two types of tissue samples or samples obtained under two experimental conditions. In this dissertation we proposed two methods to determine differentially expressed genes. For the penalized normal mixture model (PMMM) to determine genes that are differentially expressed, we penalized both the variance and the mixing proportion parameters simultaneously. The variance parameter was penalized so that the log-likelihood will be bounded, while the mixing proportion parameter was penalized so that its estimates are not on the boundary of its parametric space. The null …

Cardiovascular Risk Factors For Mild Cognitive Impairment, Michael Malek-Ahmadi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The relationship between cardiovascular conditions and the presence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been well-documented in a number of recent studies. Generally, the presence of cardiovascular conditions such as high total cholesterol and hypertension have been shown to significantly increase the risk for the development of AD. Given the results of these studies, it is possible that these same risk factors might also increase the risk of developing mild cognitive impairment (MCI). An analysis of 216 subjects (119 cognitively normal (CN), 77 aMCI, 20 naMCI) found that after adjusting for age, education, ethnicity, and gender, only hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) showed …

Functional Characterization Of Cytochrome B5 Reductase And Its Electron Acceptor Cytochrome B5 In Plasmodium Falciparum, Lucio Malvisi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Malaria is a disease of major public health importance, killing approximately one million people and causing about 250 million cases of fever annually. It mostly affects children under the age of five and pregnant women in many developing countries, making it a prominent issue in international health and maternal and child health. The most aggressive form of malaria is caused by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum which is responsible for 80% of infections and 90% of deaths from malaria, and is most prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa. Public Health interventions include the implementation of prevention programs, health education, and chemotherapy. The latter …

Agricultural Nonpoint Source Pollution Management: Water Quality Impacts Of Balm Road Treatment Marsh, Hillsborough County, Florida, Sarah J. Malone

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Balm Road Treatment Marsh is a 12 ha constructed wetland treatment system in south-central Hillsborough County, Florida created to improve water quality in Bullfrog Creek and ultimately Tampa Bay. The treatment system was designed to treat runoff from approximately 741 ha of upstream agricultural land prior to discharging into the creek, with the primary goals of reducing sediment and nutrient loads. Water quality data from four sites on Bullfrog Creek were analyzed to determine impacts to ambient water quality and pollutant load reductions downstream. Results were compared to the performance of other wetlands to treat both nonpoint and point source …

Program Satisfaction, School Climate Perceptions, And Psychoeducational Experiences In College Preparatory Programs: A Comparison Of Caucasian And Ethnic Minority Students, Yanique T. Matthews

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The current study focused on the extent to which participation in academically rigorous college preparatory programs, International Baccalaureate (IB) and the Advanced Placement (AP) particularly, impacts students from racially diverse backgrounds (Caucasian, African American, Asian American and Hispanic/Latino American). Student outcomes of interest included the program satisfaction, school climate perceptions (relationships with peers and teachers), and psychoeducational adjustment (academic and mental health functioning). The experiences of 381 college preparatory participants were also compared to 143 general education peers and subjected to a series of MANOVAs and ANOVAs. General findings indicated that, regardless of the student's racial identity, students in AP …

A Novel Antibody Based Capture Matrix Utilizing Human Serum Albumin And Streptococcal Protein G To Increase Capture Efficiency Of Bacteria, Christie Renee Mccabe

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A novel capture matrix utilizing human serum albumin (HSA) and streptococcal Protein G (PG), which possesses an albumin binding domain (ABD), was used to immobilize antibodies for improved bacterial capture efficiency in immunoassays. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) were used to characterize and optimize a specific protocol for the HSA-PG capture matrix; which revealed several critical factors that should be considered. The Fc binding domain, on PG, should have high affinity for the species of capture antibody used in the assay. Goat and rabbit species antibodies bound strongly to the Fc binding domain of PG. Displacement of the capture antibody, …

Trophic Enrichment Patterns Of Δ13C In Organic Matter Of Molluscan Shell: Implications For Reconstructing Ancient Environments And Food Webs, Julie Mcknight

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Shell organic matrix proteins in fossils are valuable geochemical archives for studying ancient environments and food webs. Compound-specific studies of stable carbon isotope ratios offer particularly good resolution of trophic level of consumers and the identities of primary producers and can be used to detect diagenetic alteration of isotopic ratios. To interpret compound specific isotope data, however, controlled diet studies in the laboratory are needed to reveal trophic enrichment patterns of ¹³C in tissues and shell organic matter.

This study examines the relationship between δ¹³C of 11 amino acids in diet, soft tissues, and shell organic matter …

Tthe Rad9-Rad1-Hus1 Complex And Bif-1 Regulate Multiple Mechanisms That Affect Sensitivity To Dna Damage, Cheryl L. Meyerkord

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The resistance of cancer cells to traditional chemotherapeutic agents is a major obstacle in the successful treatment of cancer. Cancer cells manipulate a variety of signaling pathways to enhance resistance to anticancer agents; such mechanisms include disrupting the DNA damage response and hyperactivating survival signaling pathways. In an attempt to better understand the molecular mechanisms that underlie resistance to chemotherapeutic agents, we investigated multiple processes regulated by the Rad9-Rad1-Hus1 (9-1-1) complex and Bif-1. The 9-1-1 complex plays an integral role in the response to DNA damage and regulates many downstream signaling pathways. Overexpression of members of this complex has been …

Time-Resolved Thermodynamic Studies Of Heme Signaling Proteins And Model Systems, Audrey Mokdad

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Heme-based gas sensor proteins have the ability to sense diatomic molecules such as O2 (FixL, EcDos or HemAT), CO (CooA, a CO-sensing protein of Rhodospirillum rubrum) and NO (guanylate cyclase) molecules and subsequently regulate numerous important biological processes in prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. The sensing function of these proteins is initiated by the binding of an effector (i.e., O2, CO, etc5) to the heme iron which then leads to a cascade of conformational events which gives rise to changes in kinase activity, DNA-binding activity, etc...

In order to better understand the mechanism heme-based signaling, time resolved photothermal methods as well …

Foraminiferal Responses To Arsenic In A Shallow-Water Hydrothermal System In Papua New Guinea And In The Laboratory, Bryan Mccloskey

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The tropical Indo-Pacific is the location of highest global foraminiferal biodiversity. However, the shallow-water hydrothermal system in Tutum Bay at Ambitle Island, Papua New Guinea, possesses some of the world's highest naturally-occurring [As]. Foraminifers were collected in this intriguing system in 2003 and 2005 as part of a larger project to examine the possible effects of As and other hydrothermal factors on benthic communities. Despite the high ambient [As], a diverse foraminiferal fauna was observed. Foraminferal communities were examined from surface sediment and from material adhered to rubble at locations from 1-300m from venting and from reference sites, at depths …