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Charaterization Of Asbestos Exposure Among Automotive Mechanics Servicing And Handling Asbestos-Containing Materials, Gary Scott Dotson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The historic use of asbestos-containing materials during the manufacturing of automobiles has resulted in a perception of an increased risk of asbestos-related pulmonary diseases within mechanics. This study was conducted to assess the potential asbestos exposures mechanics encounter while servicing vehicles assembled with parts containing asbestos, in addition to compare the cumulative lifetime asbestos exposures for different maintenance activities against theorical threshold exposures for asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma. Exposure data were assembled from four independent exposure assessments performed to elucidate the airborne asbestos levels generated during the removal and replacement of brakes, gaskets, clutches and seam sealants containing asbestos. …

The Role Of Src Homology 2 Domain Containing Inositol-5’-Phosphatase 1 (Ship) In Hematopoietic Cells, Caroline Desponts

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The principal isoform of Src homology (SH) 2-domain containing 5' inositol phosphatase protein 1 (SHIP) is a 145kDa protein primarily expressed by cells of the hematopoietic compartment. The enzymatic activity of SHIP is responsible for hydrolyzing the 5' phosphate of phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-trisphosphate (PI(3,4,5)P3), and thereby preventing the recruitment of pleckstrin homology domain containing effector proteins. Furthermore, SHIP contains protein-protein interaction domains, such as an SH2 domain, two NPXY and several proline-rich motifs. All of these different domains endow SHIP with the capacity to impact signaling pathways important for proliferation, survival, differentiation and activation. Therefore, we hypothesized that SHIP-deficiency could result in …

Teachers’ Literacy Beliefs And Their Students’ Conceptions About Reading And Writing, Mildred Falcã³N-Huertas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This investigation examined first-grade teachers' literacy beliefs and practices and its relationship with their students' conceptions about reading and writing. For the first part of the study a sample of 76 first-grade teachers, from two school districts in Puerto Rico, completed the Literacy Orientation Survey (LOS). The combined score of the LOS was calculated and used to categorize teachers according to their literacy beliefs and practices as constructivist, eclectic, or traditional. After matching by years of experience and educational level, a stratified random sample of six teachers, two from each literacy viewpoint (traditional, eclectic, and constructivist), and 48 first-grade students …

Functional Topology And Regulation Of Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase And Associated Caveolar Components, Brenda R. Flam

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The discovery of nitric oxide (NO) as the endothelial-derived relaxing factor has led to significant research on NO and the proteins involved in its function, generation, location and regulation. Synthesis of NO by blood vessel endothelial cells results from the enzymatic oxidation of arginine by endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) resulting in the formation of equimolar amounts of NO and citrulline. Citrulline is sequentially recycled to arginine by successive reactions involving the enzymes argininosuccinate synthase (AS) and argininosuccinate lyase (AL), respectively.

eNOS activity has been shown to be regulated by post-translational modifications including dynamic phosphorylation on multiple serine/threonine and tyrosine …

Powerful Submission: Popular Texts And The Subjectivity Of Christian Right Women, Ellen L. Flournoy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Christian Right exerts considerable influence over female identity, especially through its members who have emerged as one of the most powerful voting blocks in the nation---the Christian Right woman. American Christian women, especially those considered to be on the political fringes, are virtually ignored in academic endeavors. Given their power, which defies their categorization as a "fringe" group, this academic silence is a gross oversight, especially in light of the rise of the Christian Right, which has successfully recruited millions of women to its service. This dissertation analyzes texts of Christian popular culture that contribute to the construction of …

An Examination Of The Relationship Between The Presence Of Critical Components Of Classroom Positive Behavior Support And Student Behavior, Gregory S. Ern

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between the presence of classroom components of positive behavior support and student behavior outcomes. Data were collected using the Tool for Assessing Classroom Level-Positive Behavior Support (TACL-PBS) developed by Ern (2004) to assess the presence or absence of critical components of positive behavior support at the classroom level. Descriptive data on the instrument including the internal consistency, interrater agreement, and concurrent validity were analyzed and are included in this report. Forty classrooms from ten diverse elementary schools in three school districts were selected to participate in this study. Office discipline …

Assessing The Role Of Filler Atoms In Skutterudites And Synthesis And Characterization Of New Filled Skutterudites, Grant E. Fowler

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

For the past decade interest in skutterudites has been significant as a potentially viable material for thermoelectrics. One way to improve the effectiveness of these materials is to lower their thermal conductivity. Lattice thermal conductivity of a series of La- and Yb-filled skutterudite antimonides (with varying filling fraction) has been modeled with different phonon scattering parameters using the debye approximation. It was found that filler atoms both increase point defect scattering and resonance scattering. Subsequently, the thermal conductivity of partially-filled skutterudites AxCo4Sb12, where A = La, Eu and Yb, is analyzed using the Debye model in order to correlate the …

Fuzzy Logic In Process Control: A New Fuzzy Logic Controller And An Improved Fuzzy-Internal Model Controller, Yohn E. Garcã­A Z.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Two fuzzy controllers are presented. A fuzzy controller with intermediate variable designed for cascade control purposes is presented as the FCIV controller. An intermediate variable and a new set of fuzzy logic rules are added to a conventional Fuzzy Logic Controller (FLC) to build the Fuzzy Controller with Intermediate Variable (FCIV). The new controller was tested in the control of a nonlinear chemical process, and its performance was compared to several other controllers. The FCIV shows the best control performance regarding stability and robustness. The new controller also has an acceptable performance when noise is added to the sensor signal. …

Modulation Of Neural Plasticity By The Adamtss (A Disintegrin And Metalloproteinase With Thrombospondin Motifs), Michelle Grace Hamel

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Aggregating proteoglycans (PG) bearing chondroitin sulfate (CS) side chains are well-known inhibitors of neural plasticity and associate with hyaluronan and tenascin-R to form a complex of extracellular matrix (ECM) in the central nervous system (CNS). Little is known about whether proteolytic cleavage of the core protein affects neural plasticity. Several members of the ADAMTS (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs) family of metalloproteinases are glutamyl-endopeptidases that cleave aggregating PGs. Our initial studies determined that neural cultures secrete a brevican-containing matrix, and that these neural cultures also produced ADAMTS4, a protease that cleaves brevican. Furthermore, this brevican-containing matrix in astrocytes …

Realism, Sovereignty, And International Relations: An Examination Of Power Politics In The Age Of Globalization, Tyler Harrison

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Many globalization theorists make the claim that the state, in its current Westphalian context, is no longer a viable unit of analysis in comparative politics or international relations. Globalists claim that in the wake of unprecedented, global integration, the state is either in retreat or on the verge of full scale extinction. In a general sense, this paper explores whether there is a sufficient amount of evidence to supports the claims of globalists that the state is dying. Moreover, the paper looks at the specific issue areas of international trade, multilateralism and the environment to determine what effects globalization has …

Evaluating The Reliability Of Continuous Resistivity Profiling To Detect Submarine Groundwater Discharge In A Shallow Marine Environment: Sarasota Bay, Florida, Arnell Harrison

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) can be an important pathway for nutrients entering coastal systems. However SGD flow paths can be difficult to identify and flow volumes difficult to quantify. This study assesses whether geophysical techniques are potentially cost effective methods for detecting the presence or lack of SGD within an estuary environment found in Sarasota Bay, Florida. In this area, a rapid increase in urbanization has led to increased nitrogen loading into the bay, with some 10% of this loading attributed to SGD. Discharging groundwater is expected to be fresher and hence higher resistivity, than "background" surface waters. Thus resistivity …

Mentor And Mentee Perceptions Of The Importance And Effectiveness Of Mentor Support, Cenira Holcomb

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This mixed-methods action research study explored the congruence between mentor and mentee perceptions of the importance and effectiveness of 12 district-specific focus areas of mentor support. While reviewing current data pertaining to teacher attrition, the researcher observed a limited availability of investigations relating to the perceived role of the mentor teacher based on the experiences and observations of both the novice and mentor teacher.The target population for this study was 70 novice and mentor special education teachers during the 2005--2006 school year employed at 13 middle schools in a school district located in Florida. Of the 70 beginning and mentor …

A Marriage Of Convenience: Batista And The Communists, 1933 – 1944, Charles Clayton Hollenkamp

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This paper examines the relationship between Fulgencio Batista and the Communist Party of Cuba. At odds during the first several years of Batista's rule, when strikes and repression were the topics of the day, the two sides eventually saw in each other a means to an end. In efforts to understand the Cuban Revolution of the late 1950's, historians often portray Batista as a dictatorial puppet of American business and policy. Contrary to this image, in his first regime (1934 until 1944), Batista presided over the creation of a nominal constitutional democracy. To do this he needed the support and …

Cranial Biomechanics And Feeding Performance Of Sharks, Daniel Robert Huber

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The elasmobranch fishes possess a remarkable diversity of feeding mechanisms for a group containing relatively few species (~1200). The three most prevalent of these mechanisms involve prey capture during which the predator overtakes its prey (ram), prey is drawn into the mouth of the predator (suction), and relatively stationary consumption of sessile or substrate affixed prey (biting). Biomechanical modeling of cranial force distributions, in situ bite performance trials, and kinematic analysis of prey capture behaviors were employed to identify morphological and behavioral specializations and constraints associated with these feeding mechanisms in lemon Negaprion brevirostris (ram), whitespotted bamboo Chiloscyllium plagiosum (suction), …

Hollow-Electrode Pulsed Plasma Deposition Of Titanium And Carbon Thin Films, Robert H. Hyde

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents a study of a pulsed distributed arc plasma deposition method that has been developed to produce highly ionized pulsed plasma plumes of metallic species in the presence of a low-pressure inert or reactive gas glow discharge. A pulse-forming network (PFN) is used to form a transient electrical discharge in a hollow electrode which is triggered by two different methods; a pulsed CO2 laser or a pulsed high voltage glow discharge. With the PFN charged to a voltage of 70 - 100 VDC, current pulses with peak currents up to 3 kA and pulse widths as long 3.7 …

Tampa’S Lafayette Street Bridge: Building A New South City, Lucy D. Jones

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The late nineteenth and early twentieth century was a time of dynamic social and political change for Tampa, a growing city on Florida's west coast. These changes led Tampa's commercial-civic elite to look beyond the law, the militia, and the church for ways to maintain their sense of order. This thesis illustrates non-violent enforcement of the status quo via public works, specifically bridge construction over the Hillsborough River. Over a period of three decades, three different bridges were built at the same place, at Lafayette Street. Each time the bridge was built or replaced, it was ostensibly for a different …

Tyrosinase-Like Activity Of Several Alzheimer’S Disease Related And Model Peptides And Their Inhibition By Natural Antioxidants, Kashmir Singh Juneja

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Neurodegenerative diseases are associated with loss of neurons ultimately leading to a decline in brain function. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is considered one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders that affects 16 million people worldwide. The cause of the disease remains unknown, although significant evidence proposes the amyloid Beta-peptide (A-Beta) as a potential culprit. The binding of Cu2+ by the soluble fragments of A-Beta have shown to form Type-3 copper centers and catalyze the oxidation of catechol-containing neurotransmitters. Furthermore, the use of flavonoids as antioxidants to slow or inhibit the neurotransmitter oxidation has suggested further health benefits with their consumption. A …

The Realism Of Hans Morgenthau, Brian A. Keaney

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes the life and career of Hans J. Morgenthau, commonly accepted as the father of the realist paradigm within the field of international relations. It does so by offering a dynamic revisionist account of the nature of Morgenthau's classical realism and suggests how the approach discussed might have wider application in the field of international relations. Traditional perspectives of Morgenthau suggest that in the course of his career, he changed from holding what would generally be labeled a conservative political viewpoint to a liberal political viewpoint. This thesis takes a different starting point. It does so by suggesting …

Investigations Of Fiber Optic Temperature Sensors Based On Yb:Y3Al5O12, Jermaine L. Kennedy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents the development of temperature sensors which employ a fiber-optic probe consisting of single crystal YB3BAlB5BOB12B (YAG) fiber with a phosphor of short length grown directly onto one end using the laser heated pedestal growth method. The response of all the crystalline temperature sensors derives from the temperature-dependent decay time of fluorescence. Yb3+P ions served as the fluorescer, while the addition of various rare-earth codopants (i.e., NdP3+ and ErP3+) with YbP3+ provided an additional path in the form of phonon assisted energy transfer. With the additional nonradiative decay path, the temperature sensors exhibited a more desirable response. A …

Measuring Culture: The Development Of A Multidimensional Culture Scale, Haitham A. Khoury

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Fundamental to the debate of culture and its impact is the identification of the dimensions that comprise it. The impact of culture as an explanatory variable can be found in various social, scientific, and economic arenas, such as social perception, economic development, and the organization of industries and companies. By identifying and measuring these dimensions, researchers can then organize cultures empirically and develop complex descriptions of various cultures. The study aimed to test the structure of the dimensions proposed by Ho and Chiu (1994) by means of scale development. Test-item writers involved psychology graduate students of various nationalities with the …

Vigilance In African Americans: Cardiovascular Reactivity And Phasic Heart Period Reactions To Cued Threat And Nonthreat Stimuli, Thomas Starr King

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

African Americans are at a greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease and associated risk factors than are Whites, and recent research has suggested that the effects of racial discrimination are a significant contributor to this disparity. Thus, a preattentive bias and vigilance for threat might serve as a mechanism through which experienced racial discrimination would negatively impact cardiovascular health. A study was conducted to investigate the physiological and attentional underpinnings of vigilance for discriminatory threat via examination of phasic heart period (HP) responses to cued threat and nonthreat stimuli. Thirty African American and forty-two European American undergraduate students from a …

Workers, Unions, And The Globalization Of Production: Structural And Institutional Challenges For Organized Labor In The United States, Matthew Kohen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I argue that the globalization of production has weakened the power and efficacy of labor unions in the United States. I describe the globalization of production as a set of transformations in both the institutional structure of the economy and in the organization of production, and discuss how these transformations have impacted workers and unions in the American economy. The theoretical framework I employ is the social structure of accumulation approach, which emphasizes the importance of the institutional structures of capitalist economies and how their interaction with forms of production organization and systems of labor control helps …

Occupancy And Function Of The Hepatic Hmg-Coa Reductase Promoter, William Raymond Lagor

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

HMG-CoA reductase (HMGR) catalyzes the rate controlling step in cholesterol production. This enzyme is highly expressed in the liver where it is subject to extensive hormonal and dietary regulation. This study was undertaken to examine the occupancy and function of the hepatic HMGR promoter in regards to insulin and sterol regulation. HMGR protein and mRNA are substantially decreased in diabetic animals and rapidly restored by administration of insulin. Nuclear run-on assays revealed that HMGR transcription was substantially reduced in the diabetic rats, and fully restored within two hours after insulin treatment. In vivo footprinting revealed several areas of protein binding …

The Case For High-Order, Pleistocene Sea-Level Fluctuations In Southwest Florida, Paul Octavius Knorr

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Florida's Plio-Pleistocene strata record episodes of sea-level highstands. The age of the strata is often ambiguous as there are no consistently reliable dating techniques that can be unequivocally applied to many of the units. The lack of preservation of continuous Plio-Pleistocene sedimentary sequences is a consequence of Pleistocene mean sea-levels not flooding peninsular Florida, the low volume of sedimentary supply, and the lack of new accommodation space. This study investigates a 6 m cyclothem-type set of six shallow-marine shell beds separated by five subaerially exposed packstone beds. These strata are part of the biostratigraphically-defined early Pleistocene (1.1 --

1.6 Ma) …

Three Science Teacher Educators With Elementary Teaching Experience: What Do We Bring To Science Teacher Education?, Cyndy S. Leard

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research explored the common experiences, values, and beliefs of three science teacher educators with elementary teaching experience and how these commonalities influenced their thinking about teaching preservice elementary teachers. This qualitative study used a life story approach and included an autobiographical component. Data were collected through interviews, observations, and archival records. The findings were shared in eight chronologically ordered vignettes that portrayed an individual representing a composite of the participants. The participants shared numerous life experiences including: growing up in small towns, having older parents, being part of a two sibling family, having strong female role models, learning science …

Measuring Social Stressors In Organizations: The Development Of The Interpersonal Conflict In Organizations Scale (Icos), Valentina Bruk Lee

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Interpersonal conflict in organizations has been recognized as a leading social stressor across occupations with detrimental effects on employee well-being and organizational outcomes. However, reliable and valid measures of conflict are scarce and even the most widely used scales are limited by weaknesses in construct definition. In order to address the need for an improved measurement tool, the 63-item Interpersonal Conflict in Organizations Scale (ICOS) was developed. The ICOS was based on a comprehensive conceptualization of conflict that defines the construct on the basis of three definitional components: disagreement, interference, and negative emotion (Barki & Hartwick, 2004). In addition, the …

The Signature Poetics Of Sharon Olds And John Cage, Walter E. Lewallen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation studies and applies the signature theory of Jacques Derrida to two American poets, Sharon Olds and John Cage. I begin by looking at the two texts by Derrida that most closely apply signature theory to poetics: Glas and Signsponge. Along the way, I narrow the scope of Derrida's writing somewhat by focusing on psychoanalytic aspects that relate to Jacques Lacan's ideas and to the concept of the superego. From this work I isolate some protocols for reading, which are then used to study Olds and Cage, two poets who have clearly developed their own signature styles. Here are …

Evaluation Of The Operational Effects Of U-Turn Movement, Pan Liu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In Florida, the increased installation of non-traversable medians and directional median opening has produced an increased number of U-turns on multilane highways. Arguments have been advanced by some opponents of median modification projects that the increased numbers of U-turns may result in safety and operational problems on multilane highways. The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the operational effects of U-turn movement on multilane roadways. To achieve this research objective, extensive data were collected. Field measurements were conducted at 40 sites in the Tampa Bay area of Florida to collect traffic operations data. Besides, the crash histories of …

Breathing Easier: Ethnographic Study Of Acute Respiratory Infection In Children In Rural Ecuador, John S. Luque

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation research utilizes anthropological methods to determine the degree to which the signs and symptoms female caregivers identify as causes of acute respiratory infections (ARIs) in under-fives in rural Ecuador correspond with Western biomedical categories. By employing both a semi-structured medical history questionnaire and more open-ended ethnographic methods such as in-depth informant interviews and focus group research, the researcher identifies the factors which determine timely health care-seeking behaviors of female caregivers in this case study. Economic factors such as the cost of medications and lost work hours were determined to be the primary financial obstacles for timely health care-seeking. …

Virginia Woolf And The Persistent Question Of Class: The Protean Nature Of Class And Self, Mary C. Madden

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

From the beginning of her career, Virginia Woolf moves beyond the perspective of her inherited class position to challenge a damaging class system. She increasingly recognizes the extent of her own complicity in the creation and maintenance of class structures supporting patriarchy, war, and British imperialism. Highlighting ambiguities inherent in the very category of class, she acknowledges the limiting "boxes" of language itself in attempts to rethink class. For Woolf, class is not monolithic but internally differentiated by gender and race. Examining Woolf's early work in relation to class theory shows that throughout her career Woolf interrogates the imbrication of …