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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 …

Characterization Of Electrowetting Systems For Microfluidic Applications, Pradeep K. Mishra

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Electrowetting is the change in apparent surface energy in the presence of an electric field. Recently, this phenomenon has been used to control the shape and location of individual droplets on a surface. However, many microfluidics researchers have acknowledged unexplained behaviors and performance degradation. In this work, electrowetting systems are characterized with different methods. The electrowetting response is measured by measuring contact angle for different applied voltages. A novel technique for direct measurement of Electrowetting Force (EWF) using nano indenter is proposed in this work. The EWF measurements show that, for aqueous solution the EWF is more as compared to …

Gallium Nitride Sensors For Hydrogen/Nitrogen And Hydrogen/Carbon Monoxide Gas Mixtures, Christopher Nicholas Monteparo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As hydrogen is increasingly used as an energy carrier, gas sensors that can operate at high temperatures and in harsh environments are needed for fuel cell, aerospace, and automotive applications. The high temperature Fischer-Tropsch process also uses mixtures of hydrogen and carbon monoxide to generate synthetic fuels from non-fossil precursors. As the Fischer-Tropsch process depends upon particular gas mixtures to generate various fuels, a sensor which can determine the proper ratio of reactants is needed. To this end, gallium nitride (GaN) has been used to fabricate a resistive gas sensor. GaN is a suitable semiconductor to be used in hydrogen …

Giving Birth In A Different Country: Bangladeshi Immigrant Women’S Childbirth Experiences In The U.S., Mst Khadija Mitu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Immigrant women often lack the social support and help from extended family and other social relationships, which is very significant during the pregnancy, delivery, and postnatal period. This research was conducted among Bangladeshi immigrant women living in the United States, in order to understand their experiences during pregnancy and childbirth: how they coped with the settings of a different country during that period, and how they felt about this situation. While there are several studies on immigrant women and maternal health issues in anthropology, to my knowledge, there have been none that focused specifically on the childbirth experiences of Bangladeshi …

Data Acquisition For Modeling And Visualization Of Vascular Tree, William Lafayette Mondy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Data can be acquired from tissue's vascular structure and used for modeling and visualization. To acquire data from a vascular tree, we make its structure available for the gathering of data by separating it from the structures of surrounding tissues, which includes the capillary structure. The capillary structure contains important information, but, because of its size, is the most difficult to acquire data from. In this work, we look at methods for contrasting the vascular structure from surrounding tissues, and focus on the use of corrosion casting for this procedure. We collected image data using micro-computer tomography (micro-CT) and converted …

Teaching Social Studies In An Age Of Globalization: A Case Study Of Secondary Social Studies Teachers’ Participation In The Una-Usa’S Global Classrooms Curriculum Program, Kelly R. Miliziano

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The researcher found few studies that explore decisions of social studies teachers as they plan what and how to teach their classes. Over a century, social studies educators have adapted and responded to political, social, and economic changes. From educating immigrants a century earlier to addressing contemporary cross-border issues, social studies educators inherit unique challenges in today's increasingly globalized world. In addition to these external forces, constraints are placed on teachers which prescribe what content must be included in an already crowded curriculum. This qualitative approach using a case study provides a better understanding of the influence a globally oriented …

Ecis Assessment Of Cytotoxicity And Trans-Endothelial Migration Of Metastatic Cancer Cells, Daniel Opp

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The investigations conducted within this dissertation centers around the use of electric cell-substrate impedance sensing (ECIS). This system is able to characterize in real-time analysis, the adhesion of cells to their substrate and neighboring cells. With this, valuable information can be gathered with in-vitro experiments regarding a tissue culture's response to physiological stimulation. This dissertation has taken advantage of ECIS' ability to analyze toxicology, barrier function, and cancer invasion on a tissue culture. With proper analysis modifications, trans-epethelial resistance (TER) can be used as a cytotoxicity assay with higher sensitivity than previously thought. In vitro assessment of cytotoxicity based on …

Devised Architecture: Revitalizing The Mundane, Jason Novisk

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In today's society, we view new as good, a universal standpoint that has become so commonly accepted as true, that to question it would be absurd. While many new items are an upgrade over their predecessor, it is important to understand that used items still retain a high amount of value and efficacy. Our landscape is filled with the mundane, industrial elements that surround us, yet due to our familiarity with them they are pushed to the background of our consciousness. However their commonplace should not mask their true potential value. By using what is already there before us, we …

Particulate Carbon, Nitrogen And Phosphorus Stoichiometry Of South West Florida Waters, Susan Mary Murasko

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The southwestern Florida shelf marine environment has often been characterized as oligotrophic, yet these waters can support large, high biomass, persistent phytoplankton blooms, including blooms of the toxin producing dinoflagellate Karenia brevis. Little is known regarding which major nutrient potentially limits primary production in these waters as both inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations are often near the limits of analytical detection and it is difficult to estimate what percentage of the dissolved organic pool is available for phytoplankton uptake. To assess the nutrient status of phytoplankton populations on the southwest Florida shelf, this project examines the particulate nutrient stoichiometry of …

The Concept Of Action And Responsibility In Heidegger’S Early Thought, Christian Hans Pedersen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In his early thought (which for our purposes will be considered to be roughly the time period from his first post World War I lecture course in 1919 to the publication of Being and Time in 1927), Heidegger offers a rich description of our practical engagement with the world. The aim of this project is to develop a Heideggerian conception of action from these early, concrete descriptions of the practical dimension of human life. The central feature of this Heideggerian conception of action is that action is understood as involving interdependent aspects of passivity and activity (or receptivity and spontaneity, …

The Examination Of The Implementation Of The Second Step Program In A Public School System, Lynn Pedraza

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As school districts integrate evidence-based prevention programs into their daily regime, they may struggle with implementing these programs with fidelity. This is a multi-method, multi-source, retrospective explanatory study of the implementation factors associated with program installation and partial implementation of an evidence-based violence prevention program, Second Step, in six elementary schools within a large urban school district. The goals of this study were to provide a better understanding of (a) the factors that support implementation of evidence-based programs in K-12 public schools, (b) the factors that constrain implementation, and (c) how developers and researchers might facilitate the application of research …

Prevalence And Influence On Quality Of Life Of Symptoms Caused By Inhaled Odors, Chemicals And Irritants: A Comparison Between Hispanics And Americans, Carmen Perez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Efforts to estimate the population prevalence of chemical sensitivities have been limited and have yielded different estimates of the prevalence of affected individuals. Researchers recognize that people differ in their biological susceptibility to environmental contaminants as well as the amount of contaminant to which they are potentially exposed. Lack of information on the population prevalence of people, who report sensitivity to a chemical or many chemicals, as well as variables associated, has been recognized in previous studies (Kreutzer et al., 1999). In a more recent report, Berg et al., in 2007 reported the prevalence and consequences related to inhalation of …

Biotopia: An Interdisciplinary Connection Between Ecology, Suburbia, And The City, Jessica Phillips

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In an era when cities and towns are changing rapidly, public spaces are the key to reviving civic engagement. By re-introducing these public realms as ecological environments, we can re-structure the organic growth of civic tissue, re-define the city street into a park environment, and reveal the ecological landmarks that once beautified the landscape. These ecological landmarks will be used as corridors, nodes of circulation and storm water management to not only creates a regenerative landscape but to create a connection between ecology, suburbia and the city. The public realm in America has two roles: it is the dwelling place …

Digital Holography Applications In Ophthalmology, Biometry, And Optical Trapping Characterization, Mariana Camelia Potcoava

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation combines various holographic techniques with application on the two- and three-dimensional imaging of ophthalmic tissue, fingerprints, and microsphere samples with micrometer resolution. Digital interference holography (DIH) uses scanned wavelengths to synthesize short-coherence interference tomographic images. We used DIH for in vitro imaging of human optic nerve head and retina. Tomographic images were produced by superposition of holograms. Holograms were obtained with a signal-to-noise ratio of approximately 50 dB. Optic nerve head characteristics (shape, diameter, cup depth, and cup width) were quantified with a few micron resolution (4.06 -4.8 microns). Multiple layers were distinguishable in cross-sectional images of the …

Hierarchical Complexity In Metal-Organic Materials: From Layers To Polyhedra To Supermolecular Building Blocks, John Jackson Perry

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The design and synthesis of novel functional materials with fine-tunable physical and chemical properties has been an aspiration of materials scientists since at least Feynman's famous speech "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom" which has fittingly been credited with ushering in the nanotechnology era. Crystal engineering, as the solid-state manifestation of supramolecular chemistry, is well positioned to make substantial contributions to this worthwhile endeavor. Within the realm of crystal engineering resides the subdiscipline of metal-organic materials (MOMs) which pertains most simplistically to the coordination bond and includes such objects as coordination polymers, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), and discrete architectures, each …

Depredation And Angler Interactions Involving Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus) In Sarasota Bay, Florida, Jessica R. Powell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Typical depredation behavior by cetaceans involves stealing or damaging prey items already captured by recreational or commercial fishing gear. Depredation among cetaceans has been reported to be increasing in both severity and frequency globally. This behavior is of particular concern for small stocks of cetaceans since any interaction with fishing gear has the potential to injure or kill animals leading to unsustainable losses. In Florida, depredation became evident in 2006 when the number of bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) strandings resulting from fishing gear ingestion or entanglement sharply increased. For the resident dolphin community in Sarasota Bay, modeling showed continued mortalities …

Nature, Daylight And Sound: A Sensible Environment For The Families, Staff And Patients Of Neonatal Intensive Care Units, Ana Praskach

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In healthcare environments, elements like nature, daylight and sound have been found to significantly influence the healing process of patients, by enhancing the quality of their recovery, shortening their hospital stay and consequently reducing hospital costs. For instance, it has been shown that exposure to nature triggers positive responses in people, daylight affects human psychology, and different sounds have varying behavioral effects on different groups of people. But, while these effects have been carefully studied in adult patients, leading to clear design standards, less is known about their impact on premature infants. Interestingly, the care that many newborns receive in …

Agriculture And Tampa Bay News: How Do Local News Media Frame Agribusiness?, Alex R. Ritzheimer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose for this thesis was to explore a dynamic between the news media, their subjects, and their audience. I investigate whether everyday news media frame the information they deliver in such a way as to potentially direct the audience on how to respond to news stories. The setting for this research question is in the Tampa Bay area of Florida and the subject matter deals specifically with agriculture, its practitioners, how they do business, and how the local news media report about it. The issue will be explored from an applied anthropological perspective, basing conclusions on field research and …

Determination Of Nanogram Mass And Measurement Of Polymer Solution Free Volume Using Thickness-Shear Mode (Tsm) Quartz Resonators, Anthony James Richardson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

More commonly referred to as a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM), thickness-shear mode (TSM) quartz resonator devices utilize an acoustic wave to establish a bulk-detection mechanism prompting their utilization as gravimetric sensors with nanogram mass sensitivity and capability to measure various film property dynamics, due to variations in the system environment, of thin-films that are uniformly distributed across the resonator surface. The development of an absolute TSM-based nanobalance and an experimental technique using conventional TSM resonators for the real-time measurement of the change in the viscoelastic shear modulus and fractional free-hole volume of a poly(isobutylene) film due to the sorption of …

Transdiscursive Cosmopolitanism: Foucauldian Freedom, Subjectivity, And The Power Of Resistance, Joanna Rozpedowski

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The following project will consist in the study and examination of the concepts and theories that lie in the domain of political theory. The enquiry into the dimensions and complexities of the socio-political organization and the political substance of individual human agents will be conducted with the intellectual assistance of the postmodernist turn of thought. I will interrogate and develop a specifically Foucauldian reading of international politics and the emerging global world order as well as situate Foucault's insights and theorizing in a cosmopolitan framework, which calls for a progressive re-conceptualization of the dimensions of power and the modalities of …

Evolution Of A Conserved Gene Regulatory Network Among Echinoderms: A Comparison Of Genes Expressed In The Skeletogenetic Lineage Of The Ophuroid Ophiocoma Wendtii And The Echinoid Strongylocentrotus Purpuratus, Mitch James Ruzek

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

One of the most fundamental and critical functions of embryological development is the control and regulation of differential genes and gene networks. The study of the gene networks involved in development is a mechanism for understanding the developmental process at its most basic level. An evolutionary change in a morphological feature or features must depend on a reorganization or co-option of one or more developmental gene regulatory network just as retention of an ancestral morphological trait must rely on retention of a common gene regulatory network. Studying two closely related classes in the same phylum with the same essential morphological …

Globalization Mitigated: Human Rights, Corporations, And The New World Economy, M. Raymond Izarali

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In this thesis, I argue for a set of basic human rights to constrain the practices of corporate entities in the context of economic globalization. These basic rights are derived through a concrete interpretation of specific articles in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. My focus is on constructing a middle-ground approach to economic globalization by building on the work of Peter Singer, Onara O’Neill, John Bishop, and Leo Groarke, but with particular emphasis on Groarke’s notion of a mitigated capitalism. The underlying objective of the middle ground is to secure globalization’s benefits and circumvent its harms. As I am …

Neural And Behavioural Effects Of The Ginkgo Biloba Leaf Extract Egb 761, Elham Satvat

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Numerous studies have documented the cognitive-enhancing effects of standardized Ginkgo biloba leaf extracts (Ginkgo) both in humans and in rodents. In addition to its antioxidant and platelet-activating factor inhibiting properties, Gingko has been shown to protect cellular membrane fluidity, to enhance cerebral blood flow and microcirculation, and to modulate cholinergic system functioning, properties that have been suggested to underlie its cognitive-enhancing effects. However, the possible neurogenic-enhancing effects of Ginkgo on adult hippocampal neurogenesis as a possible mechanism underlying its nootropic effects have not been evaluated. The experiments discussed in the present thesis assessed such a possibility.

Chapter 1 …

Consciousness From A Naturalistic Perspective, Hugh R. Alcock

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Despite advances in neuroscience some sceptics, e.g., David Chalmers, Colin McGinn and Thomas Nagel, contend that we are no nearer to achieving a scientific understanding of phenomenal consciousness. These sceptics claim that naturalising consciousness, i.e., subsuming it under our scientific theories, is either impossible, at least without radically reforming our current scientific practices, or perhaps beyond our cognitive grasp. Their scepticism is based on what is called the ‘problem of consciousness’ or the ‘hard problem’. I argue that their pessimism is unwarranted. Their conclusion is based on adopting a nonnaturalistic attitude, according to which our scientific theories must accommodate our …

Saltwater Sacraments And Backwoods Sins: Contemporary Atlantic Canadian Literature And The Rise Of Literary Catholicism, Andrew Peter Atkinson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In the 1990s, Canadian readers were offered a new literary trend: the Atlantic Canadian Catholic novel. In this dissertation, I examine works from six authors whose writing reflects the scope of this trend and I argue for a consideration of their collective impact on our social imaginary. The bulk of my argument is devoted to an examination of the Catholic religious content in the five novels and one memoir: David Adams Richards’ Bay of Love and Sorrows (1998); Ann-Marie MacDonald’s Fall on Your Knees (1996); Lynn Coady’s Strange Heaven (1996); Wayne Johnston’s Baltimore’s Mansion: A Memoir (1999); Patrick Kavanagh’s Gaff …

Phantoms Of Old Forms: The Gothic Mode In The Dramatic Verse Of Tennyson And Browning, Michael E. Ackerman

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

My dissertation, “Phantoms of Old Forms: The Gothic Mode in the Dramatic Verse of Tennyson and Browning” situates Alfred Lord Tennyson and Robert Browning within a lineage of writers who experimented with the Gothic mode in dramatic and verse forms. This study is, in the first instance, an experiment in applying a specific strain of Gothic critical theory, one that addresses issues of gender, to canonical literary materials not ordinarily approached in that light. Definitions of the Gothic are notoriously elusive, and this project is not an assertion that the Gothic is always, in all of its manifestations, about gender. …