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Cardiac Tissue Mapping Electrode Array To Determine Pro-Arrhythmic Tissue Substrates, Thomas Mark Shannon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, is the irreparable necrosis of the cardiac tissue due to sustained ischemia. MI may lead to heart failure. Despite advances in treatments, the number of patients with heart failure is increasing. Engineered heart tissue, EHT, could offer an innovative approach to treating areas of infarcted cardiac tissue. Ideally, EHT should integrate and function with the native heart without causing a higher risk for complications. The purpose of this study is to design a system to identify potentially arrhythmogenic sites in EHT. Specifically, an electrode array complete with DAQ system and data …

Advancing The Food-Energy-Water Nexus: Closing Nutrient Loops In Arid River Corridors, Jacob Mortensen

Civil Engineering ETDs

Closing nutrient loops in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems is integral to achieve resource security in the food-energy-water (FEW) nexus. Multiyear (2005-08), monthly samples of instream dissolved inorganic nutrient concentrations (NH4-N, NO3-N, soluble reactive phosphorus-SRP) along a ~300-km of the Rio Grande, NM, USA were used to investigate how the net source/sink behavior of wastewater and irrigated agriculture can be holistically managed to close nutrient loops. Wastewater on average contributed over 90% of the instream dissolved inorganic nutrients (101 kg/day NH4-N, 1097 kg/day NO3-N, 656 kg/day SRP). During growing seasons, the irrigation network downstream of wastewater outfalls retained on average 37% …

Air Pollution Exposure And Preeclampsia Among Us Women With And Without Asthma, Pauline Mendola, Maeve Wallace, Danping Liu, Candace Robledo, Tuija Männistö, Katherine Grantz

School of Medicine Publications

Maternal asthma and air pollutants have been independently associated with preeclampsia but rarely studied together. Our objective was to comprehensively evaluate preeclampsia risk based on the interaction of maternal asthma and air pollutants. Preeclampsia and asthma diagnoses, demographic and clinical data came from electronic medical records for 210,508 singleton deliveries. Modified Community Multiscale Air Quality models estimated preconception, first and second trimester and whole pregnancy exposure to: particulate matter (PM)<2.5 and <10µm, ozone, nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and carbon monoxide (CO); PM2.5 constituents; volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Asthma-pollutant interaction adjusted relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for preeclampsia were calculated by interquartile range for criteria pollutants and high exposure (≥75th percentile) for PAHs and VOCs. Asthmatics had higher risk associated with first trimester NOx and SO2 and whole pregnancy elemental carbon (EC) exposure than non-asthmatics, but only EC significantly increased risk (RR=1.11, CI:1.03-1.21). Asthmatics also had a 10% increased risk associated with second trimester CO. Significant interactions were observed for nearly all VOCs and asthmatics had higher risk during all time windows for benzene, ethylbenzene, m-xylene, o-xylene, p-xylene and toluene while most PAHs did not increase risk.

Assessment Of Indoor And Outdoor Pm Species At Schools And Residences In A High-Altitude Ecuadorian Urban Center, Amit U. Raysoni, Rodrigo X. Armijos, M. Margaret Weigel, Teresa Montoya, Patricia Eschanique, Marcia Racines, Wen-Whai Li

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

An air monitoring campaign to assess children’s environmental exposures in schools and residences, both indoors and outdoors, was conducted in 2010 in three low-income neighborhoods in Z1(north), Z2(central), and Z3(southeast) zones of Quito, Ecuador - a major urban center of 2.2 million inhabitants situated 2850 meters above sea level in a narrow mountainous basin. Z1 zone, located in northern Quito, historically experienced emissions from quarries and moderate traffic. Z2 zone was influenced by heavy traffic in contrast to Z3 zone which experienced low traffic densities. Weekly averages of PM samples were collected at schools (one in each zone) and residences …

A Cause For Life, Kelly (Piepenbrink) Wittich ’00

Illinois Wesleyan University Magazine, 2002-2017

Kelly Wittich '00 knew nothing about congenital heart defects until her daughter was born with one. She now wants to raise awareness regarding this most common and deadly of all birth defects.

Big Questions Comparative Law, Anna Di Robilant

Faculty Scholarship

This essay reflects on Ran Hirschl’s book "Comparative Matters." Feeling that historical comparative law methodologies have been found wanting it looks to newer methods. For example, the critical approach to comparative law relies on comparison to expose the implicit biases and assumptions of the observer’s own system and to denounce the illusory and ideological nature of “legalism,” namely, the claim that law is both neutral and necessary. Comparative law and economics seeks to explain in precise terms the convergence of legal rules by using efficiency as a key metric. Comparative law and economics also gives a comparative twist to the …

Bayesian Methods For Comparing Species Physiological And Ecological Response Curves, Michael B. Ashcroft, Angélica Casanova-Katny, Kerrie Mengersen, Todd N. Rosenstiel, Johanna D. Turnbull, Jane Wasley, Melinda J. Waterman, Gustavo E. Zúñiga, Sharon A. Robinson

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Many ecological questions require information on species' optimal conditions or critical limits along environmental gradients. These attributes can be compared to answer questions on niche partitioning, species coexistence and niche conservatism. However, these comparisons are unconvincing when existing methods do not quantify the uncertainty in the attributes or rely on assumptions about the shape of species' responses to the environmental gradient. The aim of this study was to develop a model to quantify the uncertainty in the attributes of species response curves and allow them to be tested for substantive differences without making assumptions about the shape of the responses. …

A Temporally Coherent Neural Algorithm For Artistic Style Transfer, Michael Dushkoff

Theses

Within the fields of visual effects and animation, humans have historically spent countless painstaking hours mastering the skill of drawing frame-by-frame animations. One such animation technique that has been widely used in the animation and visual effects industry is called "rotoscoping" and has allowed uniquely stylized animations to capture the motion of real life action sequences, however it is a very complex and time consuming process. Automating this arduous technique would free animators from performing frame by frame stylization and allow them to concentrate on their own artistic contributions. This thesis introduces a new artificial system based on an existing …

Discovery, Cloning, Expression, Purification, And Characterization Of Phosphoglycolate Phosphatase From Staphylococcus Aureus, Isreal Moreno

Theses

Staphylococcus aureus is a major cause of hospital-acquired infections. The multi-drug resistant nature of certain S. aureus strains makes the discovery of new drug targets for S. aureus vital. A newly discovered virulence factor from S. aureus was described as an ortholog of NagD from E. coli, a member of the nitrophenyl phosphatase family of the HAD (Haloacid Dehalogenase) superfamily. This thesis will show that this virulence factor is not an ortholog of NagD UMPase from E. coli, but rather a phosphoglycolate phosphatase (PGPase). If phosphoglycolate accumulates in the cell, it will inhibit the glycolytic enzyme triose phosphate isomerase (TPI). …

Development Of Nanosphere Lithography For Semiconductor Device Applications, Xing Lei

Theses

Nanosphere lithography, a technique of generating hexagonally packed monolayers with nanospheres, has been studied and been shown to increase the efficiency of the devices such as light emitting diodes and solar cells. In this research, the fabrication of nanosphere lithography was explored with the aim of identifying robust deposition methods. Two resultant methods yielded large (1 cm by 1 cm) monolayers of nanospheres, with further mask modification via sphere diameter reduction using reactive ion etch. Photoluminescence (PL) measurements confirmed the existence of the monolayer and the enhancement due to the addition of nanospheres. A thin layer of aluminum was deposited …

Knowledge-Based Decision Making For Simulating Cyber Attack Behaviors, Stephen Frank Moskal

Theses

Computer networks are becoming more complex as the reliance on these network increases in this era of exponential technological growth. This makes the potential gains for criminal activity on these networks extremely serious and can not only devastate organizations or enterprises but also the general population. As complexity of the network increases so does the difficulty to protect the networks as more potential vulnerabilities are introduced. Despite best efforts, traditional defenses like Intrusion Detection Systems and penetration tests are rendered ineffective to even amateur cyber adversaries. Networks now need to be analyzed at all times to preemptively detect weaknesses which …

Outside Looking In: A Phenomenological Study Of Non-Residential African American Fathers’ Perceptions Of Their Roles In The Academic Process Of Their Male Children, Chaundra Creekmu

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental, phenomenological study was to understand the perceptions of non-residential African American fathers’ roles in the academic process of their male children in in a suburban city in the Eastern region of Georgia. The following questions guided the study: (a) What roles do non-residential African American fathers play in the academic process of their male children? (b) What factors shape non-residential African American fathers’ perceptions of their roles in the academic process of their male children? (c) What do non-residential African American fathers perceive as the value of their involvement in the academic process of their …

Collective Timekeeping Among Cells Of The Master Circadian Clock, Jennifer A. Evans

Biomedical Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the anterior hypothalamus is the master circadian clock that coordinates daily rhythms in behavior and physiology in mammals. Like other hypothalamic nuclei, the SCN displays an impressive array of distinct cell types characterized by differences in neurotransmitter and neuropeptide expression. Individual SCN neurons and glia are able to display self-sustained circadian rhythms in cellular function that are regulated at the molecular level by a 24h transcriptional–translational feedback loop. Remarkably, SCN cells are able to harmonize with one another to sustain coherent rhythms at the tissue level. Mechanisms of cellular communication in the SCN network are …

Is Housing Making People Sick?: An Overview Of Seven Studies That Raise Questions To Consider As We Incorporate Health Into Planning And Build New Housing To Address Shortages And Energy Efficiency, Merilee D. Karr

Metroscape

The article discusses the unintended consequences of some of the strategies for housing energy efficiency: they can lead to indoor air pollution that is making people sick. As we pursue ways to reduce the cost of housing, we must pursue innovation in building materials and techniques that might reduce the negative health consequences of sealing our homes from the elements.

Reducing Student Costs: A Report On Textbooks And Course Materials Implementation Status Update As Of June 2016, Reducing Student Costs Implementation Plan

Reducing Student Costs Initiative

This is the implementation plan status update for the Reducing Student Costs: A Report on Textbooks and Course Materials. The plan is divided into two sections: 0-12 completion goals and 12-36 month goals.

Factors Influencing The Survival Of Outmigrating Juvenile Salmonids Through Multiple Dam Passages: An Individual-Based Approach, Timothy Elder, Christa M. Woodley, Mark A. Weiland, Angela L. Strecker

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Substantial declines of Pacific salmon populations have occurred over the past several decades related to large-scale anthropogenic and climatic changes in freshwater and marine environments. In the Columbia River Basin, migrating juvenile salmonids may pass as many as eight large-scale hydropower projects before reaching the ocean; however, the cumulative effects of multiple dam passages are largely unknown. Using acoustic transmitters and an extensive system of hydrophone arrays in the Lower Columbia River, we calculated the survival of yearling Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and steelhead (O. mykiss) passing one, two, or three dams. We applied a unique index of biological characteristics …

Transdisciplinary Weed Research: New Leverage On Challenging Weed Problems?, N. Jordan, M. Schut, S. Grahan, J. N. Barney, D. Z. Childs, S. Christensen, R. D. Cousens, A. S. Davis, H. Eizenberg, David E. Ervin, C. Fernández-Quintanilla, L. J. Harrison, M. A. Harsch, S. Heijting, M. Liebman, D. Loddo, S. B. Mirsky, M. Riemens, P. Neve, D. A. Peltzer, M. Renton, M. Williams, J. Recasens, M. Sønderskov

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

Transdisciplinary weed research (TWR) is a promising path to more effective management of challenging weed problems. We define TWR as an integrated process of inquiry and action that addresses complex weed problems in the context of broader efforts to improve economic, environmental and social aspects of ecosystem sustainability. TWR seeks to integrate scholarly and practical knowledge across many stakeholder groups (e.g. scientists, private sector, farmers and extension officers) and levels (e.g. local, regional and landscape). Furthermore, TWR features democratic and iterative processes of decision-making and collective action that aims to align the interests, viewpoints and agendas of a wide range …

Work-Value Profile And Career Success, Chee Wee Koh

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Work values, defined as the end states people desire and expect to realize through work, appear to play a role in career success, but the small number of past studies have reported conflicting results, some of which may be attributed to research methodology. Using a person-centered approach to model the conjoint effects of intrinsic and extrinsic work values, the present study inductively investigated the association between work-value profile and career success using a three-panel longitudinal dataset consisting of 905 lawyers from the After the Juris Doctorate (AJD) study. Latent profile analysis identified five work-value profiles: (i) Neither Intrinsic nor Extrinsic …

White Teachers’ Experiences Of Working With Black Students Within A Response To Intervention Framework: The Role Of Racialized Deficit Thinking, Sujay Sabnis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Response to Intervention (RTI) is a data-based decision-making framework of service delivery that has the potential to improve educational outcomes for all students. Preliminary data appear to bolster this claim. However, it is as yet unclear whether RTI will be able to close the gap in educational outcomes that exists between students of different racial groups. Drawing on theories such as culture of policy (Stein, 2004) and deficit thinking (Valencia, 2010), this study explored the experiences of six White elementary teachers using RTI while working with Black students receiving Tier 2 or Tier 3 instructional supports. Using theoretically driven constant-comparative …

Just Hospitality: Wage Theft, Grassroots Labor Organizing, And Activist Research In Nashville, Tennessee, Rachel Tyree

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This politically engaged project locally grounds the efforts of low-wage workers in the United States who are addressing the nationwide epidemic of wage theft by focusing on the particular experience of organized hospitality cleaning workers at a worker center in Nashville, Tennessee. While being both collaborative and reflexive, this activist anthropological research utilizes observant participation, in-depth interviews, and organizational and archival research to explore the issues identified by members and organizers at the worker center, illustrate the alternative theories of change being generated from grassroots labor organizing efforts in light of state mechanisms that do not protect all workers, and …

Differential Association Of Vitronectin And Fibronectin With Glass And Electrospun Fibers Of A Poly (D-Lysine) /Poly (Acrylic Acid), Syed Muhammad Sohaib Zafar Zafar

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Proteins represent major constituent of the extracellular matrix which plays an important role in the formation, maintenance and remodeling of tissues, this project focuses on adsorption of two specific serum proteins fibronectin (FN) and vitronectin (VTN) responsible for mediating cell matrix interaction through integrin binding, tripeptide Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) sequence found in these protein features are recognized by αβV₃ integrin which ultimately helps in clot formation.

Gathering The Needles: Evaluating The Impact Of Gold Open Access Content With Traditional Subscription Journals, Alison Bobal, Jill Emery

Library Faculty and Staff Publications and Presentations

Utilizing the Project COUNTER Release 4 JR1-GOA report, two librarians explore these data in comparison to journal package subscriptions represented via the JR1 reports. This paper outlines the methodology and study undertaken at the Portland State University Library and the University of Nebraska Medical Center Library using these reports for the first time. The initial outcomes of the study are provided in various Tables for 2014 and 2015. The intent of the study was to provide both institutions with a baseline from which to do further study. In addition, some ideas are given for how these reports can be used …

Focal Point, Volume 30, Portland State University. Regional Research Institute

Research and Training Center - Focal Point

This issue explores early psychosis intervention services. Throughout history psychosis has traumatized and permanently disrupted people's lives, but early psychosis intervention is showing that much of this trauma and disability can be prevented. Early psychosis intervention services are rapidly becoming available in every state of the US, and thousands of people who have lived through psychosis are speaking out and proving that we have every reason for hope.

Clear Creek Estuary Restoration: Establishing An Ecological Monitoring Program And Baseline Conditions, Christine Butler-Minor

Environmental Science and Management Professional Master's Project Reports

Monitoring habitat conditions in the Clear Creek Estuary before the completion of the Bucklin Hill Bridge Project is a critical part of this ecosystem restoration planning and execution. The Clear Creek Trail Alliance (CCTA) is working with local partners to monitor the effects of the estuary restoration. In a wider effort to characterize salmonid habitat suitability of the estuary prior to the bridge replacement, CCTA would like to gather data related to water quality, beach/bank elevations, vegetation in the vicinity, and invertebrate diversity in the estuary. The development and implementation of this Clear Creek Estuary monitoring project provides an opportunity …

Antimicrobial Resistance And Neisseria Gonorrhoeae Multiantigen Sequence Typing (Ng-Mast) Genotypes In N. Gonorrhoeae During 2012-2014 In Karachi, Pakistan, Kausar Jabeen, Bhawan Mal P, Khan E, Chandio S, Jacobsson S, Unemo M

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Background: Globally, increasing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Neisseria gonorrhoea has led to decreased treatment options for gonorrhoea. Continuous monitoring of resistance is crucial to determine evolving resistance trends in Neisseria gonorrhoea and to suggest treatment recommendations. Quality assured gonococcal AMR data from Pakistan are mainly lacking. This study was performed to determine prevalence and trends of gonococcal AMR and molecular epidemiology of local strains during 2012-2014 in Karachi, Pakistan.

Methods: Gonococcal isolates (n = 100) were obtained from urogenital specimens submitted to the Aga Khan University Laboratory, Karachi, Pakistan. Antimicrobial susceptibility was determined using Etest and molecular epidemiology was …

Snpredict: A Machine Learning Approach For Detecting Low Frequency Variants In Cancer, Vatsal Mehra

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Cancer is a genetic disease caused by the accumulation of DNA variants such as single nucleotide changes or insertions/deletions in DNA. DNA variants can cause silencing of tumor suppressor genes or increase the activity of oncogenes. In order to come up with successful therapies for cancer patients, these DNA variants need to be identified accurately. DNA variants can be identified by comparing DNA sequence of tumor tissue to a non-tumor tissue by using Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technology. But the problem of detecting variants in cancer is hard because many of these variant occurs only in a small subpopulation of …

The Effects Of Mechanical Vibration On Human Chondrocytes In Vitro, Bradley J. Gauthier

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Introduction: Inflammation is the biological basis of temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD), when severe it can lead to osteoarthritis. One of the physical therapies used to manage this condition is mechanical vibration, as has been used in medicine for many years as a non-pharmacological therapy. Recently an FDA approved dental device called AcceleDent has been introduced to increase the rate of tooth movement and decrease pain. As the device-generated vibration transmits to the TMJ, it is important for us to investigate whether mechanical vibration influences TMJ on its biologic basis – chondrocytes under normal and inflammatory conditions. Materials and Methods: Human …

The Effect Of Mechanical Vibration On Human Pdl Cell Differentiation And Response To Inflammation, Megan Desroches

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Low magnitude mechanical vibration is a therapeutic adjunct being investigated to alter bone remodeling and inflammation in areas such as osteoporosis, bone fracture healing, and muscle soreness after exercise. In orthodontics a device named AcceleDent has been marketed that claims to increase the rate of tooth movement and decrease pain. However evidence for these claims is lacking. In this study we looked at two potential cellular mechanisms for these claims: periodontal ligament (PDL) cell differentiation and inflammation under an orthodontic model of strain (IL-1β). Increased PDL cell differentiation into osteogenic cells could be an avenue of increasing orthodontic tooth movement. …

Predictive Biomarkers Of Cellular Radiosensitivity For Clinical Radiotherapy Treatment, Lisa White

Doctoral

Radiotherapy is prescribed to more than 50% of cancer patients during their treatment schedule. Due to intrinsic factors, individual variation in response exists, which will result in side effects or toxicity in a number of patients. Therefore, development of an assay or biomarker for the prediction and assessment of radiosensitivity among cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy would be beneficial. Such an assay would limit toxicities and facilitate dose-escalation for those patients who require it. Assays for predicting intrinsic cellular radiosensitivity remains as the established G2 chromosomal radiosensitivity and most promising, γH2AX foci assay. They can be applied to blood samples from …

An Indirect Defence Trait Mediated Through Egg-Induced Maize Volatiles From Neighbouring Plants, Daniel M. Mutyambai, Toby J.A. Bruce, Johnnie Van Den Berg, Charles A.O. Midega, John A. Pickett, Zeyaur R. Khan

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Attack of plants by herbivorous arthropods may result in considerable changes to the plant's chemical phenotype with respect to emission of herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs). These HIPVs have been shown to act as repellents to the attacking insects as well as attractants for the insects antagonistic to these herbivores. Plants can also respond to HIPV signals from other plants that warn them of impending attack. Recent investigations have shown that certain maize varieties are able to emit volatiles following stemborer egg deposition. These volatiles attract the herbivore's parasitoids and directly deter further oviposition. However, it was not known whether these …