Digital Commons Network^™

Association Of Intestinal Alkaline Phosphatase With Necrotizing Enterocolitis Among Premature Infants, Maya Heath, Rebecca Buckley, Zeromeh Gerber, Porcha Davis, Laura Linneman, Qingqing Gong, Brian Barkemeyer, Zhide Fang, Misty Good, Duna Penn, Sunyoung Kim

Open Access Publications

Importance: Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in preterm infants is an often-fatal gastrointestinal tract emergency. A robust NEC biomarker that is not confounded by sepsis could improve bedside management, lead to lower morbidity and mortality, and permit patient selection in randomized clinical trials of possible therapeutic approaches.

Objective: To evaluate whether aberrant intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IAP) biochemistry in infant stool is a molecular biomarker for NEC and not associated with sepsis.

Design, Setting, and Participants: This multicenter diagnostic study enrolled 136 premature infants (gestational age, <37 weeks) in 2 hospitals in Louisiana and 1 hospital in Missouri. Data were collected and analyzed from May 2015 to November 2018.

Exposures: Infant stool samples were collected between 24 and 40 or more weeks postconceptual age. Enrolled infants …

Burden Of Cause-Specific Mortality Associated With Pm2.5 Air Pollution In The United States, Benjamin Bowe, Yan Xie, Yan Yan, Ziyad Al-Aly

Open Access Publications

Importance: Ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution is associated with increased risk of several causes of death. However, epidemiologic evidence suggests that current knowledge does not comprehensively capture all causes of death associated with PM2.5 exposure.

Objective: To systematically identify causes of death associated with PM2.5 pollution and estimate the burden of death for each cause in the United States.

Design, Setting, and Participants: In a cohort study of US veterans followed up between 2006 and 2016, ensemble modeling was used to identify and characterize morphology of the association between PM2.5 and causes of death. Burden of death associated …

Effects Of Intertidal Position On Metabolism And Behavior In The Acorn Barnacle, Balanus Glandula, Kali Horn

Master's Theses

The intertidal zone is characterized by persistent, tidally-driven fluctuations in both abiotic (e.g., temperature, [O₂], salinity) and biotic (e.g., food availability, predation) conditions, which makes this a very physiologically challenging habitat for resident organisms. The magnitude and degree of variability of these environmental stressors differs between intertidal zones, with the most extreme physiological stress often being experienced by organisms in the high intertidal. Given that many of the fluctuating conditions in this environment are primary drivers of metabolic rate (e.g., temperature, [O₂], food availability), we hypothesized that sessile conspecifics residing in different tidal zones would exhibit …

Plasma Cysteine/Cystine And Glutathione/Glutathione Disulfide Redox Potentials In Hiv And Copd Patients., Walter H. Watson, Jeffrey D. Ritzenthaler, Paula Peyrani, Timothy L. Wiemken, Stephen P. Furmanek, Andrea Reyes-Vega, Tom J. Burke, Yuxuan Zheng, Julio A. Ramirez, Jesse Roman

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is prevalent in patients infected with HIV. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that systemic oxidation correlates with loss of lung function in subjects with COPD, and that HIV infection can contribute to creating such an environment. Subjects were recruited at the University of Louisville in the following groups: HIV-infected (n = 36), COPD (n = 32), HIV and COPD (n = 28), and uninfected controls with normal lung function (n = 34). HIV infection was assessed by viral load and CD4 cell counts. Pulmonary function was determined by spirometry …

Conductive Nanofibrous Chitosan/Pedot:Pss Tissue Engineering Scaffolds, Ali Abedi, Mahdi Hasanzadeh, Lobat Tayebi

School of Dentistry Faculty Research and Publications

Design of a proper scaffold is the first step in fabrication of a tissue engineering product, which should be able to support cellular growth in in vitro conditions. This study focuses on the fabrication and characterization of chitosan (CS) scaffolds containing PEDOT:PSS, a conductive polymer. The scaffold is primarily designed for cardiac tissue engineering, although it can be used for other applications too. Chitosan scaffolds containing 0.3, 0.6 and 1 wt% of PEDOT:PSS are fabricated through electrospinning. The structure and morphology of scaffolds are characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), 3D Laser Measuring Microscopy and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The …

Legislating Morality: Moral Theory And Turpitudinous Crimes In Immigration Jurisprudence, Abel Rodríguez, Jennifer A. Bulcock

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

Congress could have framed the country’s immigration policies in any number of ways. In significant part, it opted to frame them in moral terms. The crime involving moral turpitude is among the most pervasive and pernicious classifications in immigration law. In the Immigration and Nationality Act, it is virtually ubiquitous, appearing everywhere from the deportability and mandatory detention grounds to the inadmissibility and naturalization grounds. In effect, it acts as a gatekeeper for those who wish to enter and remain in the country, obtain lawful permanent residence, travel abroad after admission, or become United States citizens. With limited exceptions, noncitizens …

Procreative Autonomy In Gestational Surrogacy Contracts, Vanessa Nahigian

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

With the growing practice of gestational surrogacy, many women bear children with whom they have no genetic relationship, allowing intended parents to have children of their own when they are otherwise unable to do so. This practice, however, creates a ripple in the abortion debate. This Note addresses procreative autonomy in the context of gestational surrogacy agreements, examines the underlying constitutional interests at stake for each party involved, and suggests a solution to fill California’s current statutory void.

Isabel M. Córdova, Pushing In Silence: Modernizing Puerto Rico And The Medicalization Of Childbirth (Austin, Tx: University Of Texas Press, 2017), Pp. 234, $29.95, Pb., Rosalynn A. Vega

Anthropology Faculty Publications

Córdova documents a twenty-year transformation in how babies were born in Puerto Rico. In the middle of the twentieth century, Puerto Rico had twice as many midwives as registered doctors. At this time, birth was a home-based, family-oriented process that mothers accomplished with the assistance of midwives. By 1970, midwives had disappeared and the number of physicians tripled—a context that led to nearly every Puerto Rican baby (98%) being delivered in a hospital under the authority of an obstetrician. In contrast to births a couple decades before, hospital-based births in the 1970s were highly medicalized and directed by predominantly male …

The Perceived Role Of Online Stem Dual Credit In Rural Nebraska High Schools, Trentee Bush

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This exploratory study was based on interviews with twelve participants, four community college dual credit coordinators and eight high school administrators (principals and guidance counselors). The purpose was to understand the role of dual credit STEM courses in rural Nebraska high schools and the impact these courses had on the institution. The interview process revealed the lack of uniformity in dual credit processes throughout the state.

The concept of dual credit is widely discussed. The potential benefits and challenges of these courses and programs are vast. Without national legislation, each state can make determinations and decisions about state-wide policies related …

Pharmacometabolomics Of Respiratory Phenotypic Response To Dexamethasone In Preterm Infants At Risk For Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia., Tamorah R. Lewis Md Phd, Prabhakar Chalise, Cheri Gauldin, William E. Truog

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

A prospective cohort study was performed in preterm infants less than 32 weeks gestation at birth who were treated with dexamethasone for developing or established bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). Respiratory phenotype (Respiratory Severity Score (RSS)), serum, and urine metabolomics were assessed before and after treatment. Ten infants provided nine matched serum and nine matched urine samples. There was a significant decrease in RSS with steroid treatment. Serum gluconic acid had the largest median fold change (140 times decreased, P = 0.008). In metabolite set enrichment analysis, in both serum and urine, the urea cycle, ammonia recycling, and malate-aspartate shuttle pathways were …

Mitochondrial And Nuclear Multilocus Phylogeny Of Rhipicephalus Ticks From Kenya, Esther G. Kanduma, Richard P. Bishop, Naftaly W. Githaka, Robert A. Skilton, Heloise Heyne, Joram M. Mwacharo

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

The morphological diversity of African ticks of the genus Rhipicephalus and subgenus Boophilus have been studied in detail. However, their taxonomy remains poorly resolved with limited molecular studies performed to improve inter-species discrimination. Herein, ribosomal cytochrome c oxidase I (COI), 12S ribosomal DNA (12S rDNA) and nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcriber spacer 2 (ITS2) were analyzed in Rhipicephalus tick populations in Kenya. While the morphological and molecular criteria separated R. e. evertsi, R. pulchellus and R. appendiculatus from other members of the genus, except the morphologically similar sibling species R. zambeziensis, this was not the case for other tick populations. …

Understanding The Influence Of The Cancer Microenvironment On Metabolism And Metastasis, Shonagh Russell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cancer is a complex and heterogeneous disease. Not only is there considerable variability between different cancer types, but there is enormous variability between and within patients who have the same type of cancer. Within tumors, there are multiple cell types, including cancer cells, stromal cells, and immune cells. The tumor microenvironment often induces the healthy cells to become pro-tumorigenic. Cell metabolism is exquisitely sensitive to changes in the tumor microenvironment and can be measured to infer the aggressiveness of cancer and predict response to therapy. In this dissertation, we aim to understand how the microenvironment, specifically low pH, affects the …

Epidemic Spruce Beetle Outbreak Changes Drivers Of Engelmann Spruce Regeneration, Jessika M. Pettit, Julia I. Burton, R. Justin Derose, James N. Long, Steve L. Voelker

Ecology Center Publications

Climate‐mediated disturbances outside the range of historical variability can have severe consequences on vital, post‐disturbance regeneration processes. High‐elevation forests of the Rocky Mountains that are dominated by Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii) and subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa) are expected to be sensitive to climate change. Additionally, these forests have experienced recent epidemic spruce beetle (Dendroctonus rufipennis) outbreaks that have often resulted in >95% mortality of overstory Engelmann spruce. Therefore, the future distribution of Engelmann spruce forests depends largely on natural regeneration processes. We examined Engelmann spruce seedlings across gradients in soil moisture and stand structural …

Overhauling Ocean Spatial Planning To Improve Marine Megafauna Conservation, Ana Micaela Martins Sequeira, Graeme Clive Hays, David Sims, Víctor Eguíluz, Jorge Rodríguez, Michelle Heupel, Rob Harcourt, Hannah Calich, Nuno Queiroz, Daniel Paul Costa, Juan Fernández-Gracia, Luciana Ferreira, Simon David Goldsworthy, Mark Andrew Hindell, Mary-Anne Lea, Mark Meekan, Anthony Michael Pagano, Scott Shaffer, Julia Reisser, Michele Thums, Michael Weise, Carlos Duarte

Faculty Publications, Biological Sciences

Tracking data have led to evidence-based conservation of marine megafauna, but a disconnect remains between the many 1000s of individual animals that have been tracked and the use of these data in conservation and management actions. Furthermore, the focus of most conservation efforts is within Exclusive Economic Zones despite the ability of these species to move 1000s of kilometers across multiple national jurisdictions. To assist the goal of the United Nations General Assembly’s recent effort to negotiate a global treaty to conserve biodiversity on the high seas, we propose the development of a new frontier in dynamic marine spatial management. …

The Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug Indomethacin Induces Heterogeneity In Lipid Membranes: Potential Implication For Its Diverse Biological Action, Mihnea P Dragomir, Stefan Tudor, Keishi Okubo, Masayoshi Shimizu, Meng Chen, Dana Elena Giza, William Ruixian He, Cristina Ivan, George A Calin, Catalin Vasilescu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Splenectomy is a common surgical procedure performed in millions of people worldwide. Epidemiologic data show that splenectomy is followed by infectious (sepsis) and non-infectious complications, with unknown mechanisms. In order to explore the role of the non-coding transcripts involved in these complications, we analysed a panel of circulating microRNAs (miRNAs), which were previously reported to be deregulated in sepsis, in the plasma of splenectomized patients. MiR-223 was overexpressed immediately and late after splenectomy, while miR-146a was overexpressed immediately after splenectomy, returning latter to basal levels; and miR-16, miR-93, miR-26a and miR-26b were overexpressed only late after splenectomy, suggesting similarities with …

Alginate/Cucurbit [7] Uril/Dequalinium–Basedb Supramolecular Carbohydrates: Modulation Of Fret Signal By Temperature Control, Amir Alam Sohail

Chemistry Theses

Herein, we describe the synthesis of a bioactive, inexpensive, and easy-tohandle supramolecular carbohydrate polymer by grafting of cucurbit [7] uril macrocycle (CB7)-encapsulated dequalinium chloride hydrate (DCH) onto alginic acid carbohydrates (ALG) via amide linkage formation and show that light energy transfer based on energy migration can be controlled by altering polymer temperature without changing polymer composition. DCH (donor) and 2-anilinonaphthalene-6- sulfonic acid (acceptor) were used to generate Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) signals. Stationary and time-resolved photoluminescence spectra of the modified carbohydrate platform revealed that FRET resulted in a color change from violet (~387 nm) to blue (~429 nm), which …

Review Of Naturally Occurring Ammonia In Groundwater And Its Effect On Using Chloramines For Drinking Water Disinfection In Louisiana, Athena Lindsay

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Strategic Categories And Competition: Significant Clustering For Strategic Groups, Charles Carroll, Howard Thomas

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Purpose: Strategic groups research has been hampered by the poor alignment between theory and methods. This has been due in large part to the lack of significance tests for cluster analysis. Now that significance tests are available, the theoretical and methodological implications are discussed. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach: The theory behind strategic groups is reframed to capitalize on the available significance tests. Subsequently, the significance tests are also modified to fit the proposed theory. Due to this integrative approach, this is both a theoretical and a methodological paper. Findings: In lieu of significance tests, finding differences …

In Vitro Investigation Of The Effect Of Camel Milkproteins And Its Fractions On Insulin Receptor Function, Arshida Ashraf

Biology Theses

Camel milk (CM) has been reported to have anti-diabetic properties in many in vitro and in vivo studies but the molecular basis of such beneficial properties are still elusive. Recently, camel milk whey proteins (CWPs) have been shown to positively affect the activity of the human insulin receptor (hIR) in cell lines. In this study, we profiled crude CWPs and their hydrolysates as well as camel milk lactoferrin (CMLF) for their pharmacological and functional effects on hIR activity and its downstream signaling in both human embryonic kidney (HEK293) and hepatocarcinoma (HepG2) cell lines. For this, bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) …

Analysis Of Genetic Variation Of Western And Eastern Populations Of Socotra Cormorant (Phalacrocorax Nigrogularis) In The Uae, Salama Rashed Al Mansouri

Biology Theses

Understanding the genetic structure of threatened and endangered species is important in management and conservation efforts. Measuring the pattern and scale of genetic variation within and among populations is important for understanding population dynamics. It helps us improve our understanding of the ecological and genetic relation between the populations. The current research looks at the population structure of the endemic seabird of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Socotra cormorant (Phalacrocorax nigrogularis). The lack of genetic information, increased threats, and small breeding habitats of the Socotra cormorants, makes it important to investigate the genetic population structure in the …

Forensic Evaluation Of 6-Dye Chemistry Kit Composed Of 23 Loi With Casework Samples, Naeema Saleh Al Janaahi

Biology Theses

Short Tandem Repeats (STRs) are short nucleotide sequence repeats consisting of 2-8 base pairs (bp), representing approximately 3% of human DNA. Markers of STRs have been widely used as genetic markers in forensic DNA analysis and have proven to be an extremely discriminating method for human identification in forensics. The main objective of this research was to evaluate a six-dye STR multiplex assay (Virifiler™ Plus) composed of 23 autosomal STR loci, one insertion/deletion polymorphic marker on the Y chromosome, Amelogenin and two internal quality control markers (IQCS and IQCL) using biological stains found in different crime scenes. The study investigated …

A Study Of Environmental Factors Affecting Coral Species Growth In Western Region Of Abu Dhabi – Uae And The Arabian Gulf, Khulood Ahmed Eissa Al Ali

Biology Theses

This study aims to investigate possible effects of certain environmental factors particularly, high summer water temperature and increase of water salinity on the growth rate of endemic dominant coral species at the west coasts of the United Arab Emirates. The study investigated the dissolved trace elements concentrations and its relation to coral diseases.

The methodological investigations have been conducted in a defined two sites at Baraka and Al Saadiyat area. In Barakah, three quadrates of 1.0 m3 have monitored the growth of Porites harrisoni by both photographically as well as by direct measurements of the targeted coral colonies in each …

Variability Of Soybean Response To Rhizobia Inoculant, Vermicompost, And A Legume-Specific Fertilizer Blend In Siaya County Of Kenya, Catherine Mathenge, Moses Thuita, Cargele Masso, Joseph Gweyi-Onyango, Bernard Vanlauwe

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Rhizobia inoculation can increase soybean yield, but its performance is influenced by among others soybean genotype, rhizobia strains, environment, and crop management. The objective of the study was to assess soybean response to rhizobia inoculation when grown in soils amended with urea or vermicompost to improve nitrogen levels. Two greenhouse experiments and one field trial at two sites were carried out. The first greenhouse experiment included soils from sixty locations, sampled from smallholder farms in Western Kenya. The second greenhouse experiment consisted of one soil selected among soils used in the first experiment where inoculation response was poor. The soil …

Ubiquity Or Not Ubiquity: That Is The Question, Robin S. Sleith, Laura A. Katz

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The nature of population structure in eukaryotic microbes has been the subject of intense debate, but until recently the tools to test these hypotheses were either problematic (e.g., allozymes that cannot detect all genetic changes) or beyond financial and technological limits of most laboratories (e.g., high throughput sequencing). In a recent issue of Molecular Ecology, Craig et al. (2019) use a genomic approach to investigate the population structure of a model alga, the chlorophyte Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (Figure 1). Using high throughput sequencing, read mapping, and variant calling, they detected strong signals of differentiation at a continental scale, while local patterns …

Measurement Of Changes In Forest Fragmentation Caused By Road Construction Between 2000 And 2014 Using Gis In St. Johns County, Florida, Ahmet Karatas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Forests play a crucial role in maintaining the natural balance. They have essential features and structures used in the protection of flora and fauna. Human activities such as road construction disrupt ecosystems and negatively impact natural habitats. Roads cause forest fragmentation, and as a result of this, fragmentation has various negative effects on the natural habitat. These effects lead to loss of biological diversity, road mortality, habitat loss, fragmentation, and air pollution. The major goal of this study was to analyze changes in forest area, forest fragmentation, and forest road impacts using GIS for St. Johns County, Florida, between the …

Desertification Risk Analysis Based On Soils And Climate In Olive Cultivated Areas In Tulare County, California, Zehra Kavakli Karatas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Desertification is one of the most critical environmental problems caused by human activities and climate change. As a result of human activities, land degradation has been seen in many agricultural areas. Intense pressure on cultivated fields causes loss of soil fertility, which can then lead to desertification. Planting plant drought-resistant plants, such as olives, is one strategy for reducing desertification risk in cultivated areas. It is essential to find a way not only how to combat this process but also how to adapt or survive with desertification conditions. Defining desertification risks have a fundamental role in combating drought. The goal …

Sorption Of Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene And Different Ratios Of Mixture Solvent By Plasticized Pema Films Using A Qcm Sensor, Xinpeng Li

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

VOCs (volatile organic compounds) can cause great harm to human health especially benzene, toluene and ethylbenzene. In this work a Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) sensor with a polymer/plasticizer film was developed to quantify the VOCs both in air and water. QCM is an acoustic wave sensor that can be used well in detecting the aromatic compounds in the film. Because more than one VOC is present in the air, this thesis focuses on finding the sorption of different ratios of VOCs (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene) using a polymer/plasticizer film in QCM. Poly (ethyl methacrylate) (PEMA) was used as the polymer because …

Teaching Towards Critical Consciousness: Preservice Teachers Narrate Race In English Education, Joanelle Morales

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

English teacher educators argue the need to reshape English Education programs by offering transformative discussion that promote “Critical Race English Education” which centers race and racism and examines the role of language and literacy in disrupting existing power relations (Baker-Bell, Butler, & Johnson, 2017). This study explored four secondary English preservice teachers’ understandings of race in education under a Critical Race Theory lens. Through narrative inquiry, their stories revealed how they constructed and made meaning of their racial identities and how these identities informed their practices and instructional decisions as English teachers. By inviting preservice teachers to confront their experiences …

Measuring And Utilizing High-Dimensional Information Of Optical Fields, Ziyi Zhu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Currently, many areas of optical techniques including imaging, inspection and communication emphasize the utilization of the high-dimensional information encoded in optical fields. There is also a requirement for novel measurement techniques to extract this high-dimensional information with high-speed and accuracy. We firstly introduce a scan-free direct measurement technique that is capable of simultaneously characterizing the amplitude and phase of a coherent scalar optical field. Our direct measurement approach is constituted of a weak polarization perturbation which is followed by the recording of a polarization-resolving imaging process. The weak perturbation rotates the linear polarization on the spatial frequency domain of the …

Detection Of Gender-Related Differential Item Functioning (Dif) In The Mathematics Subtests In Turkey, Zeynep Merve Sapmaz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The main goal of this study was to investigate differential item functioning by gender in the Fundamental Mathematics (FMS) and Mathematics subtests (MS) of the MSPC-2018 Higher Education Institutions Examination. Each test consists of 40 items and for both subtests random samples of 10.000 students were received from the MSPC separately. To compare non-IRT (Classical Test Theory) and Item Response Theory (IRT) approaches, Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel (C-M-H), Logistic Regression (LR), and 2-PL IRT-LR statistics were used.

For the FMS, C-M-H, LR, and 2-PL IRT-LR procedures identified 18, 16, and 10 out of 40 items that had DIF, respectively. Based on the non-IRT …