Digital Commons Network^™

Teaching Concept Design Through Structured Practices And Portfolio Projects, Gavin Hadro

USF St. Petersburg campus Honors Program Theses (Undergraduate)

Concept designers serve various roles, but our primary objective is to give workable, inspiring ideas to a development or production team. The greatest difficulty is ensuring designs are visually compelling, intuitively functional, and intellectually stimulating, all at once. This thesis will evaluate what focused practices and strategies best prepare beginning designers to meet all three challenges. Performing industry-relevant tasks that train these skills will, in theory, enable those studying concept design to effectively learn singular skills before attempting to develop a portfolio that showcases an ability to combine them. Potential practices include compositional and storytelling exercises, 3D design studies, reflective …

Advancing Bridge Hydraulic Assessment With Hec-Ras 2d And Bathymetry Modeling In Arcgis Pro Using Hycat Asv Data, Daniel Iancu

Theses and Dissertations

This research centers on verifying an accurate and reliable method in deriving river bathymetry near bridge sites, which leads to critical enhancement of bridge scour analysis. The structural integrity of bridges is paramount, and accurate scour analysis is a cornerstone in civil engineering and public safety. Existing methods, though reliable and very well cemented in practice, may be improved with more precise water velocity estimates, which is essential for thorough bridge scour evaluations. Bridge assessments utilize bathymetry measurements in significant spots and or map out the continuous surface at the bottom of the river. This study seeks to validate if …

Physical Wellness Of The Collegiate Athlete, Richard Michael Morgan

Theses and Dissertations

Wellness among athletes has been studied, but it is still unclear what dimensions make up wellness and where the clinician should focus their efforts. It is known that wellness is a multifaceted definition and has many dimensions. This dissertation will look at the dimension of physical wellness of an athlete pertaining to prevention, return to sport/rehabilitation, and enhancing performance. The purpose of the study is to understand how a clinician may have a direct effect on the physical wellness of the athlete through prevention, intervention or rehabilitation, and performance training. This paper will discuss three different sub-dimensions of physical wellness, …

Hemisphere:Visual Cultures Of The Americas Volume Xvi 2024

Hemisphere: Visual Cultures of the Americas

No abstract provided.

‘Focus On’ South America: Mary Upjohn Meader’S 1937 Aerial Photography Of Peru, Chile, Argentina, And Uruguay, Kiki M. Barnes

Hemisphere: Visual Cultures of the Americas

No abstract provided.

Wonders Of The Ancestral Puebloans: Astronomers, Engineers, And Magicians Of The Four Corners, Ashar Mobeen

Hemisphere: Visual Cultures of the Americas

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of Essential Oils And Their Major Components For Disease Resistance, Serkan Tokgöz

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Essential oils (EOs) are natural hydrophobic compounds, which are highly complex, typically comprising 20 to 60 constituents, with two or three main components making up 20% to 95% of their composition, alongside other minor constituents. Research has firmly established the potent antibacterial and antifungal properties of EOs and their primary components. To assess their efficacy, one EO, nutmeg oil, and seven main components, including safrole, toscanol, safraleine, cinnamaldehyde, carvacrol, carvone, and thymol, were tested against four economically significant fungal pathogens (Alternaria solani, Fusarium graminearum, Rhizoctonia solani, and Sclerotiorum sclerotiorum), one oomycete pathogen (Phytium ultimum …

Ecological Dynamics Of Cenozoic North American Mammals, Alexandria Brandis Shupinski

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Understanding how community structure is affected by various ecological, climatic, and environmental changes is a long-standing goal in ecology. However, disentangling human impacts from these other variables is difficult when using short modern timescales and anthropogenically altered communities. The fossil record provides a means to investigate community structure dynamics across critical intervals, excluding humans as a variable. Here, in three studies, I assess changes in North American mammal paleocommunity structure across the last 66 million years (Ma) at multiple temporal and spatial scales. In Chapter 1, I identify changes in mammal functional diversity (FD) locally and continentally, using three independent …

Investigating Large Repeats In The Arabidopsis Thaliana Mitochondrial Genome Using Mitotalens, Megan Gusso

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This lab project explores the complexity of the mitochondrial genome by investigating large genomic repeats and their effect on flowering plants’ reproduction and viability. Mitochondria are the site of cellular respiration to create energy and contain their own DNA. This is counterintuitive because the byproducts of cellular respiration impose a threat of mutation for the stored DNA. The mitochondrial genome differs in size between animals and plants. Plant mitochondrial DNA is larger due to the presence of large, noncoding repeated sequences, and a large amount of DNA of unknown function. These sequences undergo high levels of recombination and rearrangement. The …

Design And Fabrication Of A Carbon Fiber Wheel For The Husker Motorsports Club, Benjamin Bashtovoi, Jordan Chapin, Michael Pineda, Caden Lind, Thomas Crum

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Every year, the Husker Motorsports team participates in a Formula SAE competition that challenges students to design and manufacture a Formula-style vehicle to compete against colleges from around the world. The Husker Motorsports club has sponsored this senior capstone project to improve the vehicle’s performance by reducing unsprung mass. Unsprung mass reduction has numerous benefits on vehicle dynamics, including improved acceleration, handling, and braking. To achieve these performance improvements, the team developed carbon-fiber composite wheels that weigh less than the current wheel solution and provide better rigidity. The team designed and modeled the wheel according to the 2023-2024 competition car …

Toxicological Effects And Treatment Of Accidental Ingestion Of Simparica Trio® In Felis Catus: An Investigative Review, Aussia M. Stander

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Simparica TRIO^®, a canine endectocide manufactured by Zoetis, contains sarolaner, moxidectin, and pyrantel pamoate salt in an orally administered chewable tablet. These compounds are all toxic to both cats and dogs in sufficient amounts. As Simparica TRIO^® rises in popularity among pet owners, Felis catus (felines, cats) in multi-pet households (households with both cats and dogs) are at increased risk of overdosage and toxicosis from accidental ingestion of Simparica TRIO^® due to their smaller weight.

Simparica TRIO^® is not for feline use and little literature exists on the symptoms of and treatment for accidental ingestion …

Pipecolic Acid And Novel Insights Into Cerebral Malaria, Akua E. Mensah

Theses and Dissertations

Cerebral malaria (CM), a severe manifestation of Plasmodium infection, prompts our investigation into the nuanced role of pipecolic acid in its pathophysiology. To unravel the molecular intricacies, we conducted in vitro lysine labeling techniques of mice infected with P. berghei ANKA parasites, and human P. falciparum grown in vitro, aiming to discern the impact of Plasmodium on pipecolic acid production. Previous observations indicated an elevation in pipecolic acid levels correlating with neurological decline in children with CM. In our study, confirming elevated pipecolic acid presence in the plasma and brain tissues of CM patients and the animal model of CM, …

Systematics And Biogeography Of Shallow Subterranean Carabidae In The Eastern United States, Curt Harden

All Dissertations

The shallow subterranean habitats (SSHs) of the eastern United States are reviewed, along with the associated ground beetles (Carabidae). Leaf litter, deep soil, fractured rock layers, and terrestrial epikarst are the predominant SSHs inhabited by Carabidae in the region. The long enigmatic genus Horologion is found, through study of morphology and DNA sequence data, to represent a paleoendemic lineage distributed only in West Virginia and Virginia; the likely sister to Horologion is the Gondwanan tribe Bembidarenini. A new species, Horologion hubbardi sp. n., is described from several individuals collected in or near drip pools in caves; the beetles probably …

Conversion Of Microcrystalline Cellulose To Hexane Using Hydrogenated Metal Oxides At Low Temperature And Pressure, Mubarak Osman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Increasing global energy demand and environmental concerns have fueled the exploration of sustainable and efficient methods for renewable fuel production. The conversion of cellulosic waste to hydrocarbon fuels using hydrogenated metal oxides presents a novel and eco-friendly approach to sustainably address energy demand. In this study, hydrogenated metal oxides were used as catalysts in a relatively low-temperature and atmospheric-pressure environment to facilitate the conversion of cellulosic waste into hydrocarbon fuels. Hydrogenated metal oxides have been introduced as potential hydrogen transfer catalysts. The expected result is the selective conversion of cellulose to hexane at relatively low temperatures, which significantly reduces energy …

In A State Of Becoming, Benjamin Conley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The artist discusses his Master of Fine Arts exhibition titled, In a State of Becoming. The exhibition was on view at the Tipton Gallery in downtown Johnson City, TN from February 26 March 8, 2024. In a State of Becoming showcased three large scale paintings, five multimedia prints, two sculptural installations, and a video projection installation. Conley's thesis research and current artistic practice revolve around the interfaces, connections, and relationships of humans and animals. Conley explicitly uses language like "animal" to describe "non-human animals" in his work's context. The exhibited works focused primarily on how the artist and/or the viewer …

Investigation On The Synthesis And Characterization Of Novel Phase Change Materials For Packaging Application, Sriram Srinivasan

Theses

Phase change material (PCM) is one of the majorly growing techniques used for thermal heat storage in various fields including construction for insulation and packaging industry. PCMs are widely used to increase the shelf life of the produce and prevent from harsh climatic conditions during transportation. In this present investigation, a PCM system was developed in the form of microcapsules using lauric acid (LA) and capric acid (CA) emulsions in melamine formaldehyde (MF) solution and polyurethane foam (PUF) using polytetrahydrofuran, isoprene diisocyanate, and polyethylene glycol (PEG). Acetic acid and triethylamine were used to control the pH during microcapsule preparation. The …

(Re)Consider The Walls: Exploring Meaning Potentials Of An Art Classroom’S Contents Through Thing-Powered Illustrations, Dylan Newton Hale

School of Art Graduate Theses

This arts-based self-study aimed to investigate the dynamic interplay of semiotic relationships and art pedagogical praxes through objects within the researcher’s art classroom. Utilizing interdisciplinary perspectives of semiotics, the new materialist concept of thing-power, and art scholarship, this arts-based self-study explores how inanimate objects possess the ability to influence and reflect pedagogical ideologies. The literature review provides an overview of educational semiotics, new materialist theory with a focus on the concept of thing-power, and drawing as a form of scholarship. It examines the communicative ability of the educational environment, elaborating on the role of objects as signs and symbols in …

Reducing Carbon Emissions With Returned Concrete, John M. Maxwell Jr.

Construction Management

The concrete industry is one of the most energy-intensive sectors of construction. Specifically, the cement production aspect is the most energy intensive, and produces the most carbon emissions. Concrete, a material ubiquitous with nearly every facet of construction; certain types of structures are composed of nearly all concrete. Production of cement is one of the biggest contributors to emissions within the industry. There have been initiatives to reduce or offset emissions from this process, through things like carbon capture, and the purchase of carbon or emissions credits. The objective of this paper was to investigate a new method of carbon …

How Monitoring Food Is Protecting People, Grace Sugden

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

While the issue of food safety has always been a concern for humanity, what that looks like has changed drastically over time. Instead of trying to judge if a stream has safe drinking water, consumers are now faced with deciding which preservatives and pesticides they expose themselves to. With the multitude of United States agencies tasked with protecting the public, standards and quality control processes should be transparent and efficient. Since the creation of the Bureau of Chemistry, numerous acts have been passed that regulate ingredients, processing procedures, and minimize contamination risks. When a spoiled product enters the food web, …

"Say What You Can't" By Nick Oliveri, Nicholas Oliveri

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

As a writer, Yeorbin both benefited from and competed against artificial intelligence. He shivered a bit but maintained a painful interest in what the video had to say. He thought it ironic that computer scientists were some of the first ones to suffer from artificial intelligence’s jet sweep of human labor. They’re supposed to be the anointed ones. Software engineers are supposed to be the ones with the guaranteed jobs. What’s happening?

County Compensation Proposal: Bridging Benefit Gaps For Employees, Danny Jaramillo

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The National Guard and Reservists are members of the U.S. military who face wage loss due to their Inactive Training Duty (ITD). This issue stems from contributing factors such as an employer's lack of knowledge of service obligations, inadequate legal protections, and inadequate preparation for ITD. The lack of legal protections while service members attend mandatory training exacerbates their financial burden. These contributing factors lead to severe consequences, such as financial strain on service members. One of these financial strains is using vacation accrual hours to supplement income. Burnout, fatigue, and stress from a lack of paid leave can lead …

Educating Hispanic Parents Through An Informative Video In Monterey County, Jonathan Hernandez Hernandez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The Local Oral Health Program is a program of the County of Monterey Health Department within the Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention Division. The program implements workshops to educate parents and elementary school students in Kindergarten and first grade on the importance of oral health. In Monterey County, there are 59.4% of Hispanics. They are a vulnerable population when it comes to oral health problems, which studies have shown. The project's purpose is to educate Hispanic parents regarding dental sealants and the benefits they provide to their children. It is crucial to establish good oral health routines to protect their …

Increasing Social-Emotional Development In Early Childhood, Brianna Navarro

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This capstone project focuses on increasing social-emotional development of 5- to 7-year-old children. Social-emotional learning (SEL) is a methodology that helps students of all ages better comprehend their emotions, feel emotions to the fullest extent, and demonstrate empathy for others. These learned behaviors are then used to help students make positive, responsible decisions, create frameworks to achieve their goals and build positive relationships with others. Researchers indicate that social-emotional learning promotes scholastic achievement, well-being, and positive life outcomes and can be a powerful tool for prevention and resilience when embedded with intentionality in curriculum, instruction, and school climate (Durlak et …

The Viral Spread Of Xenophobia: Analyzing The Influence Of Far-Right Politics On Anti-Asian Sentiment Expressed On Social Media During Covid-19., Robert F. Arnold Iii

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Throughout history, viral outbreaks have frequently led to the emergence of biased and discriminatory attitudes, often targeting populations that deviate from Western norms. These sentiments commonly manifest as xenophobia and racism (Chen, 2020; Chou, 2021). This report serves as an in-depth analysis of the role far-right political phrasing of Covid-19 as the “Chinese Virus,” played in the proliferation of anti-Asian and xenophobic attitudes, expressed on the social media platform X (Twitter). This study also aims to better understand the various different factors that cause followers of far-right politics to engage and believe in anti-Asian sentiment online. Using Integrated Threat Theory …

Dlk-Mapk Signaling Coupled With Dna Damage Promotes Intrinsic Neurotoxicity Associated With Non-Mutated Tau, Sanming Li, Ethan R Roy, Yanyu Wang, Trent Watkins, Wei Cao

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most prevalent form of neurodegeneration. Despite the well-established link between tau aggregation and clinical progression, the major pathways driven by this protein to intrinsically damage neurons are incompletely understood. To model AD-relevant neurodegeneration driven by tau, we overexpressed non-mutated human tau in primary mouse neurons and observed substantial axonal degeneration and cell death, a process accompanied by activated caspase 3. Mechanistically, we detected deformation of the nuclear envelope and increased DNA damage response in tau-expressing neurons. Gene profiling analysis further revealed significant alterations in the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway; moreover, inhibitors of dual leucine …

The Intrinsic Substrate Specificity Of The Human Tyrosine Kinome, Tomer M Yaron-Barir, Brian A Joughin, Emily M Huntsman, Alexander Kerelsky, Daniel M Cizin, Benjamin M Cohen, Amit Regev, Junho Song, Neil Vasan, Ting-Yu Lin, Jose M Orozco, Christina Schoenherr, Cari Sagum, Mark T Bedford, R Max Wynn, Shih-Chia Tso, David T Chuang, Lei Li, Shawn S-C Li, Pau Creixell, Konstantin Krismer, Mina Takegami, Harin Lee, Bin Zhang, Jingyi Lu, Ian Cossentino, Sean D Landry, Mohamed Uduman, John Blenis, Olivier Elemento, Margaret C Frame, Peter V Hornbeck, Lewis C Cantley, Benjamin E Turk, Michael B Yaffe, Jared L Johnson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Phosphorylation of proteins on tyrosine (Tyr) residues evolved in metazoan organisms as a mechanism of coordinating tissue growth1. Multicellular eukaryotes typically have more than 50 distinct protein Tyr kinases that catalyse the phosphorylation of thousands of Tyr residues throughout the proteome1-3. How a given Tyr kinase can phosphorylate a specific subset of proteins at unique Tyr sites is only partially understood4-7. Here we used combinatorial peptide arrays to profile the substrate sequence specificity of all human Tyr kinases. Globally, the Tyr kinases demonstrate considerable diversity in optimal patterns of residues surrounding the site of phosphorylation, revealing the functional organization of …

Bacteria Synergized With Pd-1 Blockade Enhance Positive Feedback Loop Of Cancer Cells-M1 Macrophages-T Cells In Glioma, Qi Chen, Yuyi Zheng, Xiaojie Chen, Yuan Xing, Jiajie Zhang, Xinyi Yan, Qi Zhang, Di Wu, Zhong Chen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Cancer immunotherapy is an attractive strategy because it stimulates immune cells to target malignant cells by regulating the intrinsic activity of the immune system. However, due to lacking many immunologic markers, it remains difficult to treat glioma, a representative "cold" tumor. Herein, to wake the "hot" tumor immunity of glioma, Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg) is customized with a coating to create an immunogenic tumor microenvironment and further prove the effect in combination with the immune checkpoint agent anti-PD-1, exhibiting elevated therapeutic efficacy. This is accomplished not by enhancing the delivery of PD-1 blockade to enhance the effect of immunotherapy, but by …

Enhanced Ctla-4 Blockade Anti-Tumor Immunity With Apg-157 Combination In A Murine Head And Neck Cancer, Daniel Sanghoon Shin, Saroj Basak, Mysore S Veena, Begoña Comin-Anduix, Arjun Bhattacharya, Tien S Dong, Albert Ko, Philip Han, Jonathan Jacobs, Neda A Moatamed, Luis Avila, Matteo Pellegrini, Marilene Wang, Eri S Srivatsan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: A phase I clinical study for patients with locally advanced H&N cancer with a new class of botanical drug APG-157 provided hints of potential synergy with immunotherapy. We sought to evaluate the efficacy of the combination of APG-157 and immune checkpoint inhibitors.

METHODS: CCL23, UM-SCC1 (human), and SCCVII (HPV-), MEER (HPV+) (murine) H&N cancer cell lines were utilized for in vitro and in vivo studies. We measured tumor growth by treating the mice with APG-157, anti-PD-1, and anti-CTLA-4 antibody combinations (8 groups). The tumor microenvironments were assessed by multi-color flow cytometry, immunohistochemistry, and RNA-seq analysis. Fecal microbiome was analyzed …

Modeling Acute Myocardial Infarction And Cardiac Fibrosis Using Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Multi-Cellular Heart Organoids, Myeongjin Song, Da Bin Choi, Jeong Suk Im, Ye Na Song, Ji Hyun Kim, Hanbyeol Lee, Jieun An, Ami Kim, Hwan Choi, Joon-Chul Kim, Choongseong Han, Young Keul Jeon, Sung Joon Kim, Dong-Hun Woo

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Heart disease involves irreversible myocardial injury that leads to high morbidity and mortality rates. Numerous cell-based cardiac in vitro models have been proposed as complementary approaches to non-clinical animal research. However, most of these approaches struggle to accurately replicate adult human heart conditions, such as myocardial infarction and ventricular remodeling pathology. The intricate interplay between various cell types within the adult heart, including cardiomyocytes, fibroblasts, and endothelial cells, contributes to the complexity of most heart diseases. Consequently, the mechanisms behind heart disease induction cannot be attributed to a single-cell type. Thus, the use of multi-cellular models becomes essential for creating …

Plant Model Of Α-Synucleinopathy: Expression Of Α-Synuclein A53t Variant In Hairy Root Cultures Leads To Proteostatic Stress And Dysregulation Of Iron Metabolism, Jasmina Kurepa, Kristen A. Bruce, Greg A. Gerhardt, Jan A. Smalle

Neurology Faculty Publications

Synucleinopathies, typified by Parkinson’s disease (PD), entail the accumulation of α- synuclein (αSyn) aggregates in nerve cells. Various αSyn mutants, including the αSyn A53T variant linked to early-onset PD, increase the propensity for αSyn aggregate formation. In addition to disrupting protein homeostasis and inducing proteostatic stress, the aggregation of αSyn in PD is associated with an imbalance in iron metabolism, which increases the generation of reactive oxygen species and causes oxidative stress. This study explored the impact of αSyn A53T expression in transgenic hairy roots of four medicinal plants (Lobelia cardinalis, Artemisia annua, Salvia miltiorrhiza, and Polygonum multiflorum). In all …