Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Low Power Technology Mapping And Performance Driven Placement For Field Programmable Gate Arrays, Hao, Li

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As technology geometries have shrunk to the deep sub-micron (DSM) region, the chip density and clock frequency of FPGAs have increased significantly. This makes computer-aided design (CAD) for FPGAs very important and challenging. Due to the increasing demands of portable devices and mobile computing, low power design is crucial in CAD nowadays. In this dissertation, we present a framework to optimize power consumption for technology mapping onto FPGAs. We propose a low-power technology mapping scheme which is able to predict the impact of choosing a subnetwork covering on the ultimate mapping solution. We dynamically update the power estimation for a …

An Event Driven Single Game Solution For Resource Allocation In A Multi-Crisis Environment, Rashmi S. Shetty

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The problem of resource allocation and management in the context of multiple crises occurring in an urban environment is challenging. In this thesis, the problem is formulated using game theory and a solution is developed based on the Nash equilibrium to optimize the allocation of resources to the different crisis events in a fair manner considering several constraints such as the availability of resources, the criticality of the events, the amount of resources requested etc. The proposed approach is targeted at managing small to medium level crisis events occurring simultaneously within a specific pre-defined perimeter with the resource allocation centers …

Counting Of Mostly Static People In Indoor Conditions, Amit A. Khemlani

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The ability to count people from video is a challenging problem. The scientific challenge arises from the fact that although the task is pretty well defined, the imaging scenario is not well constrained. The background scene is uncontrolled. Lighting is complex and varying. And, image resolution, both in terms of spatial and temporal is usually poor, especially in pre-stored surveillance videos. Passive counting of people from video has many practical applications such as in monitoring the number of people sitting in front of a TV set, counting people in an elevator, counting people passing through a security door, and counting …

Modelling Distance Functions Induced By Face Recognition Algorithms, Soumee Chaudhari

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Face recognition algorithms has in the past few years become a very active area of research in the fields of computer vision, image processing, and cognitive psychology. This has spawned various algorithms of different complexities. The concept of principal component analysis(PCA) is a popular mode of face recognition algorithm and has often been used to benchmark other face recognition algorithms for identification and verification scenarios. However in this thesis, we try to analyze different face recognition algorithms at a deeper level. The objective is to model the distances output by any face recognition algorithm as a function of the input …

The Stress Response, Psychoeducational Interventions And Assisted Reproduction Technology Treatment Outcomes: A Meta-Analytic Review, Karen Rose Mumford

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The psychological impacts of infertility have been well documented in the literature, providing evidence to support that at least some women who confront infertility are at risk for heightened distress and depressive symptoms. In response to this accumulated evidence, it has been argued that psychoeducational interventions may provide an important component to the treatment of infertility. While several theoretical models postulate the effects of stress on infertility treatment outcomes, results of these investigations have led to conflicting conclusions. However, a synthesis of the accumulated data examining the effects of stress on ART treatment outcomes was nonexistent until the conduct of …

Bayesian Inference In Forecasting Volcanic Hazards: An Example From Armenia, Jennifer N. Weller

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Scientists worldwide are increasingly faced with the need to assess geologic hazards for very infrequent events that have high consequence, for instance, in siting nuclear facilities for volcanic hazards. One of the methods currently being developed for such assessments is the Bayesian method. This paper outlines the Bayesian technique by focusing on the volcanic hazard assessment for the Armenia Nuclear Power Plant, (ANPP), which is located in a Quaternary volcanic field. The Bayesian method presented in this paper relies on the development of a probabilistic model based on the spatial distribution of past volcanic events and a geologic process model. …

Efficient And Effective? The Hundred Year Flood In The Communication And Perception Of Flood Risk, Heather Bell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In response to the rising costs of floods, the United States has adopted sophisticated programs to mitigate the loss of life and property. However, the efficient implementation of certain aspects of flood policy has taken precedence over effective communication. The scope of the National Flood Insurance Program and the efficient coding of "the 100 year flood" have led to a pervasive use of the term in both formal and informal risk communication. When officials began consciously communicating flood policy to the public, they assumed a narrow "engineering" model and did not fully anticipate the influence of informal communication on the …

Microglia Activation In Alzheimer's Disease, Kirk Phillip Townsend

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The work detailed in this dissertation has an overarching theme of modulating microglia activation in both in vivo and in vitro models relevant to AD. The premise is that understanding microglia function in this context may lead to a better understanding of AD pathogenesis and thus to effective therapeutic interventions. In chapter 3, we employ a well-defined model of microglia activation whereby the intraperitoneal delivery of LPS results in CNS microglia activation and TNF-α production. Having previously identified that CD45 signaling pathways antagonized microglia TNF-α production in vitro and given that immunotherapy with anti-CD45 antibodies are already in clinical trials …

A Sensitivity Analysis Of A Heuristic Model Used For The Placement Allocation Of Utilities In Transportation Right-Of-Way Corridors, Steve Clarence Christian

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The requirements for public utility systems in the United States of America have grown enormously over the years triggering a tremendous shortage for space available to public utilities on and within transportation right-of-ways (ROW). Overcrowding and improper location of utilities has resulted in problems such as, damage to infrastructure, traffic accidents and, interruption of service to customers. The project titled, "Optimal Placement of Utilities within FDOT Right-of-Way", sponsored by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), and currently being investigated at the University of South Florida, presents a decision-making heuristic aimed at developing a better utility placement allocation system (Kranc et. …

Analysis Of Flow In A 3d Chamber And A 2d Spray Nozzle To Approximate The Exiting Jet Free Surface, Chin Tung Hong

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this investigation is to analyze the flow pattern of cooling fluids in the 3D "twister-effect" mixing chamber and to approximate the free surface behaviors exiting the 2D spray nozzle. The cone angle and free surface height located at the end of the free surface are two significant factors to determine the spraying area on a heated plane. This process is a reasonable representation of many industrial cooling application. The whole system consists of 4 inlet tubes connected to the top of the mixing chamber, and the spray nozzle is located under the chamber. Four different refrigerants, like …

Numerical Simulation Of Thermal Comfort And Contaminant Transport In Air Conditioned Rooms, Son Hong Ho

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Health care facilities, offices, as well as workshops and other commercial occupancies, require ventilation and air conditioning for thermal comfort and removal of contaminants and other pollutions. A good design of ventilation and air conditioning provides a healthy and comfortable environment for patients, workers, and visitors.

The increasing developments of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in the recent years have opened the possibilities of low-cost yet effective method for improving HVAC systems in design phase, with less experiment required. This work presents numerical simulations of thermal comfort and contaminant removal for two typical working spaces where these factors are critical: a …

Modeling Of Qe, I-V Characteristics Of Msm (Metal-Semiconductor-Metal) Mercuric Iodide Thin Films With MediciTm, Vikram Rupavatharam

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mercuric Iodide is the most promising of all semiconductor materials currently under investigation for use as radiation detectors at room temperature. While substantial studies have been conducted on single crystal HgI₂, polycrystalline HgI₂ remains a comparatively less studied form.

The HgI₂ films are deposited on TEC-15 LOF glass with a Tin Oxide (SnO₂) coating which acts as the growth surface and front contact. The back contact, Palladium (Pd), is deposited by sputtering through a shadow mask. The films are circular in shape with an approximate diameter of 2.5 cm and thicknesses ranging from 50-600 …

Isolation And Identification Of O-Linked-Β-N-Acetylglucosamine Modified Proteins (O-Glcnac) In The Developing Xenopus Laevis Oocyte, Sreelatha Paspuleti

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Oocyte development in Xenopus laevis spans six morphologically distinct stages (stage I-VI), and is associated with a decrease in protein O-GlcNAc levels. As a first step in elucidating the role of O-GlcNAc in developing oocytes, initial efforts were focused on isolation and identification of fifteen modified proteins that decrease during oocyte development. Stage I oocytes due to their high amounts of these proteins, were used as starting material for purification. Multiple affinity and specific antibody based purification technique were initially used in an attempt to enrich the O-GlcNAc proteins. Due to the unique properties of the proteins …

Ocb Through Cultural Lenses: Exploring The Relations Among Personality, Ocb And Cultural Values, Xian Xu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The present study attempted to explore the role cultural values play on the relations between personality variables and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Specifically, Schwartz' cultural values of hierarchy and egalitarianism and the personality predictors of conscientiousness and agreeableness were examined. It was hypothesized that hierarchy and egalitarianism would moderate the relationship between conscientiousness, agreeableness and OCB. Specific hypotheses concerning the direction of the influence on particular dimensions of OCB were tested. Data were collected from multiple organizations resulting in a sample of 62 pairs of employee-supervisor dyads from the U.S. and 64 pairs from China. Results indicated that agreeableness correlated …

The Effects Of Graphic Display And Training In Visual Inspection On Teachers' Detection Of Behavior Change, Allana Duncan Luquette

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although a number of researchers have attempted to evaluate the variables that affect teacher's acceptability of behavioral interventions, few have examined the influence of treatment effectiveness on teacher decision making. Interestingly, effectiveness information in the form of graphic feedback has been shown to improve treatment integrity, however little has been done to assess the effects of graphic feedback on teacher's ability to accurately recognize behavior change. This study assessed the effects of graphic display and training in visual inspection of graphed data on the ability of teachers to accurately recognize and report changes in student behavior. In addition, the researcher …

Relation Between Weight Status, Gender, Ethnicity And The Food And Activity Choices Of Adolescents, Heather Leanne Curtiss

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined the relationship between the variables weight status (expected weight, overweight), ethnicity, and gender and the dependent variables dietary intake and physical activity behaviors among adolescents. The data presented in this study were collected using the Nutrition Questionnaire for High School Students, which was completed by 199 adolescents in a high school in southwest Florida in February of 2004. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to identify differences in dietary intake and physical activity behaviors between weight status groups.

The primary questions in this study related to interactions and main effects between the variables weight category, …

Slurry Sand Content And Concrete Interaction In Drilled Shaft Construction, Gregory Gene Deese

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Due to the widespread use of drilled shafts in state and federal highway bridges, strict regulation of the design and construction has been imposed by the respective agencies. However, documented cases of anomalies and/or poorly performing shafts continue to arise. To this end, this thesis investigates several aspects of drilled shaft construction that may affect the quality of the finished product. These areas include bentonite slurry properties and performance as well as reinforcement cage and concrete flow interactions.

Recent research indicates tremie poured concrete does not flow as predicted. Instead of even rising, a differential between the height of concrete …

Predicting Low Income Children's Kindergarten Readiness: An Investigation Of Parents’ Perceptions Of Their Children's Development And Connections To The Educational System, Nakeba N. Finlayson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The current study sought to explore the relationship between four parent variables and children's Early Screening Inventory-Kindergarten (ESI-K) scores among families from low socioeconomic status backgrounds. The four parent variables were 1) parents' perceptions of school readiness, 2) parents' education, and 3) parents' attitudes towards their child's school, 4) the child's early development. The participants were 63 parents and their kindergarten children from three schools in Hillsborough County Florida. Results showed that parents are relatively good predictors of their children's readiness for school, with that variable alone accounting for 18% of the variance in ESI-K scores. The four variables together …

Influence Of The So3 Content Of Cement On The Durability And Strength Of Concrete Exposed To Sodium Sulfate Environment, Amin A. Hanhan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this investigation was to assess the influence of the SO₃ content on the durability and strength of portland cement.

Four portland cements were used in this study. The cements had a variable tricalcium silicate, tricalcium aluminate, and alkali contents, as well as differences in the amount and form of calcium sulfates. The SO₃ content of the cements was increased by replacing part of the cement by gypsum according to ASTM C 452-95.

Mortar bars and cubes were prepared for the as-received as well as for the cements with an SO₃ content of 3.0% and …

Imitation And Its Reciprocity In The Treatment Of Autism, Roxana I. Nedelcu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined, within a multiple baseline design, the development of generalized imitative repertoires and the occurrence of contingency testing in children with autism. Generalized imitation refers to an imitative response class maintained by a conditioned reinforcer: similarity. In the case of imitation, a response class is established by reinforcement of sufficient exemplars of different imitations; the results is a general repertoire of imitating novel responses on their first presentation. Generalized imitation was facilitated through reinforcement procedures involving shaping and fading. Multiple experimenters and multiple settings have been involved to promote the generalization of imitation. Contingency testing, which has been …

Using Multiwavelength Uv-Visible Spectroscopy For The Characterization Of Red Blood Cells: An Investigation Of Hypochromism, Akihisa Nonoyama

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Particle analysis using multiwavelength UV-visible spectroscopy provides the potential for extracting quantitative red blood cell information, such as hemoglobin concentration, cell size, and cell count. However, if there is a significant presence of hypochromism as a result of the concentrated hemoglobin (physiological value of 33%), successful quantification of red cell values would require a correction.

Hypochromism has been traditionally defined as a decrease in absorption relative to the values expected from the Beer-Lambert Law due to electronic interactions of chromophores residing in close proximity of one another. This phenomenon has been suggested to be present in macroscopic systems composed of …

Racial Equity In Exclusionary Discipline Practices, Mary M. Tremper

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined whether external (out-of-school) suspensions are applied equitably to students of different ethnic backgrounds who commit violent and nonviolent offenses. The hypotheses presented in this study were addressed through secondary analysis of disciplinary records from a large metropolitan school district in Florida.

The results indicate that, for the group of 1,667 tenth grade students included in this analysis, racial equity was related to the type of offense, as well as to the student's socioeconomic status. Racial differences were found when SES was not considered, with African American students more likely to be suspended from school for status …

A Radial Basis Neural Network For The Analysis Of Transportation Data, David P. Aguilar

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis describes the implementation of a Radial Basis Function (RBF) network to be used in predicting the effectiveness of various strategies for reducing the Vehicle Trip Rate (VTR) of a worksite. Three methods of learning were utilized in training the Gaussian hidden units of the network, those being a) output weight adjustment using the Delta rule b) adjustable reference vectors in conjunction with weight adjustment, and c) a combination of adjustable centers and adjustable sigma values for each RBF neuron with the Delta rule. The justification for utilizing each of the more advanced levels of training is provided using …

Microstructure And Magnetism In Ferrite-Ferroelectric Multilayer Films, Natalie A. Frey

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Composite magneto-dielectric materials have been investigated over the years because of their potential applications in RF and microwave devices as the dielectric constant and permeability can be individually changed in these materials. In the recent past, there is a renewed interest in systems classified as ferroelectromagnets or multiferroics, which possess simultaneous ferroelectric and magnetic ordering as well as interesting magnetoelastic phenomena. In all these ferrite-ferroelectric materials, the coupling between the permeability (μ) of the magnetically ordered phase and permittivity (e) of the ferroelectric phase make them attractive candidates for multifunctional applications.

Ba_0.5Sr_0.5TiO₃ (BSTO) is a …

Protecting Biscayne: An Analysis Of Strategies For The Protection Of Biscayne National Park, Janell M. Harvey

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Biscayne National Park is located off the southeast coast of Florida and attracts approximately half a million visitors annually. Managers of Biscayne National Park are proposing a new General Management Plan (GMP) in order to update the recreational and commercial use of resources in the park. A Fishery Management Plan (FMP) is also being drafted simultaneously in conjunction with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in order to address concerns associated with management of fish stocks within the park.

The proposed plan alternatives of the GMP and the recommendations of the FMP were developed in response to the negative …

Effects Of Participant Engagement On Alcohol Expectancies And Drinking Outcomes For A Computerized Expectancy Challenge Intervention, William Michael Hunt

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of varying the amount of participant engagement on alcohol expectancy and drinking outcomes during a social/sexual expectancy challenge based on Darkes and Goldman's (1993, 1998) protocol. This study was also intended to provide a test of the efficacy of administering an alcohol/placebo expectancy challenge outside of a live drinking scenario through video presented as part of a computerized intervention.

One hundred fifty-eight male participants across three sites were randomized into a no-intervention control group that received non alcohol-related information in a minimally interactive computerized format, a low-level engagement experimental …

Relationship Between Curriculum-Based Measurement Reading And Statewide Achievement Test Mastery For Third Grade Students, Erin Elizabeth Ax

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The ability to read is highly valued in American society and important for social and economic advancement. One of the best strategies to prevent reading difficulties is to build basic literacy skills, thereby ensuring that all children are readers early in their educational careers. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between third-grade students' oral reading rate and scores on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test.

The present study examined the relationship between the independent variables of Curriculum-Based Measurement Reading (R-CBM), ethnicity and socioeconomic status and the dependent variable of performance on the reading portion of the Florida …

Linearity Optimization Of Power Transistors Utilizing Harmonic Terminations, Ravi Kumar Varanasi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis focuses on the characterization and optimization of microwave power transistors using a commercial on-wafer harmonic load pull system. Specific attention is paid to the output tuning of the second harmonic impedance presented to the device. The ability to quantify the level of accuracy in a load pull system is explored by using various calibration validation methods, including a method called Delta-Gt. In this work experiments and simulation comparisons are described for three different device technologies, namely GaAs pHEMT, GaAs HJFET and InGaP HBT. Externally supplied non-linear models were used for the simulations and these were exercised and compared …

Applying The Wrapper Approach For Auto Discovery Of Under-Sampling And Over-Sampling Percentages On Skewed Datasets, Ajay D. Joshi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Machine learning applications are plagued by the imbalance observed among the class sizes in many real world datasets. A dataset is said to be skewed or imbalanced when its classes are very unequally represented. A naïve classifier learned from these skewed datasets is always biased towards the majority classes which constitute a major percentage of the samples in the dataset. As a result the accuracy on the minority classes is hampered. In many real world applications like network intrusion detection, cancer detection from mammography images, etc. the events of interest are very rare and the cost of not detecting these …

Prehistoric Shell Artifacts From The Apalachicola River Valley Area, Northwest Florida, Eric Eyles

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With this thesis, I aim to fill a gap in our knowledge of shell artifacts from the northwest part of the state of Florida. It represents a first look at the range of shell artifacts in the collections of the University of South Florida (USF) obtained during the ongoing program of archaeological investigations in the Apalachicola Valley and surrounding region. There are 46 sites in the study area that have been identified as yielding shell artifacts, of which samples from 27 sites are curated in the USF Archaeology Laboratory. The proposed typology is based on an analysis of over 2300 …