Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Use Of Random Subspace Ensembles On Gene Expression Profiles In Survival Prediction For Colon Cancer Patients, Vidya Kamath

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cancer is a disease process that emerges out of a series of genetic mutations that cause seemingly uncontrolled multiplication of cells. The molecular genetics of cells indicates that different combinations of genetic events or alternative pathways in cells may lead to cancer. A study of the gene expressions of cancer cells, in combination with the external influential factors, can greatly aid in cancer management such as understanding the initiation and etiology of cancer, as well as detection, assessment and prediction of the progression of cancer.

Gene expression analysis of cells yields a very large number of features that can be …

A Measurement-Based Admission Control Mechanism For Wireless Local Area Networks, Srinivas Bandi Ramesh Babu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As users become more comfortable using IEEE 802.11 Wireless Local Area Networks, the need for quality of service is becoming more important because of the lack of support in current standards and the increase of multimedia traffic over the Internet. The IEEE 802.11 working group has recognized this fact proposing the Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA), a priority-based distributed scheme meant to provide service differentiation. EDCA relies on either different Arbitrary Interframe Space (AIFS), or Contention Window (CW) parameters, or both to provide service differentiation. In this thesis, a performance evaluation of the EDCA using five different combinations of the …

Mosaic, Vicki L. Kennedy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mosaic is the story of Alicia O'Day, a woman who looks back at her life from the vantage point of middle age and attempts to arrange the shards of her past into something meaningful. As she relates her story, illustrating her errors, we realize she has changed and grown enough to see herself with added wisdom and humor. The chaos of her younger days is seen as a learning process. The broken vessel has been mended, and the scars from the seams add interest to the original piece.

As Alicia reviews her life, she glues the broken fragments back into …

Scalable Energy-Efficient Location-Aided Routing (Selar) Protocol For Wireless Sensor Networks, George Lukachan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Large-scale wireless sensor networks consist of thousands of tiny and low cost nodes with very limited energy, computing power and communication capabilities. They have a myriad of possible applications. They can be used in hazardous and hostile environments to sense for deadly gases and high temperatures, in personal area networks to monitor vital signs, in military and civilian environments for intrusion detection and tracking, emergency operations, etc. In large scale wireless sensor networks the protocols need to be scalable and energy-efficient. Further, new strategies are needed to address the well-known energy depletion problem that nodes close to the sink node …

Seeking Story: Finding The Modern Day Folktale In The Daily News, Brandice Palmer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the local news story for evidence of the folktale tradition. It examines a range of local news stories for their folktale functions. The study compares the cultural and psychological function of the news story to that of the folktale and compares the functional definition of folklore to that of journalism. The study also explores the idea of a classifiable sphere of formal character, motif and plot functions that may be explored within the news story and folktale texts. This study builds on the premise that the study of folklore should be at the center of a consideration …

Bulk Silicon Based Temperature Sensor, Bharath Bethala Kishanlal Premchand

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A bulk silicon temperature sensor is fabricated in this work. The objective is to develop a low-cost high resolution temperature sensor. The target applications are a Conductivity-Temperature-Depth (CTD) sensor for oceanic applications and a magnetocaloric microcooler.

The properties of silicon are modified by thermal diffusion of gold. Gold is a fast diffuser in silicon and its diffusion contributes to the increase in resistivity of silicon. The addition of gold to n-type silicon creates a negative temperature coefficient device. The effect of the diffusing environment was investigated by diffusing in oxygen and nitrogen ambient at various temperatures. The influence of area …

Exploring The Role Of Social Support In Heterosexual Women’S Use And Receipt Of Non-Lethal Intimate Partner Violence, Kathryn A. Branch

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The concept of social support has been found to be a protective factor in women's intimate partner violence victimization. However, little is known about the relationship between women's social support and their intimate partner violence perpetration. Research evidence demonstrates that women's perpetration of violence is surprisingly frequent, particularly in women younger than age 30. This study investigated the role of social support in heterosexual women's use and receipt of non-lethal aggression against an intimate partner among 673 female college students. The implications of these findings for research and practice are discussed.

Reducing Pollutants In Industrial Stormwater Runoff: Improved Water Quality Protection Using Prioritized Facility Regulation, Lindsay M. Griffen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Stormwater pollutants originating from industrial facilities can lead to degraded water quality, even in residentially dominated regions of the country. The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit program regulates stormwater pollutants generated at industrial sites using Multi-Sector General Permits (Generic permits) for industrial facilities and a permit requirement for Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) operators. All industrial facilities within 11 broad categories of industry are responsible for self-identifying the need to comply with the Generic permit, and subsequently, implementing self-selected pollution prevention strategies. MS4 operators are required to identify and inspect “high risk” industrial and commercial facilities that may …

An Inventory Model With Two Truckload Transportation And Quantity Discounts, Ramesh T. Santhanam

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Transportation plays a vital role in the movement of raw materials and finished goods from one place to another. Trucks play a vital role in the movement of materials and are indispensable part of almost every shipment, both domestic and international. On the average, thirty-nine percent of the total logistics cost is spent on transportation. Therefore reducing the transportation cost may significantly reduce the total logistics cost.

The total annual logistics cost considered in this research includes ordering cost, material cost, transportation cost and inventory holding cost. The main objective of this research is to develop algorithms for finding the …

Modeling Hurricane Evacuation Vulnerability: A Case Study Of Pinellas County, Florida, Raymond A. Miller Jr.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Determining where people are most likely to suffer losses and have difficulty in evacuating from a hurricane is important to developing a hurricane response strategy. This thesis proposes a methodology for modeling and assessing evacuation vulnerability to a specific hurricane and applies this method to study Pinellas County, Florida.

The vulnerability of Pinellas County to evacuation problems and the degree of loss that may be suffered from a hurricane is quantified in the Hurricane Evacuation Vulnerability Index. This index is the sum of three indices that represent social, transportation, and geophysical aspects of hazards research. Social vulnerability is assessed with …

Identifying Plankton From Grayscale Silhouette Images, Kurt A. Kramer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Utilizing a continuous silhouette image of marine plankton produced by a device called SIPPER, developed by the Marine Sciences Department, individual plankton images were extracted, features were derived, and classification was performed. There were plankton recognition experiments performed in Support Vector Machine parameter tuning, Fourier descriptors, and feature selection.

Several groups of features were implemented, moments, gramulometric, Fourier transform for texture, intensity histograms, Fourier descriptors for contour, convex hull, and Eigen ratio. The Fourier descriptors were implemented in three different flavors sampling, averaging and hybrid (mix of sampling and averaging).

The feature selection experiments utilized a modified WRAPPER approach of …

The Concurrent Development Scheduling Problem (Cdsp), Leroy W. Paul

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The concurrent development (CD) project is defined as the concurrent development of both hardware and software that is integrated together later for a deliverable product. The CD Scheduling Problem (CDSP) is defined as most CD baseline project schedules being developed today are overly optimistic. That is, they finish late. This study researches those techniques being used today to produce CD project schedules and looks for ways to close the gap between the baseline project schedule and reality. In Chapter 1, the CDSP is introduced. In Chapter 2, a review is made of published works. A review is also made of …

Victimization And Academic Achievement At School: The Role Of Psychosocial Mediators And Moderators, Christine Marie Wienke Totura

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The present study sought to examine the relationship between victimization by peers in middle school and academic outcomes. it was expected that an association between the experience of victimization and diminished academic performance would be mediated by poor psychological outcomes, as measured by moodiness, depression, anxiety, and anger. additionally, it was hypothesized that academic outcomes could be divided into two distinct constructs, motivation and achievement, with motivation and academic goal-orientation variables preceding the adequate attainment of school grades and standardized test scores. therefore, the present mediated model was tested using a structural equation modeling technique: victimization-psychological functioning-academic motivation-academic achievement. additionally, …

Numerical Modeling Of Cds/Cdte Thin Film Solar Cell Using Medici, Gokul Muthuswamy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Thin Film CdS/CdTe Solar cells have been an attrative alternative to silicon solar cells because of their low cost. Numerical Modeliong using using various tools pertinent only to solar cells have been employed to study the device properties. In this work a powerful device simulation tool MEDICI is used to develop a quantitative device model. The model is modified to accommodate a glass layer and an AM1.5 spectrum is used as the simlation of light source. Analysis of the response of solar cell J-V parameters like voc and Jsc to changes in acceptor concentration, CdTe thickness and changes in the …

Three-Dimensional Digital Image Processing And Reconstruction Of Granular Particles, Jorge A. Rivas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents a method for digitization of the two-dimensional shape of granular particles by means of photo microscopy and image processing techniques implemented using a software package from Media Cybernetics, Inc: Image-Pro Plus 5.1 and the add-ins Scope-Pro 5.0, SharpStack 5.0 and 3D Constructor 5.0. With the use of these tools, it was possible to implement an efficient semi-automated routine that allows the digitization of large numbers of two-dimensional silhouettes of particles in minimum time, without endangering the quality and reliability of the shapes obtained. Different sample preparation techniques, illumination systems, deconvolution algorithms, mathematical functions, filtering techniques and programming …

Investigating Turnover Intention Among Emergency Communication Specialists, Yufan Liu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study tested a model that uses job stressors, equity sensitivity, perceived organizational justice, and job satisfaction to explain turnover intention and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). An online survey was distributed to emergency communication specialists from 14 emergency communication centers in Florida. The supervisors in these emergency communication centers were asked to rate their employees on OCB. Responses to the survey and the OCB ratings were analyzed using structural equation modeling to evaluate the fit of a theoretical model to those data. Results showed that the model fit the data reasonably well and nearly all the hypotheses were supported. Specifically, …

Examining The Attitudes Toward Mathematics Of Preservice Elementary School Teachers Enrolled In An Introductory Mathematics Methods Course And The Experiences That Have Influenced The Development Of These Attitudes, Joy Bronston Schackow

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The reform movement in mathematics education has recognized affective factors as an important area where change is needed. This study examined the attitudes toward mathematics of preservice elementary teachers entering an introductory mathematics methods course. The methods course utilized constructivist instructional methods, such as the use of manipulatives, cooperative group work, problem solving, and calculators. Qualitative methods were used to explore participants attitudes toward mathematics and the experiences that have led to the development of these attitudes. The study sought to determine the extent to which preservice teachers attitudes toward mathematics changed during the methods course and the correlation between …

Salinity (Conductivity) Sensor Based On Parallel Plate Capacitors, Shreyas Bhat

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This work is aimed at developing a high sensitivity salinity (conductivity) sensor for marine applications. The principle of sensing involves the use of parallel plate capacitors, which minimizes the proximity effects associated with inductive measurement techniques. The barrier properties of two different materials, AZ5214 and Honeywell's ACCUFLO T3027, were investigated for use as the insulation layer for the sensor. Impedance analysis performed on the two coatings using Agilent's 4924A Precision Impedance Analyzer served to prove that ACCUFLO was a better dielectric material for this application when compared to AZ5214.
Two separate detection circuits have been proposed for the salinity sensor. …

Ensembles For Distributed Data, Larry Shoemaker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Many simulation data sets are so massive that they must be distributed among disk farms attached to different computing nodes. The data is partitioned into spatially disjoint sets that are not easily transferable among nodes due to bandwidth limitations. Conventional machine learning methods are not designed for this type of data distribution. Experts mark a training data set with different levels of saliency emphasizing speed rather than accuracy due to the size of the task. The challenge is to develop machine learning methods that learn how the expert has marked the training data so that similar test data sets can …

Development Of Laser System To Measure Pavement Rutting, Hongzhi Wang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Asphalt pavement rutting is one of the most common and destructive pavement distresses observed on U.S. roads, particularly in the urban environment at intersections. They are an important indicator of the structural integrity of the pavement as well as having an impact on road user safety. For these reasons, most road agencies regularly monitor the levels of rut depths on their pavement. There are four technologies used for estimating rut depth in automated measurement way: ultrasonics, point lasers, scanning lasers, Optical.

This thesis will focus on the development of the laser scanner rut depth measurement system, including the improvement of …

Mapping Tampa Bay Cynoscion Nebulosus Spawning Habitat Using Passive Acoustic Surveys, Sarah Lyle Walters

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Spotted seatrout, Cynoscion nebulosus, spawning locations as well as associated environmental variables were determined for Tampa Bay, Florida during the 2004 spawning season using a mobile hydrophone survey. Hydrophones, a type of underwater microphone, can be used to detect and record spawning sounds of soniferous fishes. During their spawning season in Tampa Bay which generally occurs between March and September, mature male spotted seatrout generate sounds associated with courtship in the crepuscular and evening periods by vibrating sonic muscles against the swim bladder. Active spawning sites can be located using hydrophones to find these calling males.

Using a random …

Torsion-Induced Pressure Distribution Changes In Human Intervertebral Discs: An In Vitro Study, Brenda Kay Yantzer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Introduction. To test the effects of torsion torques on intradiscal pressure and disc height in human lumbar specimens.

Methods. Six human lumbar cadaveric functional spine units (FSU) were loaded in the neutral position with 600 N compression. Nucleus pressure measurements were obtained at 0 Nm, 0.5 Nm, 1.0 Nm and 2 Nm torsion torque. Posterior elements were removed and pressure measurements were repeated at the same torsion torques for the disc body unit (DBU). The pressure in the nucleus was measured by pulling a pressure probe through the disc along a straight path in the midsagittal plane.

Results …

Investigating The Hispanic/Latino Male Dropout Phenomenon: Using Logistic Regression And Survival Analysis, Dorian Charles Vizcain

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explored the factors associated with dropping out of middle school and high school among Hispanic/Latino male students. Predictor variables investigated were: age, home language, retention history, SES, program of studies, suspensions, and GPA. Data were from a large urban school district in the state of Florida. A sample of 865 Hispanic/Latino male Latino students in the 8th grade in 1995-96 was followed longitudinally every year to the year 2000-01. Survival analysis and logistic regression were used to examine the data.

The research questions were: 1) What is the relation between age, home language, retention history, SES, program of …

Nanomaterial Sensing Layer Based Surface Acoustic Wave Hydrogen Sensors, Krishnan Srinivasan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis addresses the design and use of suitable nanomaterials and surface acoustic wave sensors for hydrogen detection and sensing.

Nanotechnology is aimed at design and synthesis of novel nanoscale materials. These materials could find uses in the design of optical, biomedical and electronic devices. One such example of a nanoscale biological system is a virus. Viruses have been given a lot of attention for assembly of nanoelectronic materials. The tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) used in this research represents an inexpensive and renewable biotemplate that can be easily functionalized for the synthesis of nanomaterials. Strains of this virus have been …

Creation, Analysis, And Evaluation Of Remote Sensing Sinkhole Databases For Pinellas County, Florida, Larry D. Seale Jr.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A database of likely sinkholes in Pinellas County, Florida, created using airborne laser swath mapping (ALSM a.k.a LIDAR for light detection and ranging), correlates poorly with other databases of likely sinkholes created from modern and historic aerial photographs. Urbanization appears to be the cause of the poor correlation. Buildings obscure much of the ground surface in urban areas, and many man-made depressions can be confused with natural sinkholes. Additionally, the lack of air photos contemporaneous with the ALSM data hinders ALSM analysis in rapidly developing areas.

Selecting a lightly-developed portion of the county for further study reduced the effects of …

Examining Emotional Intelligence And Leadership, Shannon Webb

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Varying theories have been presented about the relationship of emotional intelligence to transformational leadership. The present study examines the extent to which a self report measure of emotional intelligence, based upon an ability model, can predict each of the four components of transformational leadership. This study further considers the extent to which the quality of a leader-follower dyad's Leader-Member Exchange relationship can moderate the relationship between emotional intelligence and transformational leadership. Study results demonstrate that emotional intelligence is related to several components of transformational leadership, and that both the quality of the Leader-Member Exchange relationship and the tenure of the …

From Chapel To Chamber: Liturgy And Devotion In Lucantonio Giunta’S Missale Romanum, 1508, Lesley T. Stone

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A missal is the liturgical book containing the prayers and readings for the celebration of the Mass. Originally designed in large folio format, the simultaneous arrival of the printing press amidst a shift in the celebration of Mass from a communal to a private sphere resulted in the proliferation of the small and more portable octavo-size missal. Missals traditionally contained minimal illustrations prior to printing, resulting in their strict classification as a liturgical object. This thesis questions the previous established boundaries which categorize medieval objects as related to a particular type of religious activity. In other words, missals have been …

Application Of Residual Mapping Calibration To A Transient Groundwater Flow Model, Jeremy White

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Residual mapping is an automated groundwater-model calibration technique which rapidly identifies parameter-zone configurations, while limiting tendencies to over-parameterize. Residual mapping analyzes the model residual, or the difference between model-calculated head and spatially-interpolated observation data, for non-random trends. These trends are entered in the model as parameter zones. The values of hydrologic variables in each parameter zone are then optimized, using parameter-estimation software. Statistics calculated by the parameter-estimation software are used to determine the statistical significance of the parameter zones. If the parameter-value ranges for adjacent zones do not have significant overlap, the zones are considered to be valid. This technique …

Third Grade Retention And The Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test: An Exploratory Study, Heather A. Powell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Literacy is a growing national concern, resulting in federal legislation (e.g., No Child Left Behind Act) instituting higher accountability for states and schools with regard to reading instruction and remediation. As a result, Floridas statewide measure of achievement, the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) is now tied to retention decisions in third grade as part of the new pupil progression plan in the state. In its first year of implementation (2003), 23% of third-grade students failed the FCAT and over 28,000 were retained.

Research has consistently shown retention to be a negative experience for children; even when academic gains are …

Sialic Acid Modulation Of Cardiac Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel Gating Throughout The Developing Myocardium, Patrick J. Stocker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The proper orchestration of voltage-gated ion channel gating is vital to maintaining normal heart rhythms throughout an animal's lifespan. Voltage-gated sodium channels, Na_v, are responsible for the initiation of the cardiac action potential, which leads to cardiac systole. Comparison of neonatal ventricular and atrial myocyte Na_v gating with adult indicated that the neonatal ventricular Na_v gated following a ~10 mV greater depolarization than did atrial or adult ventricular Na_v. In this study I questioned whether development- and/or chamber-dependent changes in Na_v-associated functional sialic acids could account for these differences. When desialylated with …