American Studies Commons^™

Characterization Of Preliminary Breast Tomosynthesis Data: Noise And Power Spectra Analysis, Madhusmita Behera

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Early detection, diagnosis, and suitable treatment are known to significantly improve the chance of survival for breast cancer (BC) patients. To date, the most cost effective method for screening and early detection is screen-film mammography, which is also the only tool that has demonstrated its ability to reduce BC mortality. Full-field digital mammography (FFDM) is an extension of screen-film mammography that eliminates the need for film-processing because the images are detected electronically from their inception. Tomosynthesis is an emerging technology in digital mammography built on the FFDM framework, which offers an alternative to conventional two-dimensional mammography. Tomosynthesis produces three-dimensional (volumetric) …

Detection, Cloning, And Analysis Of A U32 Collagenase In Streptococcus Mutans Gs-5, Marios Ioannides

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Streptococcus mutans is a recognized principal etiologic agent in coronal caries. Although S. mutans has the ability to bind collagen and degrade FALGPA, a synthetic peptide mimicking collagen substrate, its role in dental root caries has not yet been fully elucidated. Degradation of collagen fibrils in dentin was attributed to S. mutans, but a collagenase enzyme has not yet been isolated from this organism. Considering the increased incidence of dental root decay among the elderly, an understanding of the role of the pathogenic factors is necessary to the development of preventive measures. The present study has focused on the …

Analysis Of Glass Mold To Enhance Rate Of Heat Transfer, Anand Warude

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Narrow Neck Press and Blow (NNPB) process is used to produce light weight bottles. The gob of molten glass is delivered to the blank mold and a specially designed narrow diameter plunger is used to form the finish or mouth and the parison as it presses upwards. Invert and final blow takes place followed by take-out and annealing. Anchor Glass Container Corp. (AGC) uses NNPB technology in their glass making plants. The problem experienced by AGC in the process is that the heat dissipation through out the mold is not uniform and hence there is a non uniform temperature distribution …

A Model For Strategic Bidding In Combined Transmission And Wholesale Energy Markets, Sanket Gupte

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Motivated by deregulation in major service sectors like airlines, banking and telecommunication, the electric industry is undergoing a major transformation. However due to design inefficiencies, restructuring of the power sector, so far, has not been a major success. A lack of comprehensive quantitative models has resulted in the inability of the market designers to evaluate market performance and develop successful market designs. A comprehensive model should include market features like two-settlement system, transmission congestion, financial transmission rights (FTRs), demand elasticity, demand-side bidding and other market rules.

The contribution of this thesis includes development of an exhaustive modeling framework that includes …

Distributed Clustering For Scaling Classic Algorithms, Prodip Hore

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Clustering large data sets recently has emerged as an important area of research. The ever-increasing size of data sets and poor scalability of clustering algorithms has drawn attention to distributed clustering for partitioning large data sets. Sometimes, centrally pooling the distributed data is also expensive. There might be also constraints on data sharing between different distributed locations due to privacy, security, or proprietary nature of the data. In this work we propose an algorithm to cluster large-scale data sets without centrally pooling the data. Data at distributed sites are clustered independently i.e. without any communication among them. After partitioning the …

Effects Of Aspirin And Its Derivatives In Combination With Electroporation For Drug Delivery In Cultured Cells, Jennifer Langham

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to investigate the effects that aspirin (ASA) and its metabolites, salicylic acid (SA) and acetic acid (AA), have on the delivery of drugs across biological barriers when used in conjunction with electroporation. Electroporation is a technique used to enhance drug delivery across bio-membranes in which a transmembrane potential is induced into cellular membranes, resulting in the creation of aqueous pores that allow molecules to pass through the otherwise impermeable barrier. Aspirin is a widely used drug that has been used for over a century and has been proven relatively safe at normal doses as …

Involution Codes With Application To Dna Strand Design, Kalpana Mahalingam

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The set of all sequences that are generated by a bio-molecular protocol forms a language over the four letter alphabet Delta = [A,G,C,T]. This alphabet is associated with natural involution mapping Theta, A maps to T and G maps to C which is an antimorphism of Delta* In order to avoid undesirable Watson-Crick bonds between the words the language has to satisfy certain coding properties. Hence for an involution Theta we consider involution codes: Theta-infix, Theta-comma-free, Theta-k-codes and Theta-subword-k-codes which avoid certain undesirable hybridization. We investigate the closure properties of these codes and also the conditions under which both X …

Re-Constructing The Image Of The Voluntarily Childfree: An Ethnographic Exploration Of Media Representation And The Childless By Choice, Eddy Sass

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the United States, like most other parts of the world, there is a commonly held belief that all capable couples should have children. This belief has contributed to the development of a pro-natalist ideology or concept that having children is good. This pronatalist belief tends to spill over into the media, as well. Yet, there are those individuals who do not subscribe to the parenthood belief structure and to the manner in which the media frame the parenthood debate. These people are known as the voluntarily childfree or the childless by choice. This thesis is an exploratory ethnographic examination …

Robust Dock Assignments At Less-Than-Truckload Terminals, Mesut Korhan Acar

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Less-than-truckload industry has a valuable potential for applications of operations research in two areas, network design and efficiency improvement within existing networks. This thesis focuses on the latter, specifically the less-than-truckload terminals where cross docking operations occur.

The assignment of incoming trailers to inbound docks is one of the critical decisions that affect the performance of less-than-truckload terminals. This research reviews existing models in literature and introduces an optimal mixed integer quadratic model with the objective of generating assignments that are robust against variability in system parameters such as truck arrival and service times, terminal characteristics and trailer load content. …

A Decision Support Tool For Accepting Or Rejecting Donations In Humanitarian Relief Organizations, Francisco Javier Ruiz-Brand

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With the increase in the occurrence of disasters (natural and man-made) that leave people injured, handicapped or dead, the disaster management theory is gaining more importance. As a consequence, human assistance and disaster relief organizations are managing increasingly more inventories anticipated to help people in need. Donations are the common means used by humanitarian relief organizations for procuring commodities to support some of their programs. Previous experiences have indicated that donations become a burden instead of offering relief when they do not match actual victims' needs. Accepting or rejecting donations is a key issue that can produce not only economic …

Characterization Of Hfo2 Films For Flash Memory Applications, Surendra Gaddipati

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The scaling of integrated circuits requires the use of alternative dielectric materials as the replacement for silicon dioxide in the submicron devices. The scaling limit for silicon dioxide used in MOSFETs is 1.2nm and the Oxide Nitride Oxide (ONO) stack used in flash memory applications is 13.0nm. The use of alternative dielectrics with high- κ value will alleviate the problem of charge retention and also would help to decrease the programming voltage in case of flash memory cells.

Many alternative high- κ dielectric materials such as TaO₂, TiO₂, Al₂O₃ etc., have been examined …

Cadmium Zinc Telluride Solar Cells By Close Spaced Sublimation, Madhan Raj Ramalingam

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cadmium Zinc Telluride (Cd_xZn_1-xTe or CZT) is a ternary semiconductor with a tunable bandgap of 1.44-2.26 eV. Solar cells with efficiencies of 20% or higher can be achieved by using a tandem solar cell structure which consists of a top cell and a bottom cell connected in series. In this kind of a structure, the light passes through the top cell first which has a wider bandgap to absorb light of shorter wavelengths and the remaining light passes through the bottom cell with a lower bandgap to absorb light of higher wavelengths. For a tandem cell …

The Perceived Impact Of The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (Idea), 1997 Disciplinary Mandates On The School Board Policies In Three Urban, K-12 Public School Districts, Nancy S. Zambito

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In 1990 the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) required that states provide a free and appropriate education to all children and youth with disabilities, no matter how severe the disabilities. This obligation was tied to federal funding and outlined in detail parental rights with regard to identifying and educating their child with disabilities. The 1997 reauthorization of IDEA stepped into school discipline, creating a complex process for addressing school misconduct of such students.

This study determines how the 1997 IDEA disciplinary mandates, as they existed until May 2003, were interpreted and implemented in three similar, urban, public school districts …

Improved 1/F Noise Measurements For Microwave Transistors, Clemente Toro Jr.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Minimizing electrical noise is an increasingly important topic. New systems and modulation techniques require a lower noise threshold. Therefore, the design of RF and microwave systems using low noise devices is a consideration that the circuit design engineer must take into account. Properly measuring noise for a given device is also vital for proper characterization and modeling of device noise. In the case of an oscillator, a vital part of a wireless receiver, the phase noise that it produces affects the overall noise of the system. Factors such as biasing, selectivity of the input and output networks, and selectivity of …

Tutor Attitudes Toward Tutoring Creative Writers In Writing Centers, Leah F. Cassorla

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study concerns itself with tutor attitudes toward tutoring creative writers in writing centers. In it, I look at these attitudes and compare tutor definitions of creative writing, tutor comfort with tutoring writers, and tutor training. Tutors attitudes toward their training and their beliefs about what training to tutor creative writers should entail tell a great deal about the privileging of creative writing and creative writers in writing centers. This study is an important first step in considering that privileging, its source, and its effects.

For the study, tutors completed an online survey. They were not asked for any identifying …

Recycled Materials Relational Database: Design And Implementation Aspects, Rory Morgan Mcdonald

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although there has been a rise in the use of recycled materials in highway and geotechnical systems, many tons of potentially useful industrial and domestic by-products are still being discarded in the United States each year. While extensive research has been conducted to investigate the use of recycled materials in engineering applications, the dissemination of the findings is often limited. The problem is compounded by the lack of a single resource containing relevant engineering and environmental characteristics of each material; the tendency of the researchers to publish their findings in technical reports rather than archived publications; and the wide discrepancies …

Accuracy And Bias Of Tdr Measurements In Compacted Sands, Newel Kimball White

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

It is essential to properly monitor in-situ soil compaction properties during most earthwork construction projects. Traditional in-situ soil compaction monitoring methods are often limited in their application. As a result, new methods are being developed to more accurately measure in-situ compaction parameters. Time domain reflectometry (TDR) is one such method. Relying on the propagation of an electromagnetic wave through the soil sample, TDR can be used to measure both in-situ moisture content as well as soil dry density. Although TDR is relatively new to the field of geotechnical engineering, it has previously been implemented in other fields with success. Researchers …

The Impact Of Technology On Community College Students’ Success In Remedial/Developmental Mathematics, Mary M. Bendickson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Increased institutional accountability and fiscal constraints coupled with most community college students being required to take at least one remedial/developmental course indicates a need to find the best way to deliver these classes. Institutions are expanding alternate delivery formats to meet student expectations. Is using technology best for students in remedial/developmental courses?

This study investigated effectiveness of technology-assisted instruction for remedial/developmental math in Florida community colleges. Technology has emerged as potentially enhancing student success; however, it is expensive. If research shows that students benefit from technology in remedial/developmental courses, then funds spent to provide instruction through technology are validated. However, …

Characterization Of Cadmium Zinc Telluride Solar Cells By Rf Sputtering, Senthilnathan Subramanian

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

High efficiency solar cells can be attained by the development of two junctions one stacked on top of each other into tandem structures. So that, if a photon is not able to excite an electron-hole pair in the top cell can create a pair in the bottom cell, which has a smaller bandgap. For a two junction tandem device structure, the bandgap of the top cell should be 1.6-1.8eV and for the bottom cell should be 1eV to attain efficiencies in the range of 25%. Cadmium Zinc Telluride which has a tunable bandgap of 1.45- 2.2eV is a candidate for …

Processing And Characterization Of Cigs - Based Solar Cells, Venkatesh Mohanakrishnaswamy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this research was to understand the role of the glass substrate and molybdenum (Mo) back contact on the performance of Copper Indium Gallium diselenide (CIGS) / Cadmium Sulphide (CdS) based photovoltaic devices, and to improve the performance of these devices.

The CIGS absorber layer was fabricated in a 2 stage process. In this process the metal precursors were deposited at 275^oC followed by a high temperature selenization step. The advantage of the 2 stage process is that it is manufacturing friendly.

The first step in fabrication of solar cells is to clean the substrate which …

The Role Of Intelligence And Coping Processes On Resilience In Adult Survivors Of Childhood Sexual Abuse, Kelli-Lee Harford

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The relationship between intelligence as measured by the Shipley Institute of Living Scale, Coping Processes as measured by the Ways of Coping Scale and resilience as measured by Global Severity Index of the Brief Symptom Inventory, was examined in 88 individuals who had been sexually abused and 88 individuals who had not been sexually abused. The study attempted to assess whether more intelligent individuals and those who used certain coping styles would experience less distress in the face of adversity than individuals with lower levels of intelligence and who used different coping styles. The results indicated that intelligence was not …

The Quality Of Life Among Lymphedema Patients Due To Lymphatic Filariasis In Three Rural Towns In Haiti, Koji Kanda

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The worldwide eradication of lymphatic filariasis has recently started with two strategies, interruption of transmission and morbidity control. One of the most endemic countries, Haiti has experienced successful interventions through national and international efforts, but the morbidity control is still hindered by a lack of adequate information on quality of life (QOL) issues among those suffering from the chronic manifestations of the disease such as lymphedema. In addition, previous interventions have been focused primarily in a single community where an established lymphedema treatment clinic serves as a national reference center, so it is critical to expand programs to other areas …

Socio-Spatial Polarization In St. Petersburg, Florida: A Critical Evaluation Of The Vision 2020 Plan, Jacqueline Salmond

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Those who are given access to develop and plan our urban areas are in possession of great power and potential. With the vast sums of both private and governmental money associated with the creation and organization of urban areas, the motivations of those constructing plans and deciding developmental strategies need to be considered. When a city has a dual identity and is socially and spatially conflicted, then the task of planning equitably for all residents becomes even more complex. The extent to which planners address the needs of their community, and the divisions which may exist, reveals the intentions of …

Smoking Cessation In A University Setting: The Efficacy Of An Experiential, Theory-Based Intervention For College Students, Vani Nath Simmons

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The college setting represents an untapped window of opportunity to target the growing number of college student smokers. To address this need the current study tested an intervention drawing upon research from social psychology and previously effective health-related interventions. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of an experiential, dissonance-enhancing smoking intervention for increasing motivation to quit smoking and reducing smoking by comparing it to two control groups, in a three-arm randomized study. Participants were 215 college student smokers randomized to an experiential smoking intervention, a traditional educational smoking intervention, or an experiential intervention on nutrition. …

Design Of A Chemical Agent Detector Based On Polymer Coated Surface Acoustic Wave (Saw) Resonator Technology, Lane Leslie Manoosingh

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents the design of a unique prototype chemical agent detector which utilizes an array of polymer coated SAW resonators as the sensor elements. The design's particular embodiment is that of a testing platform for evaluating the utility of constructing a portable chemical agent detector, utilizing commercially available SAW resonators. It involves the consolidation of the sub-systems comprising a large laboratory development system, into a portable enclosure.

A combination of design techniques, utilized to achieve an overall balance between the physical dimensions of the system and its detection performance, comprises the unique nature of the overall design of this …

Hydraulic, Diffusion, And Retention Characteristics Of Inorganic Chemicals In Bentonite, Naim Muhammad

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Inorganic contaminants, while transported through the bentonite layer, are chemically adsorbed onto the particle surfaces and exhibit a delay in solute breakthrough in hydraulic barriers. Transport of inorganic leachate contaminants through bentonite occurs by advection, diffusion or a combination of these two mechanisms. During the process of chemical solute transport through low permeability bentonite, the amount of cation exchange on the clay particle surface is directly related to the cation exchange capacity (CEC) of montmorillonite and other mineral constituents.

The process of diffusion and advection of various inorganic leachate contaminants through bentonite is thoroughly investigated in this study. Diffusion characteristics …

Inner-Shelf Bottom Boundary Layer Development And Sediment Suspension During Tropical Storm Isadore On The West Florida Shelf., Justin G. Brodersen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Observations of the bottom boundary layer on the inner West Florida Shelf were made with a downward looking pulse coherent acoustic Doppler profiler throughout the passage of Tropical Storm Isadore during September 2002. The storm passed through the Gulf of Mexico roughly 780 km offshore of the Florida study site. Significant wave heights ranged from 0 m to 2.5 m within a span of eight days. The excellent, non-invasive, 5 cm resolution of the near bed (bottom meter) mean flows were used to estimate bed shear velocity and bottom roughness using the standard log-layer approach. A unique opportunity to examine …

Fuzzy Ants As A Clustering Concept, Parag M. Kanade

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

We present two Swarm Intelligence based approaches for data clustering. The first algorithm, Fuzzy Ants, presented in this thesis clusters data without the initial knowledge of the number of clusters. It is a two stage algorithm. In the first stage the ants cluster data to initially create raw clusters which are refined using the Fuzzy C Means algorithm. Initially, the ants move the individual objects to form heaps. The centroids of these heaps are redefined by the Fuzzy C Means algorithm. In the second stage the objects obtained from the Fuzzy C Means algorithm are hardened according to the …

Self-Determination Theory And Locus Of Control As Antecedents Of Voluntary Workplace Behaviors, Kimberly E. O'Brien

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Antecedents of organizational citizenship behaviors and counterproductive work behaviors have been studied in depth, focusing on both individual differences and environmental variables. However, motivation has been largely overlooked as a contributor to these voluntary behaviors. Self-Determination Theory, a motivational framework, posits that environmental support in the form of fulfilled basic psychological needs leads to activities geared towards growth and development, whereas a lack of environmental supports thwarts these attempts towards self-growth. It is hypothesized that environmental support will account for unique variance above and beyond previously studied antecedents of voluntary workplace behaviors. This was supported using hierarchical regression. It was …

Synthesis And Magnetic Properties Of Polymer Nanocomposites, Jessica L. Wilson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Magnetic nanoparticles embedded in polymer matrices have excellent potential for electromagnetic device applications like electromagnetic interference (EMI) suppression. Using chemical precipitation methods and Nanogen , a microwave plasma method, we have synthesized various nanoparticles including iron, polystyrene-coated iron, iron oxide (both hematite and magnetite), nickel ferrite, and manganese zinc ferrite. We have synthesized polymer nanocomposites of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), polystyrene (PS), and polypyrrole (PPy) doped with varying concentrations of these nanoparticles. These nanocomposites were processed using melt blending and sonication techniques. The concentration of nanoparticles was varied in a controlled way. Although polymer processing conditions were optimized to achieve good uniform …