American Studies Commons^™

Idiom Comprehension In Bilingual And Monolingual Adolescents, Belinda Fusté-Herrmann

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A majority of Latino adolescents are reading below a proficient level, according to federal data, and there is a significant gap between overall reading proficiency of Latino and non-Latino, Caucasian adolescents. The purpose of this study was to investigate the linguistic underpinnings of Latino students' text comprehension. A positive relationship appears to exist between idiom comprehension and academic achievement, as well as idiom comprehension and reading comprehension, in typically developing, monolingual adolescents. Since reading comprehension and idiom comprehension share many of the same linguistic processes, idiom comprehension may provide a unique perspective for investigating Latino adolescents' reading comprehension.

Using the …

Effects Of Electric Field On The Functions Of Cell Membrane Proteins, Zhongsheng Zhang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The most important and most common channels on cell membrane are voltage-gated Na+ and K+ channels. In so-called "excitable cells" like neurons and muscle cells, these channels open or close in response to changes in potential across the membrane in order to accomplish muscle contraction and transmit signals. By controlling the membrane potential, we observe extraordinary inactivation behaviors of the voltage-gated Na+ channels and the voltage-gated delayed rectifier K+ channels, which shows that electric stimulation pulses can temporarily close the Na+ and K+ channels, just as drugs, like tetrodotoxin (TTX) and tetraethylammonium (ETA), do.

The Na/K pump is essential for …

Teacher Perceptions Of The Changing Role Of The Secondary Middle School Principal, Dawn E. Coffin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this study was to examine perceptions of middle school teachers regarding the changing role of the secondary middle school principal and compare teachers' results with assistant principals' and principals' perceptions of their role, thus adding the voice of teachers, regarding the secondary principal's role, to existing literature.

Data was collected electronically using the survey method in one urban Florida school district. Qualitative and quantitative data were captured using the Principal's Role Questionnaire (PRQ) (Goodwin, 2002). Thirty-six principal role descriptor statements on the PRQ survey requested a level of agreement from research participants regarding changes, current and future …

Interactions Of Neurons, Astrocytes And Microglia With Hucb Cell Populations In Stroke Models: Migration, Neuroprotection And Inflammation, Lixian Jiang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Previous studies demonstrated that intravenous administration of human umbilical cord blood (HUCB) cells could improve behavioral and neurological recovery of stroked animals following middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). In addition, HUCB cell recipients had less of an inflammatory response with less leukocyte infiltration. In these studies we explored how HUCB cells change the inflammatory response of neurons, astrocytes, and microglia to hypoxia/ischemia. Initiation of the inflammatory response occurs with the expression of chemokines. We determined that monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and macrophage inflammatory protein 1alph (MIP-1a), which are upregulated in the brain early after a stroke, induce migration of HUCB …

Petrographic And Kinematic Investigation Of The Volcaniclastic And Plutonic Rocks Of The Northern Alisitos Arc, Baja California, Mexico, Fatin Tutak

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Alisitos arc segment forms part of the western zone of Jura-Cretaceous Peninsular Ranges batholith of Baja California. It extends south from the ancestral Agua Blanca Fault to the state boundary between Baja Norte and Sur. The study area is located within a fold and thrust belt intruded by a number of plutons that were emplaced during and after the deformational event. The northern end of the Alisitos arc is characterized by subvertical tight to isoclinal folds and high-angle reverse faults that define a northwest trending, southwest vergent fold and thrust belt. The aABF defines the northern limit to the …

Drug Resistance To Topoisomerase Directed Chemotherapy In Human Multiple Myeloma, Joel G. Turner

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Human multiple myeloma is an incurable hematological malignancy characterized by the proliferation of plasma cells in the bone marrow. Myeloma represents approximately 20% of all blood cancers. In this research we have explored examples of both intrinsic and acquired drug resistance in myeloma.

Topoisomerases are enzymes that are critical for cell division, especially in rapidly dividing cells such as are found in cancer. Topoisomerase poisons are a common group of drugs that are used to treat cancer. Topoisomerase I and II poisons used in the treatment of multiple myeloma include topotecan, mitoxantrone, doxorubicin, and etoposide

In order for topoisomerase drugs …

Family Affairs Newsletter 2008-02-15, Jean Vermette

Family Affairs newsletter (2004-2016)

FAMILY AFFAIRS was a free, twice-a-month, social activities newsletter for the GLBTQI (gay/lesbian/bisexual/trans/queer/intersex) community, sent out around the 1st and 15th of each month. It covered the State of Maine only. The list was begun and maintained for many years by Jean Vermette in Bangor, and later operated by Zack Paakkonen of Portland. Over the years it evolved from a social activities newsletter into a business directory, classified ad service, and community bulletin board.

Drake, Leah Bodine, 1904-1964 (Sc 1575), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scans (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 1575. Letters from poet Leah Bodine Drake, Evansville, Indiana, to Fletcher and Grace Stewart, Santa Ana, California, related to the publication of her poetry, awards for her poetry, and possible television appearances.

Designs And Applications Of Surface Acoustic Wave Sensors For Biological And Chemical Sensing And Sample Handling, Stefan Cular

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Acoustic wave sensors have proven useful in many fields as primarily mass sensitive devices capable of responding to small environmental perturbations. The focus of this dissertation is the development of a new type of surface acoustic wave device with application to material property measurement, and biological and chemical sensing. This device is a combination of three independent acoustic wave devices with these waves propagated across the same area, while retaining independence of actuation and sensor function. The development of a complete sensor system, and its use and operation are presented for several example cases of chemical and biomarker sensing, and …

Gender, Quota Laws, And The Struggles Of Women’S Social Movements In Latin America, Merav Frazier

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Assuming gender neutrality in comparative analysis, i.e. not including either explicit or implicit references to a particular gender or sex, runs the risk of camouflaging the unequal distribution of political power, economic influence, and political access for men and women. Unfortunately, in assuming such neutrality, one is blinded to the inherent flaws of political systems, the inequalities they create, and their lack of consideration of gender and women's rights. To counteract this inequality between the sexes, women's social movements are fighting to create gender awareness and establish formal policies that place them at the same level as their male counterparts, …

Water Management And Decision-Making In The Nile Basin: A Case Study Of The Nile Basin Initiative, John C. Merrill

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The management of international waterways presents riparian nations with a challenging set of political, economic, environmental, and geographic difficulties. Historically, the Nile Basin has exemplified many of these problems as witnessed by inter-basin conflict, devastating floods, crippling drought, and unstable political and economic development. Despite their tumultuous past the ten riparian nations of the Nile Basin established a supranational water management institution in 1999, the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI), in order to develop collective solutions to their common water related problems. However, serious challenges to the cooperative process threaten to derail the NBI and enflame underlying causes of conflict. This …

Morton, David, 1886-1957 (Mss 50), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 50. Correspondence of David Morton, correspondence concerning Morton Collection, speeches, essays, MSS: "Entries for a Diary," and MSS: "The Amateur Listener" -- diary, poems, pamphlets, and miscellaneous items of Morton, a poet and English professor born in Elkton, Kentucky.

The Inflammatory Consequences Of Stress And Adiposity, Cathy A. Bykowski

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The inflammatory process is important in protecting the body against the invasion of pathogens, but recent research has suggested that a long-term inflammatory response may lead to chronic diseases (e.g., Black, 2003; Wu, Dorn, Donahue, Sempos, & Trevisan, 2002). Two factors that have been implicated in the inflammatory and disease processes are stress and obesity (Black, 2003). While their individual lines of research continue to grow, few researchers have attempted to integrate these factors into one model to explain their effects on inflammation. This study aimed to replicate previous findings suggesting relationships between stress, obesity and inflammation and test an …

The Moderating Role Of Meaning And Defense Mechanisms In The Association Between Child Sexual Abuse And Romantic Relationship Dysfunction, Angela Fairweather

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The current study investigated whether finding meaning in relation to sexual trauma and using mature defense mechanisms would moderate the association between child sexual abuse (CSA) severity and relationship and psychological adjustment in a sample of undergraduate women with a history of child sexual abuse. CSA severity was measured both objectively (i.e., severity of the abusive event) and subjectively (i.e., self-reported perceptions of the severity of the abusive event). As predicted, the interaction of objective CSA severity and mature defenses uniquely predicted one of four aspects of romantic relationship functioning (i.e., dyadic cohesion or doing joint activities with one's partner), …

The Interplay Of Economic, Climatic And Cultural Change Investigated Through Isotopic Analyses Of Bone Tissue: The Case Of Sardinia 4000-1900 Bc, Luca Lai

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With the broader aim of reconstructing long-term resource use and ecological history for better policy making in times of environmental change, this study is an attempt to decode the mutual effects of human subsistence practices, climate and socio-cultural organization in Sardinia between 4000 and 1900 BC. Was economy changing due to climate change? Was the environment changing due to economic practices? And how were economic practices and socio-cultural factors interacting? The answer is complex, and some convergence of complex systems theory, historical ecology and agency supports this. Diet, at the interface of all of these as fulfilling biological needs constrained …

Do Dibels Nonsense Word Fluency Scores Predict Sat-10 Reading Scores In First Grade? A Comparison Of Boys And Girls In Reading First Schools, Diane E. Napier

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of DIBELS Nonsense Word Fluency Scores in the fall of first grade as a predictor of SAT-10 results. A comparison of boys and girls, three ethnic groups (Caucasian, Hispanic, African-American), and three different reading risk groups were examined using multiple regression analyses. Analysis of data from a total of 27,000 participants from a cohort of Reading First schools in 2003/2004 confirmed Nonsense Word Fluency scores in the fall of first grade to be a significant predictor of the SAT-10 reading scores in the spring. Differences found between and within groups …

The Influence Of Anxiety And Depression On Cognitive Functioning In Parkinson’S Disease, Lynn E. Oelke

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Depression and anxiety are common psychiatric disturbances in Parkinson's disease (PD). Past studies have demonstrated a relationship between depression and cognitive decline in PD; however, the unique influence of anxiety has not been well studied. The objective of the present study was to differentiate the unique influences of depression and anxiety on cognitive functioning in PD. Sixty-eight cognitively intact PD patients with mild to moderate motor disease severity completed self-report questionnaires and neuropsychological tests. Two hierarchical regression analyses were conducted with executive functioning performance as the criterion variable, and two additional hierarchical regression analyses were conducted with memory performance as …

Davis, Ezra (Sc 1571), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scans of selected items (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 1571. Miscellaneous papers, including notes and receipts relating to the business affairs of Ezra Davis and J. C. Burbage/Burbridge. Includes receipts from tobacco warehouses in Louisville, Kentucky. Also includes letters of Kitty McGehee, Irvington, Kentucky, to Virginia Hensley, and yearbook-style biographies by four schoolgirls.

Effect Of A Parent Reading Intervention On Elementary-Aged Children‘S Reading Fluency, Renee R. Corbett

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the effect of a parent-implemented reading intervention on children's reading fluency. Five elementary school students identified as at-risk for reading failure participated in the study with their mothers. Baseline data for each student was collected before parents were trained by the researcher in implementation of the intervention procedure. Parents implemented the intervention four times per week for five weeks, while the researcher continued to collect assessment data twice per week. Follow-up data were then collected for each student two weeks after the intervention ended. The effects of the intervention were evaluated using a multiple baseline across participants …

History Of Ricl: Research Institute For Comparative Literature, University Of Alberta 1985-1999, Steven Tötösy De Zepetnek

CLCWeb Library

No abstract provided.

Role Of Protein Kinase C-Iota In Prostate Cancer, Hla Yee Win

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Prostate cancer is one of the leading causes of death among males in the United States. In this study, we hypothesized that an activated PKC-iota-dependent anti-apoptotic pathway, drives the cell cycle proliferation and survival of prostate cancer cells.

We investigated the role of atypical PKC-iota (PKC-ι) in androgen- independent prostate DU-145 carcinoma, androgen-dependent prostate LNCaP carcinoma compared to transformed non-malignant prostate RWPE-1 cells. Western blotting and immunoprecipitations demonstrated that PKC-ι is associated with cyclin-dependent activating kinase (CAK/Cdk7) in androgen-dependent, RWPE-1 and LNCaP cells but not in androgen-independent DU-145 cells. Treatment of prostate RWPE-1 cells with PKC-ι silencing RNA (siRNA) decreased …

A Study Of Cross-Border Takeovers: Examining The Impact Of National Culture On Internalization Benefits, And The Implications Of Early Versus Late-Mover Status For Bidders And Their Rivals, Tanja Steigner

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation consists of two self-contained chapters that empirically examine bidder firm returns of U.S. companies in cross-border mergers and acquisitions. In chapter one I examine how cultural distance between bidder and target country impacts internalization benefits. The results suggest that shareholders are initially concerned about the acquisition in culturally distant countries, which outweighs any potential benefits from internalization. However, in the long-run we observe a significant reversal of these findings. In the second and third year following the announcement, greater cultural distance positively impacts the bidder firm's operating performance and the bidder experiences significant internalization benefits from technological know-how …

Lg Ms 012 Act Up/Maine Archives Finding Aid, Lynne Chabot

Search the Manuscript Collection (Finding Aids)

Description:

ACTUP/ Maine, founded in 1990, was a chapter of the national organization, ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) that focused on AIDS issues. The goals of the organization were the empowerment of people with AIDS and the establishment of an AIDS Resource Center. The organization emphasized direct action in communities and an open democratic process within the group. The Archives holds organizational papers, books, photos, promotional materials, correspondence and publications, plus a significant number of publications/papers from ACT-UP chapters in the US and abroad. The bulk of the material spans the years 1990-1994, and there is a good …

Lg Ms 009 Act Up/Portland Archives Finding Aid, Eileen Rowland, Lynne Chabot

Search the Manuscript Collection (Finding Aids)

Description:

ACT UP/ Portland, established in the 1990s, was a chapter of the national organization, ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) that focused on AIDS issues. ACT UP/ Portland sponsored several local youth organizations, had a cooperative partnership with Public Health agencies, leafleted extensively, and held media campaigns. The organization emphasized direct action in communities and an open democratic process within the group. The Archives consists of administrative files, programs/activities, and resource materials from the group and its affiliates. Dates range from 1984 to 1996, with the bulk of materials either undated or 1991-1996.

Date Range:

1984-1996

Size of …

Family Affairs Newsletter 2008-02-01, Jean Vermette

Family Affairs newsletter (2004-2016)

FAMILY AFFAIRS was a free, twice-a-month, social activities newsletter for the GLBTQI (gay/lesbian/bisexual/trans/queer/intersex) community, sent out around the 1st and 15th of each month. It covered the State of Maine only. The list was begun and maintained for many years by Jean Vermette in Bangor, and later operated by Zack Paakkonen of Portland. Over the years it evolved from a social activities newsletter into a business directory, classified ad service, and community bulletin board.

Corporate Re-Colonisation Of The Americas: Indigenous Extinction Through The Trade-Off Of The Individual Against The Collective Right To Property, Kate Burton

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Analytical Perspectives Of Thematic Unity: Applications Of Reductive Analysis To Selected Fugues By J.S. Bach And G.F. Handel, Adam C. Perciballi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Thematic unity in music occurs when elements from a musical idea appear frequently, in significant places and their presence is recognized or experienced on or beneath the surface. In fugal compositions, thematic unity is evident in the opening statement of the subject and it permeates each layer of its texture. Three analytical perspectives are used to investigate the degree to which local thematic material anticipates later structural features in Johan Sebastian Bach's Fugue in G minor WTC II, and Georg Frederic Handel's Fuga II in G Major. The analytical perspectives identify: (1) cohesive relationships between motivic fragments, (2) …

Horton, George Lewis, 1894-1957 (Sc 1569), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scans (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 1569. Letter, 24 July 1923, from George L. Horton, Ashland, Kentucky to Clare Anderson, Cleveland, Ohio, concerning her upcoming visit to Ashland. Includes a colorful handkerchief printed with the nursery rhyme "Ride a cockhorse to Banbury Cross" that was enclosed with the letter.

Evolution And Field Application Of A Plankton Imaging System, Andrew Walker Remsen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Understanding the processes controlling the distribution and abundance of zooplankton has been a primary concern of oceanographers and has driven the development of numerous technologies to more accurately quantify these parameters. This study investigates the potential of a new plankton imaging sensor, the shadowed image particle profiling and evaluation recorder (SIPPER), that I helped develop at the University of South Florida, to address that concern. In the first chapter, results from the SIPPER are compared against concurrently sampling plankton nets and the optical plankton counter (OPC), the most widely used optical zooplankton sampling sensor in the field. It was found …

Designing An Autonomous Helicopter Testbed: From Conception Through Implementation, Richard D. Garcia

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Miniature Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are currently being researched for a wide range of tasks, including search and rescue, surveillance, reconnaissance, traffic monitoring, fire detection, pipe and electrical line inspection, and border patrol to name only a few of the application domains. Although small / miniature UAVs, including both Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) vehicles and small helicopters, have shown great potential in both civilian and military domains, including research and development, integration, prototyping, and field testing, these unmanned systems / vehicles are limited to only a handful of university labs. For VTOL type aircraft the number is less than …