Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Examining Reasons For Bottled Water Consumption: A Case Study In Pensacola, Florida, Marina Leigh Foote

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Over-consumption in developed economies undoubtedly puts a large strain on the environment, and many would argue that the damage is irreversible. Current uses and rates of consumption of freshwater resources are also deemed to be unsustainable. A large contributor to the high demand for water is the shift in consumer preferences from tap to bottled water. In the last few decades, bottled water companies have set unprecedented records, surpassing all other types of non-alcoholic beverages to become the second largest beverage market next to soda. Bottled water has been on the rise due to its supposed safety, purity and convenience. …

Cataloguing Diseases And Pests In Captive Corals, Adrienne George

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Stony corals (Order Scleractinia) are susceptible to a variety of diseases, which can occur from abiotic or biotic factors, or a combination of both. Public aquaria provide opportunities to study coral disease. Because coral mucus is the first line of defense against disease, the Biolog EcoplateTM is a useful tool to detect differences in microbial assemblages in the surface mucopolysaccharide (mucus) layer when comparing healthy and diseased corals. Histological examination is essential to document structural changes in coral tissue in response to diseases. This study identifies and characterizes diseases in captive corals through visual recognition, characterization of carbon utilization by …

Relative Abundance And Spatial Distribution Of Lepomid Sunfishes In The Peace River, Justin Henry Heller

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines spatially continuous sampling data in order to investigate patterns of abundance and distribution of three recreationally important sunfish species (bluegill, redear, and spotted sunfish) along the main-stem of the Peace River, a large softwater river located in southwest Florida. A total of 467 electrofishing transects were sampled biannually from spring 2008 to spring 2010. Sampling sites ranged from the headwaters of the Peace River in Polk County, FL to the oligohaline waters located in Charlotte County, FL. All fish were collected with boat mounted electrofishing gear, and aquatic habitat and physiochemical water quality measurements were recorded at …

Modeling Endogenous Treatment Eects With Heterogeneity: A Bayesian Nonparametric Approach, Xuequn Hu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the estimation of endogenous treatment effects in the presence of heterogeneous responses. A Bayesian Nonparametric approach is taken to model the heterogeneity in treatment effects. Specifically, I adopt the Dirichlet Process Mixture (DPM) model to capture the heterogeneity and show that DPM often outperforms Finite Mixture Model (FMM) in providing more flexible function forms and thus better model fit. Rather than fixing the number of components in a mixture model, DPM allows the data and prior knowledge to determine the number of components in the data, thus providing an automatic mechanism for model selection.

Two DPM models …

Evaluating The Effects Of Beach Nourishment On Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta Caretta) Nesting In Pinellas County, Florida, Corey R. Leonard Ozan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The health of Florida's beaches are vital to the survival of loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta), as nearly half of the world's loggerheads nest on the states beaches. Many of the beaches utilized by the turtles have undergone nourishment projects in hopes of combating erosion of the shoreline, protecting beachfront property, and creating more suitable beaches for tourism. Although it is argued that beach nourishment benefits sea turtles by providing more nesting habitat, the effects of the Pinellas County nourishment projects on loggerhead nesting are unknown. Beach nourishment can alter the compaction, moisture content, and temperature of the sand, all …

Device Physics Of Solution Processable Solar Cells, Jason Erik Lewis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This Ph.D work reports the studies of photovoltaic devices produced by solution processable methods. Two material systems are of interest: one is based on organic semiconductors, and another on organic/inorganic hybrid composites. Specifically, organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices are made using photoactive materials consisted of a p-conjugated polymer [Poly(3-hexylthiophene), or P3HT] and fullerene derivative [phenyl-C60-butric acid methyl ester, or PCBM] in a bulk heterojunction (BHJ) structure of donor/acceptor network. On the other hand, hybrid photovoltaic (HPV) devices are made from blend of quantum dots and p-conjugated polymers. The QD material presented here are of the lead sulfide (PbS), and lead selenide …

The Search For The Missing Mantles Of Differentiated Asteroids: Evidence From Taxonomic A-Class Asteroids And Olivine-Dominated Achondrite Meteorites, Michael Peter Lucas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The apparent rarity of taxonomic A-class asteroids poses a significant paradox for understanding asteroid differentiation and the dynamical evolution of the early solar system. Based on results from asteroid taxonomic surveys, and on the abundances and mineralogy of different achondrite meteorites, it appears that olivine-dominated mantle remnants are missing from both the asteroid population and in meteorite collections. Several scenarios to explain this paradox have been proposed: (1) olivine mantle material has been stripped away by collisions and only remains as small fragments (< ~5 km), (2) A-class asteroids are abundant but have been altered in some way masking their presence, or (3) differentiated asteroids did not form thick olivine-rich mantles.

We have approached these questions through the collection of taxonomic and observational data on known A-class …

Crystal Engineering Of Pharmaceutical Cocrystals, Sreya Mukherjee

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Pharmaceutical cocrystals use principles of crystal engineering for the design of crystalline forms of drugs and can improve their solubility, bioavailability, stability and other important properties without changing the efficacy of the drug. Herein reported are pharmaceutical cocrystals of two API's, caffeine and Pentoxifylline.

Research has indicated that caffeine has the ability to reverse AB; plaque deposition in the brain (believed to be the primary cause of Alzheimer's pathogenesis) and thus revert memory and improve cognitive impairment. But owing to the fast absorption rate and short half life, a controlled release formulation of caffeine would be clinically beneficial. Thus, novel …

New Media Photographic Representations Of Women`S Collegiate Volleyball: Game Faces, Action Shots, And Equipment, Alicia Pack

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Researchers consistently find that mainstream media often represent women athletes in stereotypical ways including trivialization, sexualization, infantilization, passivity, and utilization of camera down-angles. However, research on new media's visual representation of women athletes is still in its infancy. This study adds to the growing literature on new media's representation of women athletes and concurs with previous findings suggesting that new media might be an outlet that can counter old media gender stereotypes. This thesis used mixed methods of qualitative content analysis and photovoice in order to better understand how Big East volleyball players are represented in photographs on websites: Instances …

Natural Product Drug Discovery Against Tropical Diseases, Wai Sheung Ma

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation describes the isolation of secondary metabolites from natural origins through a series of chromatographic techniques and spectrometric characterization in the effort of drug discovery. The isolated compounds obtained were used as drug leads against tropical diseases, namely malaria and leishmaniasis. While first chapter offers an introduction on the use of a natural product by itself as an effective therapeutic and its role on inspiring the discovery of new drugs, the later chapters will concentrate on isolation and characterization of bioactive natural products from an Antarctic sponge and mangrove endophytic fungi during the dissertation work.

The second chapter describes …

Automorphism Groups Of Quandles, Jennifer Macquarrie

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis arose from a desire to better understand the structures of automorphism groups and inner automorphism groups of quandles. We compute and give the structure of the automorphism groups of all dihedral quandles. In their paper Matrices and Finite Quandles, Ho and Nelson found all quandles (up to isomorphism) of orders 3, 4, and 5 and determined their automorphism groups. Here we find the automorphism groups of all quandles of orders 6 and 7. There are, up to isomoprhism, 73 quandles of order 6 and 289 quandles of order 7.

Impacts Of Artificial Reefs On Surrounding Ecosystems, Sarine Manoukian

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Artificial reefs are becoming a popular biological and management component in shallow water environments characterized by soft seabed, representing both important marine habitats and tools to manage coastal fisheries and resources. An artificial reef in the marine environment acts as an open system with exchange of material and energy, altering the physical and biological characteristics of the surrounding area. Reef stability will depend on the balance of scour, settlement, and burial resulting from ocean conditions over time. Because of the unstable nature of sediments, they require a detailed and systematic investigation.

Acoustic systems like high-frequency multibeam sonar are efficient tools …

Chemical Investigation Of The Antarctic Marine Invertebrates Austrodoris Kerguelenensis & Dendrilla Membranosa And The Antarctic Red Alga Gigartina Skottsbergii, John Alan Maschek

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The marine realm and, in particular, the Antarctic benthos is largely unexplored and understudied. The chemical investigation reported herein reveals not only the biodiversity, but how that biodiversity manifests remarkable chemical diversity. In our continuing study of the nudibranch Austrodoris kerguelenensis, we have isolated a diverse suite of diterpenoid glyceride esters, palmadorins D - S (2.32 - 2.47), one of which is the first reported halogenated diterpene from a dorid nudibranch. Utilizing genomic data from collaborators, we have investigated the chemical diversity from phylogenetically unique specimens collected in close proximity to one another. Chemical groupings based on comparison of LC/MS …

The Influence Of Meteorological Parameters On Rainfall And Severe Weather In Pinellas County, Fl, Cristina A. Mazza

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Pinellas County is located on a peninsula in Florida that experiences daily patterns of sea breeze associated rainfall mainly during the summer months of June through August. Previously, rainfall patterns, amounts and timing and severe weather in Pinellas County have not been examined considering dominant wind flow patterns, sea breeze circulations and other atmospheric variables. To improve forecasting of local mesoscale phenomena, this project examined the rainfall patterns, amounts and timing and severe weather occurrences that occur as a result of sea breezes and associated prevailing wind regimes within Pinellas County for the months of June, July and August for …

Seasonal Changes In The Sinking Particulate Flux And In The Nitrogen Cycle Within The Euphotic And Twilight Zones Of The Cariaco Basin, Venezuela, Enrique Montes-Herrera

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the effects of seasonal variability on the geochemistry of sinking pthesiss and on the nitrogen cycle of the Cariaco Basin. Pthesis fluxes were measured at the base of the euphotic zone (the depth of 1% of photosynthetically active radiation - PAR) with drifting sediment traps during months of upwelling and non-upwelling regimes from March 2007 to November 2009. Flux estimates were analyzed in the context of seasonal variations in sea surface temperature, primary productivity, and chlorophyll a concentrations using data generated by the CARIACO Time-series Program as well as satellite data. Additionally, nine years (1996-2000 and 2004-2007) …

A Framework For Determining The Reliability Of Nanoscale Metallic Oxide Semiconductor (Mos) Devices, Wilkistar Otieno

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

An increase in worldwide investments during the past several decades has pro-pelled scienti c breakthroughs in nanoscience and technology research to new and exciting levels. To ensure that these discoveries lead to commercially viable prod-ucts, it is important to address some of the fundamental engineering and scientific challenges related to nanodevices. Due to the centrality of reliability to product integrity, nanoreliability requires critical analysis and understanding to ensure long-term sustainability of nanodevices and systems. In this study, we construct a relia-bility framework for nanoscale dielectric lms used in Metallic Oxide Semiconductor (MOS) devices. The successful fabrication and incorporation of metallic …

Corrole Synthesis And Catalytic Applications Toward Cobalt(Iii)-Catalyzed Epoxidation, N-H Insertion, And Cyclopropanation, Chung Sik Kim

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A variety of bromocorroles, useful precusors for Pd-based cross coupling, were sucessfully synthesized in moderate to good yields. Chiral corroles were also synthesized through use of chiral amides in the aforementioned cross coupling reactions. Cobalt complexes bearing π-acceptor (CNtBu) and σ-donor (PPh3) ligands were also prepared in excellent yields. In this dissertation, cobalt (III) corrole complexes were applied to three different reaction areas: epoxidation, N-H insertion, and cyclopropanation. Cobalt(III) corroles were found to be efficient catalysts for epoxidation reactions. The epoxidation reactions can be carried out using ethyl phenyldiazoacetate, an acceptor/donor diazo compound, as a carbenoid precusor.The reaction provided highly …

Design And Synthesis Of Beta-Hairpin Peptidomimetics For Modulating Integrin Mediated Cell Adhesion, Abeta Fibrillogenesis And P53-Mdm2 Protein-Protein Interactions, Priyesh Jain

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Inhibiting therapeutically important protein-protein interactions has been a tremendous challenge for medicinal chemists. The folded 3D structures of peptides and proteins, mainly comprise secondary structural elements i.e α-helices and β-sheet have created an opportunity to design small molecules and peptidomimetic inhibitors of protein-protein interaction (PPI). Hence, information about the formation and stabilization of these secondary structures is vital for designing future drugs. In this dissertation, several cyclic beta-hairpin peptidomimetics that mimic the recognition surface have been designed and synthesized as inhibitors for different targets such as integrin mediated extracellular matrix -cell adhesion in multiple myeloma, p53-MDM2 PPI, amyloid beta fibrillogenesis …

Dna Methylation And Its Association With Prenatal Exposures And Pregnancy Outcomes, Jennifer Straughen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Altered DNA methylation may lead to suboptimal fetal programming, increasing the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes such as small for gestational age (SGA); however, few studies have examined the associations between DNA methylation, prenatal exposures, and fetal outcomes. Cross-sectional data from a larger, ongoing study were used to assess the impact of prenatal smoking on gene specific methylation of umbilical cord blood derived DNA and to investigate the association between gene-specific methylation and risk of SGA. The association between gene-specific DNA methylation and birthweight was also assessed. Maternal and infant covariates were abstracted from medical records, cigarette smoke exposure was …

Evaluation Of Common Inherited Variants In Mitochondrial-Related And Microrna-Related Genes As Novel Risk Factors For Ovarian Cancer, Jennifer Permuth Wey

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among women in the United States, and the etiology is incompletely understood. Common, low penetrant genetic variants such as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) likely contribute to a significant proportion of EOC. We examined whether SNPs in two understudied yet biologically important types of genes, mitochondrial-related and miRNA-related genes, may contribute to EOC susceptibility using data from a large, homogeneous study population of 1,815 EOC cases and 1,900 controls (frequency-matched on age-group and race/ethnicity) genotyped through stage 1 of an ongoing genome-wide association study. Inter-individual variation in genes involved …

Aspects Of The Life History Of The Snowy Grouper, Epinephelus Niveatus, In The Gulf Of Mexico, Kelley Kowal

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Knowledge of many life history parameters are essential to properly assess and manage fish species. Although the snowy grouper, Epinephelus niveatus, is a commercially valuable fish, which is harvested throughout the Gulf of Mexico, little is known about its age, growth, and reproduction from this region. In this study, snowy grouper from the northern and eastern regions of the Gulf of Mexico were examined primarily using commercially-derived samples that were collected between 1984 and 2004. A total of 1,200 snowy grouper with fork lengths between 242 and 1,190 mm were collected. Sectioned saggital otoliths were used to determine the age …

Discovery Of Novel Viruses From Animals, Plants, And Insect Vectors Using Viral Metagenomics, Terry Fei Fan Ng

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Understanding emerging viruses is critical for disease monitoring and prediction; however, surveys of novel viruses are hindered by the lack of a universal assay for viruses. Viral metagenomics, consisting of viral particle purification and shotgun sequencing, is a powerful technique for discovering viruses in a wide variety of sample types. However, current protocols are not effective on tissue samples (e.g., lungs, livers and tumors), where they are hindered by the high amount of host nucleic acids which limits the percentage of sequences that originate from viruses. In this dissertation, a modified viral metagenomics protocol was developed and utilized to effectively …

Modern Variation In Predation Intensity: Constraints On Assessing Predator-Prey Relationships In Paleoecologic Reconstructions, James Funderburk

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The complex interaction between predators and their prey is rarely preserved in the fossil record. However, predation of marine mollusks by drilling gastropods leaves a diagnostic hole in the shell of the prey, possibly allowing for quantitative analysis of this ecological interaction. Drilling frequency, as measured in marine mollusks both in the Modern and fossil record, has been heralded as a potential opportunity to quantify these ecological interactions and use these values in the testing of hypotheses.

This study employed the collection, tallying, and analysis of bulk samples derived from shelly deposits on 45 Modern beaches along the contiguous coast …

Design, Synthesis & Biological Activity Of Novel Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase (Ptp) Mimetics, Sridhar Reddy Kaulagari

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Protein phosphorylation is a post translational modification of proteins in which a serine, a threonine or a tyrosine residue is phosphorylated by an enzyme, kinase. Phosphorylation of proteins is a reversible and very important regulatory mechanism that occurs in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Phosphorylation turns many protein enzymes on and off, preventing or causing many diseases such as diabetes, cancer and rheumatoid arthritis. The phosphorylation on tyrosine residues of proteins is essential for transmission of signals for cell growth, proliferation and differentiation. Protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) in concert with protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs) regulate many signal transduction pathways by controlling …

Libs And Lite Emission Based Laser Remote Sensing Of Chemical Species And Enhanced Modeling Of Atmospheric Absorption, Dzianis V. Pliutau

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Laser-Induced Breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and Laser-Induced Thermal Emission (LITE) emission based laser remote sensing were investigated with the application to the remote measurements of trace chemical species. In particular, UVvisible LIBS and Mid-IR LITE systems were developed and measurements of remote targets and chemical surfaces were studied. The propagation through the atmosphere of the multi-wavelength backscattered LIBS and LITE optical spectrum with atmospheric absorption effects on the returned lidar signal was investigated. An enhanced model of the atmospheric effects on emission-based laser-remote sensing was developed and found to be consistent and in agreement with our experimental results.

LITE measurements were …

Linking Soil Loss To Sediment Delivery In Two Estuaries In Puerto Rico, Nekesha Bernadette Williams

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Enhanced soil loss from the watershed is a major environmental issue. Increased soil loss from a watershed can potentially increase sediment delivery and loading to aquatic ecosystems such as rivers and estuaries. An increase in sediment delivery and loading to freshwater and transitional marine ecosystems can impact water quality and supply specifically by: (1) reducing water clarity, (2) transporting nutrient and pollutant laden sediments and (3) reducing the storage capacity of reservoirs. To address these broader environmental impacts of increased sediment delivery and loading to aquatic ecosystems it is imperative that potential source areas of sediments available for transport are …

Exploring Evaluation In School Districts: School District Evaluators And Their Practice, Susan Hibbard

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the evaluation practices of internal evaluators in public school districts in a large southern state. The individuals who conduct evaluations in school districts as internal evaluators were identified and background information was collected. The education and training in evaluation was investigated and the types of evaluations typically conducted by those individuals. Respondents (n = 134) revealed conducting evaluations was a secondary role and part of their main job responsibilities. The types of evaluations carried out and the way in which evaluation was practices were revealed. A descriptive framework of the individuals who conduct evaluations in school districts …

Optical Design Of Beam Shaping Optics For Camera Probe And Led Light Illumination Used For Minimally Invasive Abdominal Surgery, Weiyi He

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The optical design of a LED illuminator and camera imaging system were studied for potential use in a small medical "robotic type" probe to be used for minimally invasive abdominal surgery. Beam shaping optical reflectors were studied to increase the intensity distribution of the LED beam directed toward a close-by target surface. A CMOS/CCD camera and lens was used to image the targeted area. In addition, extensive optical ray tracing simulations were made to predict the intensity patterns. The experimental measurements and ray tracing simulations were in good agreement, and indicated that 20 degree cone reflectors for the LED sources …

Topics In Random Knots And R-Matrices From Frobenius Algebras, Enver Karadayi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, we study two areas of interest in knot theory: Random knots in the unit cube, and the Yang-Baxter solutions constructed from Frobenius algebras.

The study of random knots can be thought of as a model of DNA strings situated in confinement. A random knot with n vertices is a polygonal loop formed by selecting n distinct points in the unit cube, for a positive integer n, and connecting these points by straight line segments successively, such that the last point selected is joined with the first one. We present a step by step description of our algorithm …

The Design And Synthesis Of Functionalized Porphyrins And Their Applications In Group Transfer Reactions, Medicine, And Materials, Kimberly Bliss Fields

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Porphyrins and their analogs are a class of chemically and biologically important compounds that have found a variety of applications in different fields such as catalysis, medicine, and materials. The physical, chemical, and biological dependence of the peripheral substituents of porphyrins on their properties has prompted great effort towards the synthesis of new porphyrins with different electronic, steric, and conformational environments. To this end, porphyrins have been prepared using a modular approach from bromo- and triflate synthons. These synthons underwent palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling with chiral amines, amides, alcohols, and boronic esters to create products that were tested for biological activity.

Metalloporphyrins …