Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

A Ctd Biotag For Mid-Sized Marine Predators, Heather Broadbent

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Biologging tools for investigating the study of fine-scale linkages between animal behavior and the physical microstructure of the marine habitat are technically limited by substantial size, high cost or low sensor resolution. However, recent advances in electronic technologies and process techniques present attractive alternatives to current tag designs. Motivated by the need for a low-cost, compact CTD biotag for medium-sized marine animals, the University of South Florida Center for Ocean Technology developed a multi-sensor biotag for quantitative measurements of ocean salinity. This dissertation describes the development and performance of a novel CTD biotag used for animal-borne measurements of the physical …

Vent-Fault Spatial Study Of Selected Volcanic Fields Of Southwestern North America And Mexico, Michelle Leonard

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Of fundamental concern in volcanic hazard and risk assessment studies of volcanic systems is what role crustal structures might play in the ascent of magma through the crust. What are the processes that govern the spatial distribution and timing of eruptions, especially in populated areas or near sensitive facilities? Many studies have drawn the conclusion that faults play a critical role as easily–exploitable crustal weaknesses along which magma can ascend. Great care must be used when assuming a causative relationship between patterns of vents and faults especially when such relationships may be incorporated into hazard assessment models or other forecasting …

Development Of A Bio-Molecular Fluorescent Probe Used In Kinetic Target-Guided Synthesis For The Identification Of Inhibitors Of Enzymatic And Protein-Protein Interaction Targets, Katya Pavlova Nacheva

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Fluorescent molecules used as detection probes and sensors provide vital information about the chemical events in living cells. Despite the large variety of available fluorescent dyes, new improved fluorogenic systems are of continued interest. The Diaryl-substituted Maleimides (DMs) exhibit excellent photophysical properties but have remained unexplored in bioscience applications. Herein we present the identification and full spectroscopic characterization of 3,4-bis(2,4-difluorophenyl)-maleimide and its first reported use as a donor component in Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET) systems. The FRET technique is often used to visualize proteins and to investigate protein-protein interactions in vitro as well as in vivo. The analysis …

Methods And Algorithms For Scalable Verification Of Asynchronous Designs, Haiqiong Yao

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Concurrent systems are getting more complex with the advent of multi-core processors and the support of concurrent programs. However, errors of concurrent systems are too subtle to detect with the traditional testing and simulation. Model checking is an effective method to verify concurrent systems by exhaustively searching the complete state space exhibited by a system. However, the main challenge for model checking is state explosion, that is the state space of a concurrent system grows exponentially in the number of components of the system. The state space explosion problem prevents model checking from being applied to systems in realistic size. …

Basal Graph Structures For Geometry Based Organization Of Wide-Baseline Image Collections, Aveek Shankar Brahmachari

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

We propose algorithms for organization of images in wide-area sparse-view datasets. In such datasets, if the images overlap in scene content, they are related by wide-baseline geometric transformations. The challenge is to identify these relations even if the images sparingly overlap in their content. The images in a dataset are then grouped into sets of related images with the relations captured in each set as a basal (minimal and foundational) graph structures. Images form the vertices in the graph structure and the edges define the geometric relations between the images. We use these basal graphs for geometric walkthroughs and detection …

Assessment Of Diver Impact During The Spiny Lobster Sport Season, Florida Keys, Usa, Mark Lewis Hartman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Spiny Lobster (Panulirus argus) fishery in Florida is closed during the spawning season (March-July) except for a two-day recreational `miniseason' for sport divers in July, several days prior to the opening of the commercial fishing season. In Monroe County, recreational fishers, who possess a valid Saltwater Fishing License with crawfish stamp, are allowed to harvest six lobsters per day, each with a minimum carapace length of 76.2 mm (3.0 inches). During these two days, approximately 50,000 people attempt to catch lobster, and the number of boats visiting the reef has been estimated to be up to 900 times higher …

Optical Detection And Classification Of Phytoplankton Taxa Through Spectral Analysis, Daniel Tyler Sensi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Phytoplankton serve as the bottom of the marine food web and therefore play an essential role in marine ecosystems. On the other hand, coastal phytoplankton communities can adversely affect the marine ecosystem and humans. A variety of techniques have been developed to measure and study phytoplankton, including in situ methods (e.g., flow cytometry) and laboratory methods (e.g., microscopic taxonomy). These provide accurate measurements of phytoplankton taxa and concentrations, yet they are limited in space and time, and synoptic information is difficult to obtain with these techniques.

Optical remote sensing may provide complementary information for its synoptic nature, as demonstrated by …

Field And Laboratory Comparison Of The Hydraulic Performance Of Two Ceramic Pot Water Filters, Duncan Peabody

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Currently 884 million people worldwide are living without access to an improved source of drinking water (WHO/UNICEF, 2011). Piped-water on premises is the ultimate goal of World Health Organization (WHO) due to the ability to treat all of the water and distribute it safely in pressurized pipes. However, Household Water Treatment and Safe Storage (HWTS) is an option for improving the quality of drinking water where that infrastructure is not yet developed, especially where there is a risk of recontamination between point of collection and point of use (Clasen, 2006).

This study analyzed one such HWTS, the ceramic pot water …

Theory And Modeling Of Graphene And Single Molecule Devices, Lyudmyla Adamska

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation research is focused on first principles studies of graphene and single organic molecules for nanoelectronics applications. These nanosized objects attracted considerable interest from the scientific community due to their promise to serve as building blocks of nanoelectronic devices with low power consumption, high stability, rich functionality, scalability, and unique potentials for device integration. Both graphene electronics and molecular electronics pursue the same goal by using two different approaches: top-down approach for graphene devices scaling to smaller and smaller dimensions, and bottom-up approach for single molecule devices. One of the goals of this PhD research is to apply first-principles …

Statistical Modeling And Analysis Of Breast Cancer And Pancreatic Cancer, Zahra Kottabi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

The object of the present study is to apply statistical modeling and estimate the mean of optimism of breast cancer patients as function of attribute variables; delay, education and age for each race of breast cancer patients. Moreover, to investigate the nonlinear association between optimism, education, age and delay with respect to each race and both. Furthermore, to develop differential equations that will characterize the behavior of the pancreatic cancer tumor size as a function of time. Having such differential equations, the mean solution of which once plotted will identify the rate of change of tumor size as a …

Precipitation Of Phosphate Minerals From Effluent Of Anaerobically Digested Swine Manure, Alex Y. Lin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Swine production represents approximately 40% of the world's meat production, and its wastes contain high concentrations of organic carbon, nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P). Anaerobic digestion is an increasingly popular technology for treating animal wastes while simultaneously generating energy. Its propagation and ability to solubilize organic N and P make adding a struvite recovery process attractive. Recovering struvite (MgNH4PO4) from anaerobically digested swine waste can address global P shortages, meet P discharge guidelines, and produce slow-release fertilizer, which can be sold for revenue.

Anaerobic digesters were operated with at organic loading rates of 3.4-3.9 g volatile solids per liter per …

Spatial And Temporal Variability Of Remotely Sensed Ocean Color Parameters In Coral Reef Regions, Daniel Brooks Otis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The variability of water-column absorption due to colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) and phytoplankton in coral reef regions is the focus of this study. Hydrographic and CDOM absorption measurements made on the Bahamas Banks and in Exuma Sound during the spring of 1999 and 2000 showed that values of salinity and CDOM absorption at 440nm were higher on the banks (37.18 psu, 0.06 m^-1), compared to Exuma Sound (37.04 psu, 0.03 m^-1). Spatial patterns of CDOM absorption in Exuma Sound revealed that plumes of CDOM-rich water flow into Exuma Sound from the surrounding banks. To examine absorption variability in reef …

Use And Development Of Computational Tools In Drug Discovery: From Small Molecules To Cyclic Peptides, Daniel Navarrete Santiago

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The scope of this work focuses on computationally modeling compounds with protein structures. While the impetus of drug discovery is the innovation of new therapeutic molecules, it also involves distinguishing molecules that would not be an effective drug. This can be achieved by inventing new tools or by refining old tools. Virtual screening (VS, also called docking), the computational modeling of a molecule in a receptor structure, is a staple in predicting a molecule's affinity for an intended target. In our Virtual Target Screening system (also called inverse-docking), VS is used to find high-affinity targets, which can potentially explain absorption, …

Properties Of Ferroelectric Perovskite Structures Under Non-Equilibrium Conditions, Qingteng Zhang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Ferroelectric materials have received lots of attention thanks to their intriguing properties such as the piezoelectric and pyroelectric effects, as well as the large dielectric constants and the spontaneous polarization which can potentially be used for information storage. In particular, perovskite crystal has a very simple unit cell structure yet a very rich phase transition diagram, which makes it one of the most intensively studied ferroelectric materials. In this dissertation, we use effective Hamiltonian, a first-principles-based computational technique to study the finite-temperature properties of ferroelectric perovskites. We studied temperature-graded

(BaxSr1-x )TiO3 (BST) bulk alloys as well as the dynamics of …

Drug Discovery From Floridian Mangrove Endophytes, Jeremy Beau

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A significant challenge of the 21st century is the growing health threat stemming from drug-resistant infectious diseases. There is an undeniable need to discover new, safe and effective drugs with novel mechanisms of action to combat this threat. A study of drugs currently on the market showed that natural products account for approximately 75% of new anti-infective drugs, either as new agents or analogs based upon their structure. Unfortunately, major pharmaceutical companies have cut back tremendously in natural products research in part due to the frustrating obstacle of frequent rediscovery of compounds. Fungi in particular are difficult to work with …

Variability In Hydrology And Ecosystem Properties And Their Role In Regulating Soil Organic Matter Stability In Wetlands Of West-Central Florida, Sharon Jean Feit

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Soil organic matter (SOM) provides many ecosystem services that are necessary for continued ecosystem function. The accumulation of SOM in an ecosystem is a function of its persistence time which can range from days to thousands of years. Ecosystem properties including dominant vegetation type, soil texture, and soil moisture in various habitats can regulate the persistence time of SOM.

Wetlands, because of their associated ecosystem properties, promote SOM accumulation, but little has been done to determine the ecosystem properties that regulate its persistence over time. In west-central Florida, urbanization and increased water demands have suppressed water tables in isolated wetland …

Thermal Determinants Of Nest Site Selection In Loggerhead Sea Turtles, Caretta Caretta, At Casey Key, Florida, Lindsey Nicole Flynn

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Many environmental cues are thought to influence nest site selection by loggerhead sea turtles, Caretta caretta, and much debate exists over the possible influence of sand temperature. This study had two primary objectives: (1) to measure thermal differences across transects of a major nesting beach of Casey Key (28.7 N, 82.3 W), Florida and (2) to evaluate thermal pattern variation that influenced nesting patterns of adult female loggerhead sea turtles. A secondary objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of infrared thermometers to collect sand surface temperatures in the field.

Temperature data were collected from 145 nest …

Graphene Casimir Interactions And Some Possible Applications, Anh Duc Phan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Scientific development requires profound understandings of micromechanical and nanomechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS) due to their applications not only in the technological world, but also for scientific understanding. At the micro- or nano-scale, when two objects are brought close together, the existence of stiction or adhesion is inevitable and plays an important role in the behavior operation of these systems. Such effects are due to surface dispersion forces, such as the van der Waals or Casimir interactions. The scientific understanding of these forces is particularly important for low-dimensional materials. In addition, the discovery of materials, such as graphitic systems has provided opportunities …

Growth And Characterization Of Functional Nanoparticulate Films By A Microwave Plasma-Assisted Spray Deposition Process, Ted Wangensteen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nanoparticle and nanoparticulate films have been grown by a unique approach combining a microwave and nebulized droplets where the concentration and thus the resulting particle size can be controlled. The goal of such a scalable approach was to achieve it with the least number of steps, and without using expensive high purity chemicals or the precautions necessary to work with such chemicals. This approach was developed as a result of first using a laser unsuccessfully to achieve the desired films and particles. Some problems with the laser approach for growing desired films were solved by substituting the higher energy microwave …

Hamiltonian Sets Of Polygonal Paths In 4-Valent Spatial Graphs, Tilahun Abay Muche

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Spatial graphs with 4–valent rigid vertices and two single valent endpoints, called assembly graphs, model DNA recombination processes that appear in certain species of ciliates. Recombined genes are modeled by certain types of paths in an assembly graph that make a ”oper pendicular ” turn at each 4–valent vertex of the graph called polygonal paths. The assembly number of an assembly graph is the minimum number of polygonal paths that visit each vertex exactly once. In particular, an assembly graph is called realizable if the graph has a Hamiltonian polygonal path.

An assembly graph ɣ^{^} obtained from a given …

Global Csr And Photographic Credibility: Exploring How International Companies Portray Efforts Through Photographs In Csr Reports, Janel Lynn Norton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

We are living in the age of the visual. Imagery is an important element in constructing and deriving meaning through symbols, colors, and context. Images may hold persuasive power, be used as evidence, or simply provide a moment of beauty. Organizations rely on photographs to help them convey an image to their stakeholders within annual reports. Telling an organizations' story through photographs has become an intrinsic part of their efforts to convey sustainability. We live in the age of transparency, and organizations that construct an image that is not truthful will face consequences in today's socially connected and conscious world. …

Statistical Estimation Of Physiologically-Based Pharmacokinetic Models: Identifiability, Variation, And Uncertainty With An Illustration Of Chronic Exposure To Dioxin And Dioxin-Like-Compounds., Zachary John Thompson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Assessment of human exposure to environmental chemicals is inherently subject to uncertainty and variability. There are data gaps concerning the inventory, source, duration, and intensity of exposure

as well as knowledge gaps regarding pharmacokinetics in general. These gaps result in uncertainties in exposure assessment.

The uncertainties compound further with variabilities due to population variations regarding stage of life, life style, and susceptibility,

etc. Use of physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models promises to reduce the uncertainties and enhance extrapolation between species, between routes, from high to low dose, and from acute to chronic exposure. However, fitting PBPK models is challenging because of …

Catalytic Tri-Reforming Of Biomass-Derived Syngas To Produce Desired H2:Co Ratios For Fuel Applications, Devin Mason Walker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on upgrading biomass derived syngas for the synthesis of liquid fuels using Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS). The process includes novel gasification of biomass via a tri-reforming process which involves a synergetic combination of CO2 reforming, steam reforming, and partial oxidation of methane. Typical biomass-derived syngas H2:CO is 1:1 and contains tars that deactivate FT catalyst. This innovation allows for cost-effective one-step production of syngas in the required H2:CO of 2:1 with reduction of tars for use in the FTS. To maximize the performance of the tri-reforming catalyst, an attempt to control oxygen mobility, thermal stability, dispersion of metal, …

Something Is Askew In Florida's Water: Arguing For A Better Descriptive Statistic For Positively Skewed Water-Quality Data, Amie October West

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

It may be of no surprise that water quality data is right-skewed, but what appears to be overlooked by some is that the arithmetic mean and standard deviation most often fail as measures of central tendency in skewed data. When using the arithmetic mean and arithmetic standard deviation with nutrient data, one standard deviation about the arithmetic mean can capture nearly all of the data and extend into negative values. Representing nutrient data this way can be misleading to viewers who are using the statistics, and making assumptions, to understand the characteristics of those waters. Through an in-depth statistical …

Molecular Dynamics Of The Rna Binding Cavity Of Influenza A Non-Structural Protein 1 (Ns1) Rna Binding Domain, Christi Leigh Whittington

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Molecular dynamics simulations were performed on the influenza A non-structural protein 1 (NS1) RNA binding domain (RBD), a homodimer. Fourteen simulations were performed at 298K, nine ionized with 0.1M KCl and five with no ions. Several analysis techniques were employed to study RBD residue flexibility. The focus of the study was the RNA binding cavity formed by side chains of helix 2 (chain A) and helix 2’ (chain B) and cavity intermonomeric salt bridges. Opening of the salt bridges D29–R46’ and D29’–R46 was observed in several of the trajectories. The RNA binding cavity has large flexibility, where the dimension and …

Evaluation Of Repeated Biomarkers: Non-Parametric Comparison Of Areas Under The Receiver Operating Curve Between Correlated Groups Using An Optimal Weighting Scheme, Ping Xu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves are often used to evaluate the prognostic performance of a continuous biomarker. In a previous research, a non-parametric ROC approach was introduced to compare two biomarkers with repeated measurements. An asymptotically normal statistic, which contains the subject-specific weights, was developed to estimate the areas under the ROC curve of biomarkers. Although two weighting schemes were suggested to be optimal when the within subject correlation is 1 or 0 by the previous study, the universal optimal weight was not determined. We modify this asymptotical statistic to compare AUCs between two correlated groups and propose a solution …

Good Men Grow Corn: Embodied Ecological Heritage And Health In A Belizean Mopan Community, Kristina Linda Baines

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recent developments in land rights and land use in the Toledo district, Belize has generated anthropological and activist interest surrounding traditional ecological knowledge and practice, and the role of heritage in communities. This study explores the connection between ecological knowledge and practices, and the concurrent construction of heritage, and community health and wellness, broadly defined. Developing and using the concept of "embodied ecological heritage," this dissertation takes a phenomenological approach to understanding the convergence of ecological heritage and health in multiple realms of everyday life, arguing that lived experience of participating in "traditional" practices is fundamentally connected to wellness in …

Chiral Binol Metal Phosphate/Phosphoric Acid Catalyzed Enantioselective Addition Of Phosphorus And Sulfur Nucleophiles To Imines And Epoxides, Gajendrasingh Ingle

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The research presented in this dissertation focuses on chiral BINOL metal phosphatephosphoric acid catalyzed enantioselective additions of phosphorus and sulfur nucleophiles to imines and epoxides. In chapter 2, we reported a new method to synthesize chiral amino phosphine oxides. The reaction combines N-substituted imines and diphenylphosphine oxide catalyzed by chiral magnesium 9-antryl phosphate. A wide variety of aliphatic and aromatic aldimines substituted by electron neutral benzhydryl or dibenzocycloheptene groups were excellent substrates for the addition reaction. The imines protected with dibenzocycloheptene protecting group provided better enantioselectivity than those protected with benzhydryl group, while both imines gave comparable yields. Also, …

"Planting Wholesome Seeds": Organic Farming And Community Supported Agriculture At Sweetwater Organic Community Farm, Philip R. Mcnab

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sweetwater Organic Community Farm is an organic farm and environmental education center located in Tampa, Florida. The farm employs the community supported agriculture (CSA) model, in which members pay a single fee before the growing season begins and receive a weekly or biweekly share of the ongoing harvest in return. Using multiple ethnographic methods, this research aimed to understand the daily operations at Sweetwater as well as the perceptions of staff and CSA members. Findings indicated that there were myriad perceived advantages of organic agriculture but also imposing challenges that needed to be overcome. Moreover, staff members acknowledged the challenges …

Multi-Time Scales Stochastic Dynamic Processes: Modeling, Methods, Algorithms, Analysis, And Applications, Jean-Claude Pedjeu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

By introducing a concept of dynamic process operating under multi-time scales in sciences and engineering, a mathematical model is formulated and it leads to a system of multi-time scale stochastic differential equations. The classical Picard-Lindel\"{o}f successive approximations scheme is expended to the model validation problem, namely, existence and uniqueness of solution process. Naturally, this generates to a problem of finding closed form solutions of both linear and nonlinear multi-time scale stochastic differential equations. To illustrate the scope of ideas and presented results, multi-time scale stochastic models for ecological and epidemiological processes in population dynamic are exhibited. Without loss in generality, …