Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Complex Tripartite Hydro Politics Of River Ganges, Muttaki Bin Kamal

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This paper studies if the Flagship Namami Gange program of Cleaning the river Ganges in India aligns with the transcendental discourse on the river. Web contents as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter along with Indian English daily newspaper reports are used here as the source of data. The study shows that the program aligns with the transcendental discourse on river Ganges as the Mother Goddess and reaching out to her devotees.

Storm Surge And Evacuations In Pinellas County, Christianne Pearce

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine evacuation decisions of residents in Pinellas County, a vulnerable area in Florida, during Hurricane Irma in 2017, and whether those decisions will impact their future decisions to evacuate. This study also examines the resident’s perception of storm surge flooding during a hurricane. To understand evacuation decisions and storm surge perceptions a survey was conducted on residents in vulnerable areas of Pinellas County. The survey examined multiple aspects including the role of media, relationships, and sociodemographic status on decision making. Another aspect examined if their decision to evacuate for Hurricane Irma will impact …

Examining The Spatial And Temporal Variations In Co2 Partial Pressure In The Deep Vadose Zone Above Jinapsan Cave, Guam, Jamar Regis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Carbon dioxide is the primary driver of dissolution and precipitation reactions in epigene limestone caves. While much work has been conducted on CO2 dynamics involved in dissolution in the phreatic zone, less research has been conducted on vadose CO2 dynamics, especially in tropical caves developed in eogenetic limestones. In this study, we investigate spatial and temporal variation in pCO2 in the deep vadose zone of eogenetic limestone above Jinapsan Cave, located in northern Guam. Five years of carbonate chemistry data from three dripwater sites in Jinapsan Cave (Flatman, Station1, and Trinity) were used to model the theoretical pCO2 with which …

Dna Barcoding Of Fish Eggs In The Gulf Of Mexico, Makenzie Burrows

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

DNA barcoding of fish eggs is a relatively new technique that enables more accurate identification of early life stages of ecologically and economically important fish species. Using DNA barcoding of individual planktonic percomorph eggs, this thesis determines putative spawning locations of neritic and oceanic fish species in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). Surveys at 40 stations in the Gulf of Mexico showed a clear delineation of spawning sites, with neritic fish eggs generally found on continental shelves, and oceanic fish eggs found at the surface of deeper waters. However, samples collected between Florida and Cuba revealed exceptions to this trend …

Assessing Paleo-Coastal Caves Evolution And Sea Level Changes In Mallorca: Results From Radiometric Dating Of Speleothems, Giuseppe Lucia

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sea level affects the littoral morphology and structure in different ways. In coastal karst basins, dissolutional and depositional processes are strictly related to sea level variation. A great variety of karst-related geomorphological features and cave deposits exist above, below, and at sea level, and are extremely useful to study past changes of relative sea level. Within these, vadose speleothems such as flowstones and stalagmite, can document unequivocal maximum sea level constraints as well as record phreatic phases of sea level rise. Here we present a series of geochronological data from the eastern Mallorca and show the implication of relative sea …

The Systems Of Post And Post Algebras: A Demonstration Of An Obvious Fact, Daviel Leyva

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In 1942, Paul C. Rosenbloom put out a definition of a Post algebra after Emil L. Post published a collection of systems of many–valued logic. Post algebras became easier to handle following George Epstein’s alternative definition. As conceived by Rosenbloom, Post algebras were meant to capture the algebraic properties of Post’s systems; this fact was not verified by Rosenbloom nor Epstein and has been assumed by others in the field. In this thesis, the long–awaited demonstration of this oft–asserted assertion is given.

After an elemental history of many–valued logic and a review of basic Classical Propositional Logic, the systems given …

Analyses Of Unorthodox Overlapping Gene Segments In Oxytricha Trifallax, Shannon Stich

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A ciliate is a phylum of protozoa that has two types of nuclei, macronuclei and micronuclei. There may be more than one of each type of nucleus in the organism [1]. The macronucleus is the structure where protein synthesis and cell metabolism occur [1]. The micronucleus stores genetic information and is mobilized during a sexual reproduction process called conjugation [1]. The somatic macronucleus (MAC) is developed from the germ-line micronucleus (MIC) through genome rearrangement during a sexual reproduction process called conjugation [6, 8]. Segments of the MIC that form the MAC during conjugation are called macronuclear destined sequences (MDSs) [8]. …

An Efficient Run-Time Cfi Check For Embedded Processors To Detect And Prevent Control Flow Based Attacks, Srivarsha Polnati

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A popular software attack on a program is by transferring the program control to malicious code inserted into the program. Control Flow Integrity (CFI) check has been proposed as a detection mechanism for control flow deviation. In the context of embedded processors, this thesis proposes a novel approach to implement CFI to detect and stall under a control flow attack. We exploit the unused bits in an instruction word to embed a label that can be used to check CFI during runtime. Given a control flow graph, we embed a unique label in each instruction in a basic block such …

Parallelization Of Genetic Algorithm To Solve Max-3sat Problem On Gpus, Prakruthi Shivram

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There are many combinatorial optimization problems such as flow shop scheduling, quadraticassignment problem, traveling salesman problem, that are computationally intractable. Genetic Algorithm is a heuristic algorithm used to find an answer to combinatorial optimization problems. MAX-3SAT is an example of combinatorial optimization problem which has wide range of applications as many real world problems can be translated to MAX-3SAT problem. Genetic algorithms are suitable to solve MAX-3SAT problems but usually undergo premature convergence. To prevent this convergence and maintain diversity, one possible solution is to use large population size. This increases computation cost and time. Since Genetic Algorithms compute the …

Modeled Affinity Constants For Phosphorus Adsorption And Desorption Due To Saltwater Intrusion, Yasemin Taşcı

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

It is important to understand the processes that regulate phosphorus (P) fluxes to coastal environments, because P is an important nutrient in coastal ecosystems. Phosphorus adsorbs to the surface of minerals in sediment and bedrock, and an influx of seawater can cause some of that P to desorb, raising the P concentration of ambient water. Although seawater-induced P desorption is thought to be an important source of P to coastal environments, the chemical reactions that underlie it have not been established. Previous work provides some relevant surface reactions and associated affinity constants between various aqueous P species and the surface …

Empirical Analysis Of A Cybersecurity Scoring System, Jaleel Ahmed

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the field of cybersecurity, the top-level management make use of metrics to decide if the organization is doing well to protect itself from cyber attacks or is in tatters leaving itself susceptible against the vast threats looming around. Not only that but metrics are even used to measure the performance of the security team. The aim of this thesis is to show how economics is closely related to cybersecurity and how metrics play an important role in policy making of an organization. Furthermore, I scrutinize one of the leading security score providers for the way they detect botnet infection. …

Field Quantization For Radiative Decay Of Plasmons In Finite And Infinite Geometries, Maryam Bagherian

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

We investigate field quantization in high-curvature geometries. The models and calculations can help with understanding the elastic and inelastic scattering of photons and electrons in nanostructures and probe-like metallic domains. The results find important applications in high-resolution photonic and electronic modalities of scanning probe microscopy, nano-optics, plasmonics, and quantum sensing.

Quasistatic formulation, leading to nonretarded quantities, is employed and justified on the basis of the nanoscale, here subwavelength, dimensions of the considered domains of interest.

Within the quasistatic framework, we represent the nanostructure material domains with frequency-dependent dielectric functions. Quantities associated with the normal modes of the electronic systems, the …

Regeneration Of Trace Metals During Phytoplankton Decay: An Experimental Study, Adrienne P. Hollister

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Trace metals act as important nutrients, and sometimes toxins, to phytoplankton and other marine microorganisms. When phytoplankton decay, the elements in their cells are released back into the water column through regeneration (also referred to as remineralization), one of the processes responsible for governing concentrations of dissolved trace metals and macronutrients in depth profiles. In order to experimentally study regeneration, controlled experimental incubations of mixed phytoplankton assemblages from the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) and monocultures of the diatom Pseudo-nitzschia dolorosa and the dinoflagellate Karenia brevis were placed in the dark and monitored as they decayed with naturally present bacteria. Over …

An Assessment Of The Influence Of Local Conditions On The Economic And Environmental Sustainability Of Drain Water Heat Recovery Systems, Anusha Ravichandran

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Increasing resource demand and decreasing supplies necessitate a paradigm shift in wastewater management from treatment to resource recovery. As the economic and environmental performance of wastewater-based resource recovery systems is location-specific (e.g., terrain slope influences hydro-energy recovery), a holistic view of their sustainability requires a comprehensive analysis on the effect of the local conditions on these systems. Although the internal factors affecting such systems (e.g., water quality and end use) are well studied, there is limited literature on the effect of external factors such as topography, climate and population density. This study evaluated the role of climate and population density …

Timing And Rates Of Events In The Generic Volcanic Earthquake Swarm Model, Tianyu Rong

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis I combine data from 29 volcanic earthquake swarms that follow the pattern predicted by the Generic Volcanic Earthquake Swarm Model (GVESM; Benoit and McNutt, 1996) to investigate whether the relative timing of various parameters of pre-eruptive volcanic earthquake swarms could be used to forecast the time of an impending eruption. Based on the analysis of seismic unrest preceding many eruptions, the GVESM suggests that it is common to see an increase first in high-frequency earthquakes, then low-frequency earthquakes, then the onset of volcanic tremor. While this pattern is useful to volcano-seismologists, the relative timing and durations of …

Detecting Rtl Trojans Using Artificial Immune Systems And High Level Behavior Classification, Farhath Zareen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Security assurance in a computer system can be viewed as distinguishing between self and non-self. Artificial Immune Systems (AIS) are a class of machine learning (ML) techniques inspired by the behavior of innate biological immune systems, which have evolved to accurately classify self-behavior from non-self-behavior. This work aims to leverage AIS-based ML techniques for identifying certain behavioral traits in high level hardware descriptions, including unsafe or undesirable behaviors, whether such behavior exists due to human error during development or due to intentional, malicious circuit modifications, known as hardware Trojans, without the need fora golden reference model. We explore the use …

Exploring The Behavior Of Model Fit Criteria In The Bayesian Approximate Measurement Invariance: A Simulation Study, Abeer Atallah S. Alamri

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Measurement invariance (MI) is conducted to ensure that differences found in the results of group comparisons are due to true substantive differences and not methodological artifacts. Previous cross-cultural and cross-national studies with large number of groups showed that the advanced measurement invariance level was rarely held when utilizing the traditional (frequentist) MI approach. The Bayesian approximate measurement invariance (BAMI) was introduced to override the traditional MI strict assumption, because trivial non-invariance in parameters across groups is allowed. Although the concept of the BAMI, which has been utilized since 2013, was incorporated into the context of structural equation modeling, there is …

Absorber And Window Study – Cdsexte1-X/Cdte Thin Film Solar Cells, Chih-An Hsu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

CdTe an II-VI semiconductor has been a leading thin film photovoltaic material due to its near ideal bandgap and high absorption coefficient [1]. The typical thin film CdTe solar cells have been of the superstrate configuration with CdS (Eg-2.42eV) as the n-type heterojunction partner. Due to the relatively narrow bandgap of CdS, a wider bandgap n-type window layer has recently emerged as a promising substitute: alloys of MgyZn1-yO have been successfully used as the emitter or window layer. The benefits in the usage of MgyZn1-yO (MZO) are its tunable bandgap and wide optical spectrum on optoelectronic devices. Due to an …

Change Descriptors For Determining Nodule Malignancy In Lung Ct Screening Images, Benjamin Geiger

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Computed tomography (CT) imagery is an important weapon in the fight against lung cancer; various forms of lung cancer are routinely diagnosed from CT imagery. The growth of the suspect nodule is known to be a prognostic factor in the diagnosis of pulmonary cancer, but the change in other aspects of the nodule, such as its aspect ratio, density, spiculation, or other features usable for machine learning, may also provide prognostic information.

We hypothesized that adding combined feature information from multiple CT image sets separated in time could provide a more accurate determination of nodule malignancy. To this end, we …

High-Precision Lead Isotope Analysis On Modern Populations To Determine Geolocation Reliability, Gennifer M. Goad

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Forensic anthropologists increasingly use chemical isotope analysis in the investigation of unidentified human remains, as biochemical georeferencing continually improves with the development of modern reference data of known origins. Isotope variations in trace elements such as strontium (Sr) and lead (Pb) in human teeth are some of the most useful indicators of past domicile in archaeological research and thus have high potential for modern, forensic applications. In this study, high-precision lead isotope analysis was conducted on 63 modern human teeth, which were previously analyzed for strontium isotopes. The results present new lead isotope data for the following countries: United States …

Dormancy In The Amphistegina Gibbosa Holobiont: Ecological And Evolutionary Implications For The Foraminifera, Benjamin J. Ross

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Dormancy, a state of severely decreased or suspended metabolism, is a widespread survival strategy in nature. In the Foraminifera, one of the most studied groups of marine organisms, its presence had been suggested by circumstantial evidence, but rarely studied directly until recently. Despite the lack of research, stressor-induced dormancy can significantly alter the way in which foraminiferal ecology is understood, especially in marginal environments. In this dissertation, I reviewed the evidence for dormancy in the foraminiferal literature, concluding that evidence for dormancy is widespread across the Phylum. I then explored the role of dormancy in the survival of the diatom-bearing …

Sorbent Enrichment Performance Of Aromatic Compounds From Diluted Liquid Solution, Le Meng

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sorbent enrichment is treated as the extend sample preparing method from liquid extraction. The theories of liquid extraction also extend to sorbent enrichment, which is based on the distribution equilibrium. With the development of advanced materials, sorbents have been improved dramatically in the past twenty years. Nowadays, more and more enrichment performance cannot be explained from the angle of distribution model.

Herein, the sorption model is emphasized in this study. As the majority exist, aromatic compounds are the focused class of analytes. This study analyzed the sorption from two factors, the interaction between adsorbate and sorbent from their aromaticity, and …

Pursuing Resilience Of Coastal Communities Through Sustainable And Integrated Urban Water Management, Pacia Díaz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Reliability of water supply in the urban setting has become essential for communities to function and thrive. It is needed for more than mere human consumption and well-being. Although modern cities have water treatment and distribution systems, pressures from urbanization, population growth and the anticipated pressures of climate change are affecting the quality of water supply and the reliability of treatment and distribution systems. There is therefore an urgent need to take appropriate measures to improve the resilience of water supply systems before the impacts are irreversible.

Improving the resilience of water supply systems can be a challenge. In the …

Improving Strategic It Investment Decisions By Reducing Information Asymmetry, Thomas P. Stablein

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The unprecedented ubiquity with which technological advancements, such as blockchain, the Internet of things (IoT), big data, machine learning, and artificial intelligence (AI), are impacting the world has forced large organizations to rethink their information technology roadmaps. Their decisions about how they invest in technology have become more important. It is against this backdrop that companies must decide how much to invest in their aging technologies versus these new potentially transformational ones. A decision is only as good as the information available to the decision-makers when they make it. This research project seeks to understand the effects that information asymmetry …

Physical Electronic Properties Of Self-Assembled 2d And 3d Surface Mounted Metal-Organic Frameworks, Radwan Elzein

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Metal-organic frameworks stand at the frontiers of molecular electronic research because they combine desirable physical properties of organic and inorganic components. They are crystalline porous solids constructed by inorganic nodes coordinated to organic ligands to form 1D, 2D, or 3D structures. They possess unique characteristics such as ultrahigh surface area crystal lattices up to 10000 m² g^-1, and tunable nanoporous sizes ranging from 0.2 to 50 nm. Their unprecedented structural diversity and flexibility beyond solid state materials can lead to unique properties such as tailorable electronic and ionic conductivity which can serve as interesting platforms for a …

The Utility Of The Conductivity Mass-Balance Method For Base Flow Separation In Rivers And Streams, Darline Alegria Lott

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Freshwater for ecosystems, drinking water, and water for various businesses are important resources and those resources are rapidly diminishing globally due to drought and overuse. In order to manage the availability of water for all concerned, good estimates of base flow (groundwater) is required. Base flow, a component of streamflow, is deduced by separating a stream hydrograph into two components, base flow and runoff. There are several techniques used to perform base flow separation; however two techniques are used in this study, chemical mass-balance and analytical methods. This dissertation explains how an analytical technique was derived from a mass-balance method, …

Assessing The Cooling Effects Of Urban Vegetation On Urban Heat Mitigation In Selected U.S. Cities, Qiuyan Yu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Urban Heat Island (UHI) is a growing problem worldwide. Mitigation of UHI is necessary for cities to adapt to climate change and enhance sustainable development at a city scale. Cooling cities with urban vegetation management is a sustainable solution for urban heat mitigation. Urban vegetation influences urban microclimate through the shading effect, surface roughness, and evapotranspiration. The differences in horizontal and vertical structures of urban vegetation determine the shading effect, surface roughness, and evapotranspiration. Enhancing the cooling effect of urban vegetation requires a comprehensive understanding of how vegetation structure affects UHI. The effects of horizontal structure on land surface temperature …

Flowgraph Models For Clustered Multistate Time To Event Data, Kristin Hall

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Healthcare systems have multistate processes. Such processes may be modeled using flowgraphs, which are directed graphs. Flowgraph models support a variety of transition time distributions, easily handle reversibility between states and allow alternate paths to the event or state of interest to be taken. However, estimation of flowgraph and first passage time distribution parameters can lead to incorrect inferences when interdependent data are treated as independent.

In this dissertation, we expand the flowgraph model to accommodate nested and correlated data structures. We develop a framework to incorporate random effects into transition probability and transition time components of a flowgraph model. …

Optical Remote Sensing Of Oil Spills In The Gulf Of Mexico, Shaojie Sun

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Assessment of oil spills in the ocean using passive remote sensing (i.e., reflected sun light) faces two challenges: detect oil presence/absence and quantify oil volume. While the optical properties of oil allow it to be differentiated from the surrounding marine environment, sun glint can facilitate oil presence/absence detection because the oil-water spatial contrast is enhanced due to wave dampening. However, sun glint also modulates the magnitude and shape of the spectral reflectance of surface oil. In addition to this difficulty, the most critical challenge is how to quantify oil volume (or thickness) through remote sensing. To date, such quantifications have …

Enhancement Of Rainfall-Triggered Shallow Landslide Hazard Assessment At Regional And Site Scales Using Remote Sensing And Slope Stability Analysis Coupled With Infiltration Modeling, Thilanki Maneesha Dahigamuwa Rajaguru Mudiyanselage

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Landslides cause significant damage to property and human lives throughout the world. Rainfall is the most common triggering factor for the occurrence of landslides. This dissertation presents two novel methodologies for assessment of rainfall-triggered shallow landslide hazard. The first method focuses on using remotely sensed soil moisture and soil surface properties in developing a framework for real-time regional scale landslide hazard assessment while the second method is a deterministic approach to landslide hazard assessment of the specific sites identified during first assessment. In the latter approach, landslide inducing transient seepage in soil during rainfall and its effect on slope stability …