College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Chemistry

10142

Rural residents' perceptions of HIV/AIDS service quality, access to care and health disparities: Findings from a Public Health Training Center's needs assessment

HIV/AIDS disparities continue to persist in rural communities. Community engagement and collaboration is key in identifying the needs of these rural communities. High rates of poverty and a lack of geographic access to services along with the stigma associated with HIV infection and cultural and language barriers faced by those residing in rural communities continue to be important barriers to seeking assistance and care. The Rural South Public Health Training Center (RSPHTC) has conducted key informant interviews with individuals that work in varying capacities among community-based agencies to determine the public health needs of the community from a rural residents’ perspective. Key findings will be used to develop enhanced educational materials addressing both stigma and cultural misconceptions surrounding HIV/AIDS. These findings will also be used to tackle identified barriers by producing dynamic training programs tailored for local public health professionals. (Flesh-Kincaid Grade Level: 17.4)

10135

Mitigation of Corner Wall Failure in Wood Frame Houses

"Tornadoes, though sporadic in occurrence, induce substantial damage to the residential building inventory. In the past three years, Tuscaloosa AL, Joplin MO, and Moore OK have sustained $18 billion in insured losses, 26,000 severely damaged structures and 257 fatalities from recent tornado outbreaks. The likelihood that similar catastrophic damage will happen again is increasing as tornado prone regions become more densely populated; thus providing more targets.

The question remains: What can be done to mitigate such extreme damage? Current engineering design standards strive to “hold paramount the safety of the public”. Still, while tornado death rates have decreased, the economic losses and ensuing social disruptions on homeowners remain unreasonably high.

One of the more common failure mechanisms I observed during an NSF sponsored damage survey after the May 2013 Moore tornado was the collapse of walls when roof-to-wall and wall junction connections failed. My research will focus specifically on the vulnerability of wall junctions (e.g. corners, t-joints) to tornado loads. This advancement in knowledge will improve our understanding of how tornadoes interact with residential structures and how those structures perform when subjected to tornado loads. Additionally, if my research goes according to plan it could reduce economic losses and social disruptions from future tornadoes and hurricanes through the development of 1) new tornado-resilient wall junction configurations for future use and 2) new retrofit techniques to strengthen existing wall junctions. Theoretically, this information could also be applied to other disasters inducing large lateral loads (e.g. floods, explosives).

(Flesh-Kincaid Grade Level: 14.2)"

10132

Characterization of human like dopaminergic neurons containing physiologically and pathologically relevant alpha-synuclein levels My dissertation research focuses on how alpha-synuclein, a cytosolic protein implicated in Parkinson's disease and drug addiction alters the activity of dopamine transporter, a membrane protein that regulates dopaminergic signaling. I am utilizing cells derived from patients with alpha-synuclein overexpression and healthy control sibling and characterizing the electrical properties of those cells as it has not been previously performed. Additionally, I am investigating the role of alpha-synuclein on dopamine transporter mediated changes in intracellular calcium. Overall, the goal of my research is to understand early stage alterations in dopaminergic signaling mediated by elevated levels of alpha-synuclein. (Flesh-Kincaid Grade Level: 18.8)

10117

College of Health and Human Performance - Applied Physiology and Kinesiology

10099

Alternative preservatives of insect DNA for citizen science and other low-cost applications

The primary purpose of this research was to examine the efficacy of several inexpensive and readily available "household products" at maintaining the integrity of insect DNA. The goal was to find at least one alternative preservative that might be usable by the general public to preserve field captured insect specimens of high enough quality to be used for molecular analysis by researchers. This is especially important for citizen science projects, who ask many non-experts to help in the collection of insects, but could also be applicable for other large scale insect monitoring programs which could benefit from the reduced costs and ready availability of an alternative to the high-concentration preservatives typically used by experts/professionals. We compared the performance of three "household products": an ethanol based instant hand sanitizer, a "low-tox" (propylene glycol based) automobile antifreeze, and a "regular" (ethylene glycol based) automobile antifreeze to two high-concentration preservatives: 95% ethanol and pure propylene glycol. We subjected beetles to either two or seven days of direct outdoors exposure in each preservative type (to mimic shipping conditions for samples collected in the field and then mailed in to a citizen science program, or to an expert) and then extracted their DNA. We used that DNA to make comparisons of the relative performance of each preservative. We were able to successfully amplify an informative (usable to identify the species tested) nuclear protein coding gene (argenine kinase) from all samples in our study with no significant differences in the rate of amplification, indicating that approximately the same amount of DNA was retrieved from all samples. Our research shows that hand sanitizer and both types of automobile antifreeze are effective preservatives of insect DNA for short term storage of specimens and could be effective alternatives for by non-experts. (Flesh-Kincaid Grade Level: 22.8)

10097

Interfacial Rheology of Carbon Black at Oil-Water Interfaces

"Nearly 14,000 oil spills each year pose a significant concern for ecological preservation, the well-being of individuals, and a financial burden on the economy. To effectively minimize the damage of oil spills, dispersants can be used to create small oil droplets that will then be carried by waves and currents to dilute the effects of oil in any one area. Creating small oil droplets increases bio-degradation and decreases the probability of oil slicks and kill zones. Our research focuses on choosing and studying new dispersants that can quickly create oil droplets that will remain stable over long times and in very dilute environments.

Specifically, this talk will propose carbon black (CB) nanoparticles as a novel, readily available, biocompatible dispersant. We attach particles to the surface of oil droplets in salt-water solutions and then mechanically deform the droplets while measuring the surface response. This allows us to gain knowledge on properties such as the energy and elasticity of the droplet surface, which can be used to predict the creation and stability of oil droplets in natural environments. We show that as stirring is increased, surface coverage of particles increases and the surface properties of the droplet change dramatically. These results explain an apparent contradiction in previously reported data and make significant progress towards proving the feasibility of CB as a dispersant for oil spill remediation efforts.

10090

Nanoparticle Formation for Use in UV Blocking Contact Lenses

"Motivation: There is a growing concern that continued exposure to ultraviolet light from the sun can cause serious medical problems to the eye. Hats and sunglasses provide some protection but still allow these harmful rays to reach the eye. The damage caused could be minimized by wearing contact lenses that block this harmful light. There are currently very few contact lenses on the market which provide this protection and thus there is a need to develop new approaches for imparting this protection to contact lenses. We have developed a method for creating contact lenses that block ultraviolet light by incorporating very small nanoparticles that absorb the ultraviolet light into the contact lenses.

Methods: We have developed a recipe of five components, two of which are excellent ultraviolet light absorbers, which upon heating form nanoparticles that are too small to see with the naked eye, but absorb large amounts of ultraviolet light. After making and cleaning the nanoparticles, we put them into the contact lenses by soaking the lens in a mixture of alcohol and the particles. Contact lenses act similar to sponges in that they have many small pores throughout the lens which when soaked in alcohol expand. This allows the particles to go into the lens. Once removed from the alcohol, the pores shrink back to normal size and the particles become trapped.

Results: We were successful in making very small particles that could block ultraviolet light while remaining invisible to the naked eye. After loading them into contact lenses, we were able to determine that they could block the majority of ultraviolet light passing through the lens while remaining clear to the human eye. The lenses blocked enough ultraviolet light to reach the FDA’s Class 1 blocker status, the highest rating the FDA gives for contact lenses. (Flesh-Kincaid Grade Level: 13.8)"

10084

Sediment production and transport in the New Zealand Southern Alps – Canterbury sedimentary system during the Late Pleistocene: the influence of alpine glacial erosion on the marine stratigraphic record

Climate and tectonics are the major agents of landscape evolution. In particular, the extent of mountains glaciers is very important for landscape excavation and sediment erosion. The sediment produced in these high elevation areas is distributed down-valley, finally accumulating in the ocean. This is known as the “Source-to-sink” route and shows that sediment accumulation in the ocean (sink) is influenced by all processes responsible of sediment production and transport (source). In this work we study sediment accumulated offshore South Island of New Zealand over the last 500,000 years using sediment cores collected during Integrated Ocean Drilling Project Expedition 317. This period of time has seen several glacial cycles along with changes in sea level that have greatly modified the conditions under which sediment is routed to the ocean. The objective of this investigation is to identify the source of the sediment and whether it has changed over time to better understand how sediment is dispersed under fluctuating environmental conditions. We used isotope geochronology to relate the age of the grains composing the marine sediment to the rock ages of the potential sediment sources in the Southern Alps range. We found that sediment is produced in the high peaks of the central part of the range. In addition, there is an upward trend of younger ages in the cores suggesting that glaciers in the mountain range have eroded rocks progressively younger with time. Another finding is that the age of the sediment tends to be younger in sediment accumulated during interglacial periods, whereas sediment accumulated during glacial periods tends to be older. This suggests that regions that go under glacier erosion changed during glaciations. These results show that sediments accumulated in the ocean reflect landscape evolution of their source area. (Flesh-Kincaid Grade Level: 15.2)

10054

Evaluating the impact of temperature on interspecific competition of Nylanderia fulva (Mayr) and Solenopsis invicta (Buren)

Nylanderia fulva, also known as the tawny crazy ant, is an invasive ant species native to South America that is a considerable urban disturbance in several southeastern US states. This species generates large colonies that are very successful at locating and competing for resources. Nylanderia fulva’s competitive success is an important factor in providing ant colonies the necessary resources to fuel and sustain such large colony numbers. The aim of my research was to evaluate how temperature may impact N. fulva’s ability to locate and compete for resources. Gaining a better understanding of N. fulva’s resource competition will provide data that can improve existing baiting strategies for this ant. Improving upon existing baiting strategies for N. fulva may provide better monitoring and management tools to mitigate current and future infestations. (Flesh-Kincaid Grade Level: 13.9)

10048

Glacial to Interglacial Climate and Sea Level Changes Recorded in Submerged Speleothems, Argentarola, Italy

One of the main threats of global climate change is sea level rise. Because of this, understanding sea level rise is an important goal of climate research. In geology, the present is the key to the past, but the past can also be a key to the present. It would be useful to have better information about rates of sea level rise in the past in order to predict future rates of sea level change. Over the past 800,000 years, 8 major ice ages have caused sea level to rise and fall. During ice ages, sea level is 400 feet lower than today, whereas during warm periods, such as today, sea level is at about its present elevation. Stalagmites from an underwater caves can shed light on rates of sea level change 200,000 years ago, during a previous interglacial. One such cave, located on Argentarola Island off the western coast of Italy, is exposed to air during glacial periods, when sea level is lower. It is submerged during interglacial periods. Since stalagmites only grow when exposed to air, gaps in the stalagmite growth record provide evidence of cave submergence. These gaps are clearly visible by the presence of tubes formed by colonies of marine worms. The rock which makes up the stalagmites can be dated with a uranium-thorium dating technique. Stalagmites grow in layers over time, meaning that it is possible to date the stalagmite material just above and below these marine worm tubes. As the tubes represent cave submergence, these dates constrain the timing of sea level rise and fall. By dating multiple stalagmites from multiple elevations in the cave, it is possible to calculate rates of sea level change. The chemistry of the stalagmites can also be used to help reconstruct past climate of the Western Mediterranean. (Flesh-Kincaid Grade Level: 11.4)

10018

TRIPS, has it altered the trading pattern of pharmaceutical drugs?

"The lack of adequate healthcare worldwide is manifold. In the past few decades countries have expressed the desire of an international pharmaceutical patent regime. The mid-1990’s marked the acceptance of a complete international patent system implemented, yet there is still concern whether current policies will stifle un-industrialized nations’ pharmaceutical industries. The fear is that the lack of progress would limit a nation’s ability to address diseases specific to their population.

This paper examines the implications the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) has had on the international trade flows of pharmaceutical drugs. Using a difference-in-difference econometric model this paper will examine how the introduction of TRIPS and its restructuring has altered the nature of pharmaceutical trade flows as it relates to least-developed and developing countries in the World Trade Organization (WTO). Also what are the implications of TRIPS and what should be expected in years to come? Previous literature has examined the impact of TRIPS on the trading of other goods, but there has not been a comprehensive paper written on TRIPS and pharmaceutical drugs thus far. (Flesh-Kincaid Grade Level: 16)"

10014

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences - Geology

We do not have a long-term record of global sea level rise during the current warm climate, and so our understanding of how the large ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica will respond to long-term global warming is limited. Therefore, it is useful to study a past climate period with conditions similar to today for which we do have long-term sea level records, such as the Last Interglacial period (125,000 years ago). My research aims to understand how quickly the polar ice sheets respond to global warming by reconstructing sea level changes during this previous warm climate. According to the United Nations, 40% of the world’s population lives within 100 km of the coastline, leaving them vulnerable to future sea level rise. Recent work has shown evidence of relatively rapid global sea level changes during the previous warm period, and my field studies have produced supporting evidence. These quick variations in previous sea level suggest that the large polar ice sheets have been more sensitive in the past to global warming than we currently observe, and so the possibility remains for similar behavior today. To reconstruct sea level, I use geochemical dating techniques and GPS elevation measurements of fossil corals. This dating method gives the age of the coral and thus the time when the reef it was a part of was at sea level. Measuring the elevation of the fossil reef using very precise GPS surveying equipment gives the past elevation of sea level. By combining the age of the fossil reef with its elevation, I can reconstruct the position of sea level in the past to better understand how the polar ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica will respond to current global warming. (Flesh-Kincaid Grade Level: 15.4)

10003

College of Agricultural and Life Sciences - Soil and Water Science

Sesame has the potential to be a new agronomic crop for Florida with important drought tolerant and nematode resistant properties. However, because commercial production in FL began in 2012, little is known about the crop’s phenology, physiology, nutrient uptake patterns in this semi-tropical environment. Research was initiated at the University of Florida’s Plant Science Research and Education Unit in Citra, Florida. Sesame biomass and nitrogen accumulation were evaluated during the 2013 and 2014 growing season to determine how the plant is partitioning nutrients and how the partitioning changes Soil samples will be taken throughout the season to determine the available nitrogen in the soil. A partial nitrogen budget will be completed based on the data collected. (Flesh-Kincaid Grade Level: 14.7)

9992

College of Education - Marriage and Family Counseling

"The research presentation will focus on the challenges faced by the ethnic minority supervisors in supervision process during counseling. Every counseling students or counselor without a license has to undergo supervision by the supervisors. This helps the supervisee be under vigilance if they are counseling ethically. There are certain difficulties faced by the ethnic minority supervisors. There are various reasons why the supervisors face difficulties. A few of them are language barrier, difficulty in communication, difference in theoretical orientation, difference in counseling strategy, difference in able to understand each other, and cultural preference of not discussing intimate topics. As a result both the supervisee and supervisor will have difficulty understanding each other. One of the purpose of the presentation is to create awareness among people the difficulty faced by ethnic minority supervisors and steps taken to overcome the challenge.

The presenter’s education session will throw some light on the challenges and possible ways how to mitigate the challenges. How to freely talk about ones feelings and thoughts in supervision helps both the supervisee and supervision to understand each other and break the barrier which hinders supervision. There will be different videos shown in the session which will portray how important is to understand diverse culture in supervision. Less understanding of each other’s culture leads to less empathy in supervision and hence less learning. Most of the learning for a novice counselor takes place in supervision. Counselor mirrors their supervisor and executes the same counseling strategy in their counseling session.

Hence, it becomes important to learn how to carry out a meaningful multicultural supervision. The presentation will consist of a talk, showing some information videos, discussing about audience’s reaction from the video, talk, and an activity based on the topic.

9991

Social Capital for Success: First Year Students’ Awareness and Perceived Usefulness of Resources in Graduate School

Social capital explains that all forms of capital are transferred through interactions with the social environment. Graduate student retention and graduation are more likely when graduate students are a) aware of available resources and b) perceive those resources as useful. In order to investigate what factors increase the likelihood that graduate students are aware of resources and perceive them as useful, this study surveyed nearly 500 first year graduate students at the University of Florida in the time between the end of their fall semester and the beginning of their spring semester. Data show that various factors, such as having a job on-campus, peer mentorship, and having obtained a prior graduate degree, promote awareness and perceived usefulness of resources. (Flesh-Kincaid Grade Level: 16.5)