Theses and Dissertations

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: 14-3-3 Proteins, NMDAR Hypofunctionality, and Actin Dynamics in Schizophrenia; One of the core pathogenic mechanisms for schizophrenia is believed to be dysfunction in glutamatergic synaptic transmissions, particularly hypofunction of N-methyl D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs). In addition, previous genetic and postmortem studies have identified several 14-3-3 isoforms as potential candidate risk genes for schizophrenia. 14-3-3 proteins are a family of homologous proteins involved in many biological processes, including signaling, neurite outgrowth, and ion channel regulation. To investigate the association between 14-3-3 dysregulation and schizophrenia, our lab has previously generated 14-3-3 functional knockout mice. These mice exhibited schizophrenia-associated behaviors accompanied by reduced synaptic NMDARs in forebrain excitatory neurons. These findings suggested that 14-3-3 proteins may act as a key component of the postsynaptic NMDAR complex with a positive role in regulating synaptic levels of NMDARs. Here we focus on NMDARs as one of the molecular substrates of 14-3-3 protein signaling at the glutamatergic synapses. In addition, 14-3-3 functional knockout mice exhibited lowered hippocampal and cortical dendritic spine density, reduced dendritic complexity from the cortex, and significant reduction of Ser3-phosphorylated cofilin levels from the hippocampus. These findings suggested that 14-3-3 proteins may play a crucial role in dendritic spine density and dendritic complexity, possibly through their role in the actin signaling pathway. Chapter 1 reviews animal models of NMDAR hypofunction and the importance of studying the molecular mechanism for NMDAR hypofunctionality. Chapter 2 describes how 14-3-3 proteins regulate synaptic localization of NMDARs by examining changes in levels of synaptic NMDARs upon 14-3-3 inhibition in primary neurons. This work found that 14-3-3 protein inhibitor (difopein) expression in primary glutamatergic cortical and hippocampal neurons resulted in decreased numbers of synaptic puncta containing NMDARs, including the GluN1 GluN2A, or GluN2B subunits. In heterologous cells, 14-3-3 proteins enhanced the surface expression of these NMDAR subunits. Furthermore, this work identified that 14-3-3ζ and ε isoforms interact with NMDARs via binding to GluN2A and GluN2B subunits. Chapter 3 examines the role of 14-3-3 proteins on dendritic spine density, dendritic complexity, and actin dynamics and shows that inhibition of 14-3-3 proteins decreased dendritic spine density and dendritic complexity in glutamatergic cortical and hippocampal neurons. In addition, 14-3-3 proteins enhance dendritic spine density and dendritic complexity in only glutamatergic hippocampal neurons via the actin signaling pathway. Taken together, these results demonstrate that 14-3-3 proteins play a critical role in NMDAR synaptic trafficking by promoting surface delivery of NMDAR subunits GluN1, GluN2A, and GluN2B. 14-3-3 proteins also play a role in dendritic spines and dendritic structure dynamics by acting on the 14-3-3/cofilin signaling pathway, with alterations reported to be hallmark features of schizophrenia. As NMDAR hypofunctionality is known to act as a convergence point for the progression of symptoms of schizophrenia, further studies on these signaling pathways may help understand how dysfunction of 14-3-3 proteins can cause NMDAR hypofunctionality and lead to schizophrenia-associated behaviors. In addition, understanding how 14-3-3 proteins may also act on neuroanatomical changes related to schizophrenia, possibly through its role in actin dynamics, will help determine novel therapeutic targets for schizophrenia. The work presented contributes to the development of animal models and novel therapeutic targets to further understand the importance of glutamatergic neurotransmission as modified by the interaction between 14-3-3 proteins and NMDARs and how it relates to neuropsychiatric disorders. Collectively, these data provide a potential link between 14-3-3 dysfunction, NMDAR synaptic trafficking, NMDAR hypofunctionality, actin dynamics, and schizophrenia-associated behavioral deficits., A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Biomedical Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy., November 8, 2021., 14-3-3 dysfunction, 14-3-3 proteins, Actin Dynamics, N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDA receptor, NMDAR), NMDAR hypofunctionality, Schizophrenia (SCZ), Includes bibliographical references., Yi Zhou, Professor Directing Dissertation; Zuoxin Wang, University Representative; Mohammad Kabbaj, Committee Member; Cathy Levenson, Committee Member; Timothy Megraw, Committee Member.

: 15 Years Later; Despite legislation being consistently passed to support post-secondary outcomes for students with disabilities, year after year since the completion of The National Longitudinal Transition Studies, national employment statistics continually demonstrate that implementation of intentions is wanting. A large percentage —50-60%— of adults with visual impairments (VI) remain under-or unemployed (Bell & Silverman, 2018; McDonnall & Sui, 2019; Yang & Tan, 2022). A lack of meaningful employment creates barriers to self-sufficiency, which can reduce overall quality of life. In 1996, Hatlen conceptualized the expanded core curriculum (ECC), which is comprised of nine essential areas in which students with visual impairments may require direct instruction to grow into independent adults living an enviable life. One of the ECC areas is self-determination. Self-determination instruction can support and lead to positive post-secondary outcomes for students with disabilities. In 2007, the Council for Expectational Children (CEC) added the ECC as a competency area for all teachers of students with visual impairments (TVIs) to be trained and proficient in (Spungin et al., 2007). The only study examining TVIs' understanding and instructional practices regarding self-determination was conducted by Agran, Hong, and Blankenship in 2007. To build on their findings, the primary objectives of this study were to explore whether the passage of time and expected changes in teacher preparation have influenced teachers' understanding of self-determination and their instructional practices of self-determination. The TVI survey study on self-determination by Agran and colleagues (2007) served as the foundation upon which the current study was built. Construction of the instrument used Wehmeyer and colleagues' (2000) survey instrument and Agran et al.'s results. The survey covered the main topics of both previous surveys and expanded on them. Using content expert reviews, some questions were revised to suit current trends and needs. The survey was distributed and administered electronically in May 2022 and concluded in June 2022. The study sought to illuminate (1) the level of familiarity of TVIs with self-determination by measuring their level of understanding, exploring how they define self-determination, and examining the channels they learn about self-determination, (2) how much importance TVIs place on self-determination, and (3) how TVIs support its development in their students. The survey also collected some demographic data for the responding teachers and the students they serve to support well-developed answers to the research questions proposed. Results demonstrated that a majority (79.44%) of TVIs hold a master's degree and teach a heterogenous population across a variety of geographical and instructional settings. Most (69.72%) stated that they had heard of the importance of self-determination at the time of the survey. However, they were less likely (53.05%) to have been taught the specifics of self-determination instruction. It appears that, when warranted by age and/or need of their students, TVIs (35.56%) do provide some instruction related to self-determination skills. To obtain richer data than a multiple-choice question can provide, TVIs were asked to define self-determination. The definitions provided by these 360 practicing TVIs showed that most have at least some levels of the familiarity and understanding of this essential ECC area. However, most TVIs do not claim to be intentionally embedding instruction of the seven component skill areas that support students' self-determination development that were identified by Wehmeyer in 1997. The findings of this survey underscored that, despite TVIs holding advanced degrees and being familiar with self-determination, many are still developing their proficiency in teaching self-determination. Therefore, I propose that university teacher preparation programs analyze their course offerings to raise self-determination awareness among pre-service teachers. Additionally, TVIs (73.05%) indicated that they gather information and learn from attending conferences, webinars, or workshops. Hence, in order to encourage current TVIs' to incorporate self-determination instruction in their practice, creation of appropriate and useful professional development opportunities would be valuable. Collaboration with organizational leaders in the field, such as those associated with CEC or the American Printing House for the Blind, could provide opportunities to bridge the relevant practitioner knowledge gaps identified in this study., A Dissertation submitted to the School of Teacher Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy., March 28, 2023., blind and low vision, expanded core curriculum (ECC), self-determination, teacher preparation, visual impairment, Includes bibliographical references., Jenny Root, Professor Directing Dissertation; Alysia Roehrig, University Representative; Sandra Lewis, Committee Member; Kelly Whalon, Committee Member.

: 1893 Chicago World's Columbian Exposition and the Emergence of the Women's Music Club Movement; Recent scholarship highlights the great impact women's music clubs and patrons had upon United States art music culture from the middle of the nineteenth through the twentieth centuries. Women's music clubs were present in almost every decent sized city by the beginning of the twentieth century, which made outreach practical and effective. These clubs actively promoted art music culture by organizing amateur concerts, semi-professional chamber concerts, and artist solo concerts. Michael Broyles explains that the clubs "later helped form musical institutions, including in some cases symphony orchestras" and "by the early twentieth century had become a powerful economic force, handling an estimated three-fourths of concert engagements outside the large cities." Up to this point, scholarship has mainly focused on the influence of the women's music clubs on United States culture and only briefly, if at all, mentions their actual emergence. At first glance, it seems impossible to pinpoint a solid establishment date for women's music clubs, as many developed separately from one another over the span of decades. One trend that is noticeable, however, is a surge of new women's club formations and the number of members in the handful of already established clubs in the first decade of the twentieth century. This increase is not entirely coincidence, for it happened shortly after the highly successful 1893 Chicago World's Columbian Exposition. In many ways, the World's Columbian Exposition propelled the United States, and its people, into the world-wide cultural, industrial, and agricultural scenes. Many primary sources also credit the World's Columbian Exposition as the event that truly gave many women a voice through the congressionally recognized Board of Lady Managers, who met at their own Women's Building. Following the paradigm of the national formation of the General Federation of Women's Clubs in 1889, Rose Fay Thomas saw the similar opportunity for women in music to connect and form an analogous organization for music clubs at the World's Columbian Exposition. As a result, Thomas organized a four-day conference to be held at World's Columbian Exposition and invited forty-two active women's music clubs to participate: thirty-four attended. As is reflected in the policies of clubs formed after the World's Columbian Exposition and in archival documents of the conference and National Federation of Music Clubs, Rose Fay Thomas's four-day convention essentially set the core objectives by which many future music clubs would operate. Rose Fay Thomas's idea materialized as the National Federation of Music Clubs in 1898, which Karen J. Blair described as "the largest and most influential organization uniting women's musical societies" of all time. Twentieth century women's music clubs would not have grown in number or power without two crucial factors: Rose Fay Thomas's potent initiative and influence moving towards a national women's music club organization, and the new and invaluable opportunities presented by the monumental 1893 Chicago World's Columbian Exposition., Submitted Note: A Thesis submitted to the Department of Musicology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music., Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2011., Date of Defense: April 4, 2011., Keywords: women's music clubs, rose fay thomas, world's columbian exposition, Bibliography Note: Includes bibliographical references., Advisory Committee: Denise Von Glahn, Professor Directing Thesis; Michael Broyles, Committee Member; Karen Bearor, Committee Member.

: 18th Century Transformations of the Jamaican Plantocracy; Focusing on the mid- to-late eighteenth century the purpose of this thesis is to examine the ways in which white slaveholders in Jamaica developed a unique West Indian ideology grounded in the institution of slavery and the survival of the white plantocracy. Whites were a minority in Jamaican slave society, slaveholding was widespread amongst white settlers, and all white men experienced privileges in a society organized around racialized boundaries of rule. These factors helped to ensure that Jamaican colonists developed a distinctively local, or Creole, worldview characterized by the defense of slavery and a culture of white male solidarity. However, metropolitan culture influenced their ideology, and Jamaican slaveholders saw themselves as loyal subjects of the British Crown. They were therefore colonial creoles and, in spite of the rise of abolitionism in the metropole, they maintained that their local practices were reconcilable with their status as transplanted Britons. This thesis centers itself within the debates and the ideological shifts that centered on the moral, political, and economic discussions of British Caribbean slavery during the second half of the 18th century. More specifically, I focus on the historical works of two West Indian contemporaries during the late eighteenth century: Edward Long and Bryan Edwards. Between them, they defined a period of social and cultural transition within the late eighteenth century Jamaican plantocracy. The purpose of this analysis is to explain the competing racial ideologies of the enlightenment that manifested themselves within the writings of Long and Edwards. Their works explain how these racial ideologies combined with and reinforced plantation profitability. Their positions on slavery and colonialism reflected a conflict of philosophy and reality, not only concerning the Jamaican plantocracy, but also the British West Indies as a whole. Most significant, however, is how the changing attitudes and beliefs found within these contemporary texts successfully indicated the impact of social and economic change upon the plantocracy., Submitted Note: A Thesis submitted to the Department of History in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts., Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2007., Date of Defense: July 31, 2007., Keywords: Bryan Edwards, Slavery, Jamaica, Creole, Plantocracy, Abolition, Edward Long, Bibliography Note: Includes bibliographical references., Advisory Committee: Matt Childs, Professor Directing Thesis; Rodney Anderson, Committee Member; Maxine D. Jones, Committee Member.

: 2-Channel Low Power Broadband Transmit/Receive Switch and 720 Mhz High Power Narrow Pass Band Filter; Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is an important tool used to study the atomic or molecular properties of nuclei by exploiting its magnetic properties. A spectrometer is an integral element of an NMR system which consists of a RF transmitter, receiver, amplifier, temperature controller, transmit/receive switch, filter, etc. A transmit/receive switch is used to toggle between transmission and reception modes of the resonant coil in the RF probe. The following thesis consists of the design and construction of one such T/R switch that is used to perform NMR field mapping of resistive magnets in the presence of temporal field fluctuations. This low power T/R switch consisting of two receive channels and a common transmitter is designed to operate over a wide range of proton (1H) NMR frequencies i.e., 200 MHz to 1600 MHz and can handle up to 1 watt power. It uses a micro strip transmission line design utilizing low power surface mount switches, splitters and drop-in preamps. The other part of this thesis deals with the design of a band pass filter tuned at 720 MHz. In multi nuclear pulsed NMR experiments, a high power band pass filter is used to improve the isolation between the channels of the spectrometer and screen out the other frequencies and noise signals from the system. The filter is designed using two semi-rigid coaxial cables grounded at their ends. This design is evaluated for its performance (insertion loss and reflection coefficient). The construction challenges have also been discussed. The filter is capable of handling a maximum RF input of 1 kilowatt rms power, has a 3dB bandwidth of 40 MHz and produces an insertion loss as low as 1dB., Submitted Note: A Thesis submitted to the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science., Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2013., Date of Defense: April 1, 2013., Keywords: RF Equipment for NMR, Bibliography Note: Includes bibliographical references., Advisory Committee: Simon Foo, Professor Co-Directing Thesis; William W. Brey, Professor Co-Directing Thesis; Rajendra K. Arora, Committee Member; Mark H. Weatherspoon, Committee Member.

: 2-D Reinforcement Structure for Fracture Strength and Fracture Toughness Enhancement for Alumina; Despite the attractive properties of advanced ceramics, they are not popular for structural applications even though they possess high strength. Their low fracture toughness and brittle fracture mode are unwelcome for high integrity structure. Moreover, they fail at loads far below their theoretical strengths due to their inherent flaws. These have led to the development of reinforcing strategies to help enhance the fracture resistance of ceramics. However, reported strengths value are still far below theoretical strength, most reinforced ceramics suffer trade-off between strength and toughness, and most present reinforcement methods are material specific. In this work, a generic method for reinforcing ceramic materials for the enhancement of fracture resistance is described. Continuous ductile ligaments oriented in two orthogonal directions and forming 2-D network grid reinforcement structure was employed. The method involves two major stages: fabrication of regular channels in 2-D in ceramic matrix to form the preform and infiltration of the preform with the required reinforcement. Two different materials: carbon fibers and soft metal alloys were used as sacrificial materials for fabricating the aligned 2-D regular channels in alumina matrix. After the porous preforms were formed, molten aluminum alloys were infiltrated into the channels by the application of mechanical pressure, and this completes the composite fabrication process. Mechanical tests show that some porous preforms having area fraction of 2.7 % exhibited 27 % higher flexural strength than the solid specimens despite the porosity contained and this has been attributed to the ability of the channels to reduce the population and distribution of cracks in the porous material. The reinforced composites were also subjected to mechanical tests which revealed 217.6 % enhancement in flexural strength for the 7.79 % Al 7075 alloy reinforced composite. This magnitude of property enhancement was achieved due to the confinement of the matrix in the loop of the reinforcement and the beneficial residual compressive stress generated as a result of the difference in coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of the alumina and aluminum. The residual compressive stress delays crack initiation and crack propagation in the alumina matrix. It also reduces the stress concentration factor in the matrix, leading to higher failure stress and higher fracture toughness., Submitted Note: A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Industrial Engineering in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy., Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2012., Date of Defense: February 17, 2012., Keywords: Composite, Fracture Strength, Fracture Toughness, Reinforcement, Residual Stress, Stress Cocentration, Bibliography Note: Includes bibliographical references., Advisory Committee: Okenwa Okoli, Professor Directing Dissertation; Simone Peterson-Hruda, University Representative; Mei Zhang, Committee Member; Zhiyong Richard Liang, Committee Member.

: 2-Stratifolds with Finite Fundamental Group or Abelian Fundamental Group; This dissertation is focused on the study of spaces called 2-stratifolds. These spaces are locally modeled on a 2-dimensional space where n-sheets meet. Unlike 2-manifolds, 2-stratifolds are not determined by their fundamental group and a complete list of 2-stratifold groups is unknown. To further understand these groups, we determine which finite groups and which abelian groups are the fundamental group of a 2-stratifold. A powerful tool for studying 2-stratifolds is the associated labelled bicolored graph. This graph essentially determines the homeomophism type. A classification of all labelled graphs that represent 1-connected trivalent 2-stratifold had been previously obtained. We extend this classification to labelled graphs that represent trivalent 2-stratifold with finite fundamental group or abelian fundamental group., A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Mathematics in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy., July 6, 2020., Includes bibliographical references., Wolfgang Heil, Professor Directing Dissertation; James "Jack" Justus, University Representative; Philip Bowers, Committee Member; Samuel Ballas, Committee Member.

: 218 parent-child relationships of working and non-working mothers known to the Child guidance Clinic of Pinellas County, St. Petersburg, Florida, July 1, 1956 to June 30, 1957.

: 21F Higher Spin Structures in ²⁵Na and ²¹F; Two experiments have been performed at Florida State University using the FSU Compton- Suppressed HPGe Array and associated particle telescope. The first experiment used the 9Be(18O, pnγ) reaction at 35 MeV to study the nuclear structure of 25Na. The second experiment used the 9Be(14C, pnγ) reaction at 30, 35, and 45 MeV to study the nuclear structure of 21F. Particle-γ and particle-γ-γ coincidence data were analyzed resulting in the discovery of several new gamma rays and states for both nuclei; this includes resolving a doublet in 25Na which has caused significant confusion in previous works. Angular distributions, lifetimes, and transition strengths have been measured for both nuclei. Shell model calculations have been performed using the USDA and WBP interactions; in addition to 0-particle-0-hole states, 1p1h states have been calculated for both nuclei and, in 21F, 2p2h states have been calculated as well., Submitted Note: A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Physics in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy., Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2015., Date of Defense: April 15, 2015., Keywords: High Spin, Nuclear Structure, Spectroscopy, Bibliography Note: Includes bibliographical references., Advisory Committee: Samuel L. Tabor, Professor Directing Dissertation; Tomasz Plewa, University Representative; Nicholas Bonesteel, Committee Member; Mark A. Riley, Committee Member; Alexander Volya, Committee Member.

: 21st Century Romantic Tragedy; At its core, A 21st Century Romantic Comedy is a commentary on our toxic codependent relationship with plastic. It is written for soprano, percussion, string quartet, electronics, and recycling waste. It is intended to provoke and encourage listeners to think about the current state of the world and our relationship with the planet. The first and last movements are quite literally love letters to plastic. The singer takes the role of a lover who finds themself a willing and delighted participant in this toxic relationship that is slowly killing them, much like our own relationship with plastic. We rely so heavily on it, and it's incredibly useful, but the fact remains that we are slowly destroying ourselves and the planet along the way. The second movement is essentially a hit list; however, it isn't portrayed that way in the eyes of the singer. Every name is a top contributor to single-use plastic waste (Source: Minderoo Foundation's "Plastic Waste Makers Index 2021"). Rather than shouting in anger, the singer embraces these "Capitalist Casanovas." The goal is to create a contrast between the seriousness of the issue and the playful tone of the music, to highlight the absurdity of our reliance on single-use plastics and the culture of overconsumption that led us here., A Thesis submitted to the College of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music., April 14, 2023., Activism, Art, Environment, Music, Plastic, Pollution, Includes bibliographical references., Clifton D. Callender, Professor Directing Thesis; Liliya Ugay, Committee Member; Evan A. Jones, Committee Member.

: 21st Century Water War Haunted by a 20th Century Engineering Vision; Embedded in the history of the arid Western U.S., water conflict seems out of place in the Southeast's oozing landscape of humidity, swamps, and Spanish moss (Manganiello, 2015). Yet throughout Georgia, Alabama, and Florida's shared Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River (ACF) watershed, flows have faltered, ecosystems have suffered, negotiations have failed, and lawsuits have emerged and been put to rest, only to reappear under new guises in a cycle that continuously churns but moves no closer to resolving the issues that plague the basin. These conflicts, known collectively as the "Tri-State Water Wars", have marred the basin for over 30 years. A resolution to the protracted war seemed imminent in 2016, when the Tri-State conflict reached the U.S. Supreme Court in the form of Florida v Georgia. Although the Supreme Court ruled on the case five years later, little was settled, with lawsuits and ecological damages continuing to proliferate in the wake of Florida v Georgia. A changing climate and increasing water consumption are unquestionably key drivers in the Tri-State conflict that deserve careful examination. However, I argue that, below the surface of the water wars, there is an important history of discursive and material transformations which must also be examined to achieve a more complete understanding of water governance and conflict in the ACF basin. This dissertation contributes to an improved understanding of current issues in the ACF by analyzing an understudied topic in the region: the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE or the Corps) and their production of knowledge. The Corps has intervened in the ACF waterways since the mid-nineteenth century and today operates a system of five dams that profoundly impacts the flow regime of the Chattahoochee and Apalachicola Rivers. However, most studies of the ACF either ignore the engineers or consider them adjacent to water politics, existing only as apolitical technicians deployed by Congress and other powerful interests. I analytically recenter the Corps in the ACF, demonstrating the agency's influence in the Tri-State region extends beyond the role of expert builders typically ascribed to the engineers within the ACF literature. Drawing upon USACE ACF surveys and water control manuals from 1870-2017, I use a Foucauldian framework to track continuities and ruptures in the Corps' knowledge, logic, and modes of intervention across three eras: navigation, dam building, and ecopolitical. I show that across each era the Corps did not merely implement projects handed down from political and economic elite, but also shaped the course of river policy and interventions in the ACF through their own internal logic and conceptualization of the waterways. The historical approach I adopt additionally reveals how legacies of forgotten engineering visions continue to haunt current conflicts and modes of river governance throughout the ACF. In showcasing the ways in which the Corps have and continue to impact the ACF, I call for an analytical and political reengagement with experts and technical knowledge that have for too long remained hidden below the surface of grand political battles in the region., A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Geography in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy., October 11, 2021., Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River , Governmentality, Tri-State Water Wars, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Water Governance, Includes bibliographical references., Tyler McCreary, Professor Directing Dissertation; William Butler, University Representative; Sarah Lester, Committee Member; Ronald Doel, Committee Member; Steven Leitman, Committee Member; Richard Milligan, Committee Member.

: 21st-Century Works for Solo Trumpet by Women a Pedagogical Analysis; Women have historically been underrepresented in the field of trumpet, including as performers, trumpet pedagogues, and composers. For many collegiate trumpet studios, standard repertoire includes works predominantly written by men. This canon is self-perpetuating, as it is easy to obtain music from the standard repertoire and it is natural to perform and assign repertoire for study that is familiar. There are many works by women that can positively supplement existing repertoire taught in the collegiate trumpet studio setting and can contribute to a balance of standard and newer works. This treatise investigates the pedagogical value and uses of eight 21st-century works for solo trumpet by women: "Fantasia" by Lauren Bernofsky, "Sonata for Trumpet and Piano" by Elaine Fine, "Trumpet Songs" by Jennifer Higdon, "Framed" by Cecilia McDowall, "Golden Hour" by Cait Nishimura, "Kupala Night" by Elizabeth Raum, "Stories for Our Time" by Faye-Ellen Silverman, and "Nostalgia" by Barbara York. While there are countless valuable works composed by women to be studied, the works selected for this document are meant to represent a varied group of styles, difficulty levels, and potential pedagogical uses. Biographical background is given for each composer accompanied by a pedagogical discussion of their work and basic programming information, including challenges regarding flexibility, range, endurance, technique, articulation, musicality, coordination with accompaniment, and potential use of each work in a collegiate trumpet studio setting. Advice on addressing pedagogical challenges and suggestions of books, etudes, and exercises that can assist with preparation of these works are provided., A Treatise submitted to the College of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Music., November 7, 2022., Composers, Solo, Trumpet, Women, Includes bibliographical references., Christopher Moore, Professor Directing Treatise; Steven Kelly, University Representative; Justin Benavidez, Committee Member; Michelle Stebleton, Committee Member.

: 28 January 1980, Blackthorn and Capricorn; It was a quiet night as the crew of the Coast Guard cutter Blackthorn headed back to duty. After over three months of receiving new equipment and getting badly needed repairs, it was finally time to return her home to Galveston, Texas and regular duty. At approximately 2021 e.s.t. 28 January 1980, none of her new equipment or upgrades was enough to protect her from what lay ahead. For as fate would have it, unknowingly she had spent over three months preparing for nothing more than twenty-three men and her own burial. The dawning of 28 January 1980 was significant inasmuch as it marked the sixty-fifth anniversary of the United States Coast Guard. By nightfall, however, this date would take on an additional, more somber, meaning. For during the evening hours of 28 January 1980, Blackthorn collided with the tanker, Capricorn, resulting in death of twenty-three servicemen, and this date remains the worst peacetime loss of life in Coast Guard history. The accident became the catalyst for the creation of a new school intended to prevent the recurrence of any such events. But before the Command and Operations School at the Coast Guard Academy ever accepted its first student, a lot of soul searching had to happen and some tough questions had to be answered by both the agency that patrolled the sea and the men who navigated it. What happened? Why did it happen? Could it have been avoided? Did any good result from this disaster? For some, these questions still linger., Submitted Note: A Thesis Submitted to the Department of American and Florida Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts., Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2003.., Date of Defense: November 10, 2003., Keywords: Cut A Channel, Marine Jurisdiction, Ship Collision, Bibliography Note: Includes bibliographical references., Advisory Committee: Glen H. Doran, Professor Directing Thesis; Robin J. Sellers, Committee Member; James P. Jones, Committee Member.

: 2D Affine and Projective Shape Analysis, and Bayesian Elastic Active Contours; An object of interest in an image can be characterized to some extent by the shape of its external boundary. Current techniques for shape analysis consider the notion of shape to be invariant to the similarity transformations (rotation, translation and scale), but often times in 2D images of 3D scenes, perspective effects can transform shapes of objects in a more complicated manner than what can be modeled by the similarity transformations alone. Therefore, we develop a general Riemannian framework for shape analysis where metrics and related quantities are invariant to larger groups, the affine and projective groups, that approximate such transformations that arise from perspective skews. Highlighting two possibilities for representing object boundaries -- ordered points (or landmarks) and parametrized curves -- we study different combinations of these representations (points and curves) and transformations (affine and projective). Specifically, we provide solutions to three out of four situations and develop algorithms for computing geodesics and intrinsic sample statistics, leading up to Gaussian-type statistical models, and classifying test shapes using such models learned from training data. In the case of parametrized curves, an added issue is to obtain invariance to the re-parameterization group. The geodesics are constructed by particularizing the path-straightening algorithm to geometries of current manifolds and are used, in turn, to compute shape statistics and Gaussian-type shape models. We demonstrate these ideas using a number of examples from shape and activity recognition. After developing such Gaussian-type shape models, we present a variational framework for naturally incorporating these shape models as prior knowledge in guidance of active contours for boundary extraction in images. This so-called Bayesian active contour framework is especially suitable for images where boundary estimation is difficult due to low contrast, low resolution, and presence of noise and clutter. In traditional active contour models curves are driven towards minimum of an energy composed of image and smoothing terms. We introduce an additional shape term based on shape models of prior known relevant shape classes. The minimization of this total energy, using iterated gradient-based updates of curves, leads to an improved segmentation of object boundaries. We demonstrate this Bayesian approach to segmentation using a number of shape classes in many imaging scenarios including the synthetic imaging modalities of SAS (synthetic aperture sonar) and SAR (synthetic aperture radar), which are notoriously difficult to obtain accurate boundary extractions. In practice, the training shapes used for prior-shape models may be collected from viewing angles different from those for the test images and thus may exhibit a shape variability brought about by perspective effects. Therefore, by allowing for a prior shape model to be invariant to, say, affine transformations of curves, we propose an active contour algorithm where the resulting segmentation is robust to perspective skews., Submitted Note: A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Statistics in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy., Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2013., Date of Defense: November 5, 2013., Keywords: Affine Shape, Bayesian Active Contours, Elastic Shape Analysis, Image Segmentation, Projective Shape, Riemannian Geometry, Bibliography Note: Includes bibliographical references., Advisory Committee: Anuj Srivastava, Professor Directing Dissertation; Eric Klassen, Professor Directing Dissertation; Kyle Gallivan, University Representative; Fred Huffer, Committee Member; Wei Wu, Committee Member; Jinfeng Zhang, Committee Member.

: 3 Pieces for 10 Hand Solo Piano; I had been wanting to write a bizarre piece for solo piano using a lot of pianist. This inspiration comes to me when I was watching a concert at Mahidol University, Thailand during a piano duet concert which I cannot fully remember who is the composer, but there is an ending section of when the audience can all come up to play on the piano together. Those participants are, possibly, planned beforehand since they are all from the same field of piano majors. 3 Pieces for 10 Hand Solo Piano had been my choice for writing this thesis with the objective to expand more creativity and also find opportunities to express skills that I had learned from studying for masters in Florida State University. All three movements show different ways for five pianists be able to play on a single piano. The first movement highlights using tools to create different sounds and effects that blends in with the piano sound. The second movement introduces to play the piano in the traditional normal way. Lastly, the third movement shows a different way to play piano with a little of the visual., A Thesis submitted to the College of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music., April 6, 2020., Includes bibliographical references., Clifton Callender, Professor Directing Thesis; Evan A. Jones, Committee Member; Liliya Ugay, Committee Member.

: 3-Manifolds of S1-Category Three; I study 3-manifold theory, which is a fascinating research area in topology. Many new ideas and techniques were introduced during these years, which makes it an active and fast developing subject. It is one of the most fruitful branches of today's mathematics and with the solution of the Poincare conjecture, it is getting more attention. This dissertation is motivated by results about categorical properties for 3-manifolds. This can be rephrased as the study of 3-manifolds which can be covered by certain sets satisfying some homotopy properties. A special case is the problem of classifying 3-manifolds that can be covered by three simple S1-contractible subsets. S1-contractible subsets are subsets of a 3-manifold M3 that can be deformed into a circle in M3. In this thesis, I consider more geometric subsets with this property, namely subsets are homeomorphic to 3-balls, solid tori and solid Klein bottles. The main result is a classication of all closed 3-manifolds that can be obtained as a union of three solid Klein bottles., Submitted Note: A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Mathematics in partial fulﬁllment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy., Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2013., Date of Defense: Apri 4, 2013., Bibliography Note: Includes bibliographical references., Advisory Committee: Wolfgang Heil, Professor Directing Thesis; Xufeng Niu, University Representative; Eric P. Klassen, Committee Member; Eriko Hironaka, Committee Member; Warren D. Nichols, Committee Member.

: 30 Years of New Music; This document is an annotated bibliography of commissioned "set pieces" by the Guitar Foundation of America organization for its International Concert Artist Competition. The primary goal of this document will be to act as a resource for guitarists seeking music outside of the standard repertoire for either performance and/or analysis. The bibliography is arranged chronologically, with each entry (29 in total) including composer name, composer biography, title and year of composition, style characteristics (i.e., tempo, form, movement structure, etc.), publication information, and recording information. The document is arranged in two chapters. Chapter 1 will provide an overview of the study, with a brief history of the Guitar Foundation of America organization, and suggestions for further research. Chapter 2 will consist of the works in their annotated format. The Appendix will contain a weblink for each score that will facilitate online purchases., Submitted Note: A Treatise submitted to the College of Music in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Music., Degree Awarded: Fall Semester 2016., Date of Defense: November 21, 2016., Keywords: bibliography, classical guitar, GFA, guitar, Guitar Foundation of America, set piece, Bibliography Note: Includes bibliographical references., Advisory Committee: Bruce Holzman, Professor Directing Treatise; Jane Piper Clendinning, University Representative; Pamela Ryan, Committee Member; Benjamin Sung, Committee Member.

: 3D Molecular Cytological and Genetic Analysis of the SUN-Domain (Sad1-Unc-84) Proteins in Maize (Zea Mays, L.) Meiosis; Discovery of a Novel Plant Sun Family, Including SUN3, a Candidate Gene for the Desynaptic1 (dy1) Mutant; Meiosis is the process by which sexually reproducing organisms reduce their genomes from diploid (2n) to haploid (n) during the formation of gametes. It requires that homologous chromosomes pair, synapse, recombine, and finally segregate. These widely conserved processes are under genetic control, yet the exact details of many of the underlying molecular mechanisms remain under active investigation. The initial pairing and subsequent synapsis events are immediately preceded by the clustering of telomeres on the nuclear envelope in a widely conserved structure referred to as the bouquet arrangement of meiotic chromosomes. In animals and plants, genes required for genome reduction at meiosis I have been characterized and show a high degree of conservation between kingdoms and species within them. Higher plants (most notably maize) have provided an excellent large-genome model system for the study of the cytology of homologous chromosome behavior and therefore have allowed an in depth dissection of the meiotic process in eukaryotes. At the cellular level, meiotic chromosome behavior is accompanied by changes in the architecture of the cell nucleus, particularly with respect to the interaction of telomeres with the nuclear periphery. This dissertation presents the work involving the analysis of a classic meiotic mutant of maize, desynaptic (dy1). The dy1 mutant is characterized by a precocious telomere-nuclear envelope detachment phenotype at mid prophase, resulting in chromosome breaks, anaphase bridges, micronuclei, and defective pollen development. In this study, we observed new phenotypes as early as the telomere bouquet stage of meiotic prophase in dy1 lines of maize. Using linkage and translocation mapping techniques, the dy1 mutation was mapped to the long arm of chromosome 3, where a candidate gene with homology to a nuclear envelope-associated SUN domain protein gene was identified. SUN (Sad1p/Unc-84) domain proteins function with other proteins to form a physical link between the nucleoskeleton and the cytoskeleton. These bridges transfer forces across the nuclear envelope and are increasingly recognized to play roles in nuclear positioning, nuclear migration, cell cycle-dependent breakdown and reformation of the nuclear envelope, telomere-led nuclear reorganization during meiosis, and karyogamy. Using bioinformatic and molecular approaches, we characterized the family of maize SUN-domain proteins, starting with a screen of maize genomic sequence data. We characterized five different maize ZmSUN genes (ZmSUN1-5), which fell into two structural classes likely of ancient origin. Orthologs of these genes and prevalent in the plant kingdom as they are also found in other monocots, eudicots, and even mosses. The first class described here designated canonical C-terminal SUN-domain (CCSD, ZmSUN1 and ZmSUN2), includes structural homologs of the animal and fungal SUN-domain protein genes. The second class, the plant-prevalent mid-SUN 3 transmembrane (PM3, ZmSUN3-5), includes a novel but conserved structural variant SUN-domain protein gene class. Analysis of the expression levels for these genes revealed very low expression in multiple tissue types, with the exception of ZmSUN5 which showed a pollen=preferred expression profile. Cloning and Peptide antibodies specific for ZmSUN3, and ZmSUN4 were used in western-blot and cell-staining assays to show that they are expressed and show concentrated staining at the nuclear periphery. In order to characterize the CCSD class of SUNproteins, we obtained new reagents and performed immunolocalization analyses coupled with high resolution 3D deconvolution microscopy. We identified a novel structure at the maize nuclear periphery we refer to as the "Nuclear SUN Belt", NSB, which was present in multiple somatic cell types as well as meiotic nuclei. During meiosis, the NSB was present at the onset and well into the leptotene stage of meiotic prophase. Surprisingly at the bouquet stage the NSB appeared to be localized opposite of the nucleolus in a crescent shape, occupying a small region (<1/3) of the surface of the nuclear periphery, often co-localizing with meiotic telomeres. During late prophase, the NSB returned temporarily until the release of the telomeres from the NE and subsequent NE breakdown prior to metaphase. The NSB later returned in post-meiotic nuclei including uninucleate cells, and prophase II nuclei. Using peptide antibodies specific for the CCSD class, we detected a severe disruption of SUN proteins at the nuclear envelope in a line of maize defective in meiotic telomere tethering and chromosome synapsis (desynaptic1, dy1) as well as a line defective in the transition from a prophase microtubule array to a metaphase spindle (divergent1, dv1) (SHAMINA et al. 2000b; STAIGER and CANDE 1990a). The findings presented in this dissertation provide valuable new information regarding the spatial distribution and dynamics of maize SUN proteins at the NE and for an initial interpretation of the phenotypes of historical meiotic mutants of maize., Submitted Note: A Dissertation submitted to the Institute of Molecular Biophysics in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy., Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2011., Date of Defense: October 4, 2011., Keywords: Bouquet, Maize, Meiosis, nuclear envelope, Sad1/Unc-84, telomeres, Bibliography Note: Includes bibliographical references., Advisory Committee: Hank Henry W. Bass, Professor Directing Dissertation; Myra M. Hurt, University Representative; James Fadool, Committee Member; Hong Li, Committee Member; Lloyd Epstein, Committee Member.

: 3D Numerical Modeling of Hydrodynamics and Sediment Transport in Estuaries; As a USEPA recommended hydrodynamic and transport model, EFDC model has been widely used in modeling estuarine and coastal hydrodynamics and transport. EFDC employs sigma coordinate transformation to deal with irregular water depth. However, it is well known that this coordinate transformation introduces additional terms and produces computation errors in calculation of horizontal pressure gradient terms when a steep bottom slope exists in water domains. Errors in pressure gradient calculation can cause errors in velocity field and ultimately results in errors in spurious transports. In this study, a new algorithm is presented to reduce the numerical errors induced by the horizontal pressure gradient term near steep topography. The basic concept of this algorithm is to re-organize the pressure terms in sigma coordinate system to avoid the subtractions of two large horizontal pressure terms. To accomplish this objective, the 4th order Lagrangian interpolation method was firstly used in sigma space to obtain concentration in the corresponding z-level of the water column. Secondly, the horizontal concentration difference was determined. Finally, the horizontal pressure gradient in the water column was directly calculated from the horizontal concentration gradient. A stepwise bottom boundary condition was adopted for steep slopping bottom boundary. The algorithm has been used to enhance the EFDC model. The model code has been tested in three test cases: 1) flat bottom basin, 2) steep sloping channel, and a coastal shelf. Results indicate that conventional approach in current EFDC dealing with horizontal pressure gradient terms causes spurious surface elevation and velocity field. In comparison, the employment of the algorithm presented in this study this study significantly reduced numerical errors in predicting surface elevation and currents in navigation channels and coastal shelves. Equations for estimating horizontal diffusion coefficient in 3D numerical modeling of estuarine transport have been evaluated in this study in a shallow tidal river. In the application of a 3D hydrodynamic model to Little Manatee River located in Florida of USA, the popular Smagoringsky diffusion scheme was shown to result in the underestimate salinity in comparison with field observations. Another horizontal diffusion equation by Overton et al was also unable to provide satisfactory results of salinity variations in the shallow and narrow river. In an analytic test case of a non-tidal uniform flow channel, Smargorinsky equation results in unreasonable zero horizontal diffusion and no salinity intrusion in the nontidal one dimensional tidal river. An enhanced horizontal diffusion equation was presented in this study. Decoupled from the horizontal eddy viscosity, the enhanced horizontal diffusion equation is composed of the Smargorinsky equation with addition of a non-tidal background horizontal diffusion to account for the effects of shallow and narrow effects of streams. The enhanced equation has been calibrated with field observations of hourly surface and bottom salinity at two field stations during 2/15/2005-2/28/2005. It was also satisfactorily verified with field observations for the period of 3/1/2005-6/30/2005. Model predictions of salinity and currents fields from model predictions were presented to support water research. The enhanced horizontal diffusion equation will be helpful for more accurate modeling of other water quality constituents in tidal rivers. A 3D sediment transport model is applied to Apalachicola Bay to predict temporal and spatial distributions of sediment concentrations in water columns. The model is coupled with the 3D hydrodynamic model in the EFDC model code that provides information on estuarine circulations and salinity transport. The hydrodynamic model has been calibrated with field observations of water levels and salinity. The sediment transport model solves the transport equation with source and sinks terms to represent sediment deposition and re-suspension. The model is capable of predicting dye transport and fecol coliform. Basing on the collection of field observation and data analysis, the main driving force for sediment resuspension in the bay is found to be surface wind drive current. The calibrated hydrodynamic model then was used to simulate the total suspended sediments (TSS) transportation and get a satisfying result. The calibrated model can serve as an effective tool for environmental scientists and resources managers to examine effects of management scenarios on estuarine sediments transport and the aquatic ecosystem., Submitted Note: A Dissertation Submitted to the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy., Degree Awarded: Summer Semester,2007., Date of Defense: April 9, 2007., Keywords: EFDC, Sediment Transport, Pressure Gradient, Numerical Error, Numerical Modeling, Hydrodynamics, Bibliography Note: Includes bibliographical references., Advisory committee: Wenrui Huang, Professor Directing Dissertation; Kaisheng Song, Outside Committee Member; Amy Chan Hilton, Committee Member; Gang Chen, Committee Member.

: 3D Solution Structure of the C Terminal Domain of Diphtheria Toxin Repressor; Diphtheria toxin repressor protein (DtxR) is a 226 amino acid protein that regulates the genes for iron uptake in Corynebacterium diphtheria and also regulates the Diphtheria toxin production. The known functions of this protein include binding divalent metals, dimerazation, and DNA binding. All these functions are accounted for by the N terminal domain of the protein. The C terminal domain was not well defined in early crystal structures but by 2000 both crystallography and NMR agreed that the C terminal domain has an SH3 like fold. This has led us to investigate the possible role of the C terminal domain as a "switch" for the activation of DtxR. We propose that the C terminal domain binds to the linker between the N and C terminal domains of this protein and stabilizes the monomeric form of DtxR. Once this region is released by the C terminal domain the N terminal domain most have some sort of "folding event" then metal is bound and dimerazation can take place. To investigate the mechanism of binding to this linker region by the C terminal domain two protein constructs were made one from residues D144-L226 and the other from D110-L226. The first construct would be the Free form and the second would be the bound form thus given us insight into the mechanism of binding. Here the 3D solution structures of these two domains and a comparison is presented., Submitted Note: A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Chemistry in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy., Degree Awarded: Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2003., Date of Defense: Date of Defense: January 27, 2003., Keywords: Diphtheria Toxin Repressor Protein (DtxR), Iron Uptake, Bibliography Note: Includes bibliographical references., Advisory committee: Timothy M. Logan, Professor Directing Dissertation; Piotr G. Fajer, Outside Committee Member; Michael Blaber, Committee Member; Naresh Dalal, Committee Member.

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