Electronic Thesis or Dissertation

Lens differentiation begins with epithelial cells that undergo the process of cellular differentiation and remodelling into fiber cells (Bassnet et al., 2011; Menko 2002; Wride, 2011) that then will undergo terminal remodelling processes to eliminate their cellular organelles to achieve mature lens structure and transparency. We sought to determine if Serine 81, within the minimal essential region (MER) of the BNIP3L protein, is required for organelle elimination. Previous studies have shown that levels of phosphorylated P38 MAPK and ERK ½ peaked in the same region as phosphorylated S81 BNIP3L levels, the equatorial epithelium, where organelle degradation is initiated. The use of specific inhibitors of P38 MAPK (SB203580) or ERK ½ (U0126 or PD99089) and P38 MAPK activator Ansiomycin will be used to determine if P38 MAPK or ERK ½ phosphorylates BNIP3L at S81 to induce mitophagy of mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, and Golgi apparatus.

The sensation of touch is an integral part of using our hands. As different researchers work toward the restoration of afferent sensation in prosthetic hands, it becomes urgent to better understand how an artificial hand’s afferent inputs are affected by the efferent muscular outputs, and vice-versa. Current methods of neuroprosthetic research have many regulatory hurdles, time, cost, and associated risk to the patient. To circumvent these hurdles, we developed a non-invasive, closed-loop (CL) neuroprosthetic research platform, integrating artificial tactile signals from an artificial hand with biomimetically-stimulated biological neuronal networks (BNNs) cultured in a multielectrode array (MEA) chamber. These living embodied biological computers (EBCs) can provide a non-invasive alternative for investigating invasive neuroprosthetic interfaces. With them we can explore a variety of control techniques, tactile sensation encoding methods, and neural decoding methods to increase the rate of research in this area with minimal regulatory approval, greatly reduced cost and time, and no risk to the patients. In the first stage of this integration, our EBC was programmed to embody neuronal spiking from spontaneously active “efferent” receptive fields in cultured BNNs as intentional signals for movement. Bursts were transferred to a robotic hand and initiated a tapping motion of the index finger laid in proximity to a surface. Contact elicited artificial sensations, which were registered by a biotac tactile sensor array fit to the robotic fingertip.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), involving abuse, neglect, and violence exposure, have been connected to undesirable physical and mental health consequences across the life span. With regards to the range of factors that moderates the impact of ACEs on life course health, resilience is suggested as a quality that can lead to better health and quality of life outcomes. The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between adult-reported ACEs, resilience, and mental and physical health in Saudi Arabia. The study was a predictive/correlational design. A total of 328 participants completed the online questionnaire through (Qualtrics). The independent variables were ACEs and resilience while the dependent variable was physical and mental health. The variables were measured by: 1) The ACE International Questionnaire (ACE-IQ). 2) The Physical and Mental Health Checklist. 3) The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale -25 (CD-RISC-25). Descriptive statics showed that 97% of participants were medically diagnosed with some health illnesses and they were under the age of 45 years old.

The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of technology perception and caring nurse-patient interactions on patient safety culture from the perception of critical care nurses in Saudi Arabia and to assess the mediating role of compassion fatigue on the relationship between technology perception and patient safety culture and between caring nurse-patient interactions and patient safety culture. A cross-sectional study was conducted in July and August 2022, in three hospitals located in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia. A convenience, purposive sample of critical care nurses who provides direct care to patients in critical care units, stepdown, and emergency departments were recruited. one hundred and eighty-three nurse participated in this study with an overall response rate of 51.69%. Nurse participants completed the Survey of Patient Safety Culture for Hospitals, the Technological Influences Questionnaire subscale of the Caring Attributes, Professional Self-Concept, and Technological Influences scale, the Caring Nurse-Patient Interactions scale, and the Compassion Fatigue subscale from the ProQOL scale which contained the Secondary Traumatic Stress and Burnout subscales. Descriptive statistics and a linear regression model were used to analyze the research data. A significant relationship was found between technology perception and patient safety culture and between caring nurse patient interaction and patient safety culture. There is no significant mediating role of the Secondary Traumatic Stress on the relationship between technology perception and patient safety culture and between caring nurse patient interaction and patient safety culture. The burnout has a full mediating effect on the relationship between technology perception and patient safety culture and a partial mediating effect on the relationship between caring nurse patient interaction and patient safety culture. The research findings have established the foundation of the relationship between nursing caring factors (perception of technology and caring nurse-patient interaction) and patient safety culture. However, more research is needed to understand the direct effect of these relationships on patient outcomes.

In recent years, Florida State recorded thousands of abnormal traffic flows on highways that were caused by traffic incidents. Highway traffic congestion costed the US economy 101 billion dollars in 2020. Therefore, it is imperative to develop effective real-time traffic flow prediction schemes to mitigate the impact of traffic congestion. In this dissertation, we utilized real-life highway segment-based traffic and incident data obtained from Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) for real-time incident prediction.
We used eight years of FDOT real-life traffic and incident data for Florida I-95 highway to build prediction models for traffic accident severity. Accurate severity prediction is beneficial for responders since it allows the emergency center to dispatch the right number of vehicles without wasting additional resources.

Global research on family caregivers’ experiences with individuals who have serious mental illnesses has increased in different cultures. However, less research has been conducted on caregivers’ experiences within cultural contexts by using transcultural theory. Further, limited studies explored family caregivers’ lived experiences of people with serious mental illnesses in Saudi Arabia. The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of family caregivers of persons with serious mental illnesses in Saudi Arabia in a home environment. Guided by Ray’s (2016) Transcultural Caring Dynamics in Nursing and Health-Care Model and Diekelmann’s seven-stage analysis, this study interpreted the meaning of the family caregivers’ lived experiences for individuals with serious mental illness within Saudi Arabia. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and demographic data with participants. Participants included 10 males and 5 females, who ranged in age from 24 to 53 years. Fourteen of the participants were siblings. The meaning of families’ lived experiences was interpreted as a multidimensional process within Saudi culture in the constitutive pattern of the dynamic of an endless cycle of care. Three relational themes and 11 sub-themes were categorized to capture the multidimensional nature of the phenomenon: (a) development of caring experiences (formation of knowledge and Allah/spirituality); (b) living culture values and beliefs (societal views, caregivers’ beliefs and attitudes, caregiver in family, impact of social media, caregiver as financially supportive, and mental health care services); and (c) meaning of care ( being available, expressing love, and being present). This study's findings offer implications for nursing education, nursing practice, health policy, and future research recommendations.

Stroke is a major health problem in Saudi Arabia that impacts the health outcomes of adults and elderly persons. No matter its severity, stroke is a stressful life event not only for the survivors but their family caregivers as well. Uncertainty is one of the major problems facing family caregivers caring for persons with a stroke. Uncertainty affects overall health outcomes and the quality of life of family caregivers caring for persons with strokes. Current research has not yet identified the meaning of the uncertainty of family caregivers of persons with strokes during hospitalization in Saudi Arabia. The purpose of this study was to gain an in-depth understanding of the meaning of uncertainty experienced by family caregivers of persons in the hospital who have survived strokes.
This study used a phenomenological design. Data were collected through in-depth face-to-face and online semi-structured interviews with 15 family caregivers using openended questions. Participants were recruited from inpatient medical units and stroke care units in multi acute care hospitals in Saudi Arabia. The interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, translated, and analyzed using the hermeneutic phenomenological unitary caring research method. NVivo software (Version 12) was used to manage the qualitative data.

As children enter middle childhood, they become increasing focused on navigating the peer system, which provides an acute awareness of the social hierarchy and their place in it (Gottman & Mettetal, 1986; Parker & Gottman, 1989). Some children even prioritize attaining social status over maintaining friendships (LaFontana & Cillessen, 2010). Status matters because it describes an individual’s ability to compete for and control both physical and social resources (Hawley, 1999). Previous studies have identified two forms of affective regard, separate from the peer group and behavioral reputation, that predict popularity and unpopularity: acceptance and rejection (Marks et al., 2021). However, their relative importance has been unclear because previous studies have not included both in the same model and because most studies have been concurrent, not longitudinal. Affective markers of peer regard and behavioral markers of peer group reputation are moderately correlated, making it difficult to draw conclusions from separate studies of each. Studies which incorporate measures of each are few and limited in scope. The current study was designed to examine the origins of popularity and unpopularity by disentangling affective regard from behavioral reputation using a sample of 292 students enrolled in grades 4 to 6 (ages 9-13) of a university-affiliated school.

This thesis is a single ethnographic qualitative case study on gender, focusing on the parallels between gender and historical inequities of social, economic, political, and power oppression. The study metaphorically examines the systolic and diastolic reading of approximately 100 years of injustices. Virginia Artrip Snyder, the subject of this study, is a woman, practitioner, and advocate. The timeframe is from the 1920s to the present. The researcher examined a variety of samples, which included Virginia's documents, files, news clippings, books, letters, community involvement, and the criminal justice system. Virginia's family donated the data to the Spady Museum in Delray, Florida, and Florida Atlantic University (FAU), Virginia’s alma mater. The results demonstrated that Virginia was a victim of both domestic violence and the criminal justice system. Virginia sharpened the saw by educating and serving, thus demonstrating that one person can make a difference. As activist George Santayana said, "Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that effects about 1 in 44 children and has steadily increased in prevalence over the last decades. ASD is characterized by the diagnostic criteria of a persistent deficit in social communication and interaction and restricted or repetitive behaviors. The amygdala plays an essential role in regulating these behaviors and has continuously been shown to be affected in patients with ASD. As the amygdala is connected throughout the brain with cortical and subcortical areas, it is crucial to understand potential circuit impairments that contribute to the development and progression of behavioral characteristics. In this study, we investigated the role of ASD-associated TBR1 haploinsufficiency on morphological and functional amygdala connectivity. While we don’t see differences in inputs to the basal amygdala (BA), we demonstrated a difference in the BA to prefrontal cortex (PFC) pathway. Interestingly, we show a specific innervation difference of layer 5 neurons in the infralimbic (IL) but not prelimbic (PL) nuclei in the PFC. In accordance with the overall reduced density of BA axons in the IL, we show a decreased density of excitatory synapses. To investigate possible functional consequences of this projection deficit, we characterized pre-and postsynaptic functions of BA-PFC synapses. TBR1 haploinsufficiency impairs the postsynaptic function of BA-PL layer 2/3 and IL layer 5 synapses. BA-PL layer 2/3 synapses show an increased AMPA/NMDA receptor ratio, while this is not observed in BA-IL layer 5 synapses. However, TBR1 haploinsufficiency increases the AMPA and NMDA receptor-mediated currents at these synapses, further highlighting that BA-PL and BA-IL synapses are different and that partial loss of TBR1 affects circuits differently. This novel characterization of the consequences of a TBR1 haploinsufficiency on BA connectivity contributes to the critical understanding of this ASD-associated gene and its detrimental effects that contribute to the underlying behavioral phenotype.