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Sickle Cell Disease Self-Management Among Late Adolescents And Their Families In Saudi Arabia: A Mixed-Method Study, Ebtesam Mohd Abdulshakoor

Open Access Dissertations

Background: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a hereditary blood disorder that affects millions globally. In Saudi Arabia, it manifests in severe or moderate forms, affecting 24 of 10,000 children and adolescents. This places a substantial burden on families, necessitating intricate care. While existing literature has primarily focused on medical management and quality of life, there is a gap in understanding Saudi adolescents’ experiences living with SCD and their self-management behaviors. Given the cultural emphasis on family in Saudi Arabia, this study was guided by the Individual and Family Self-management Theory (IFSMT), emphasizing collaborative efforts involving individuals and their families. …

Cell Stress, Protein Quality Control, And Activation Of Toxin Antitoxin Systems In Escherichia Coli, Benjamin Piraino

Open Access Dissertations

Responding to environmental stress is critical for all organismal survival, including in bacteria. One of the key bacterial responses to stress is protection of proteins within the cell, which helps to maintain proteins in a functional state. Protection of the proteome is done through a collaborative network of proteins and systems, all functioning to protect the cell. Within Escherichia coli (E. coli), three main proteomic protection systems are chaperones, proteases, and toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems. They work together, with overlapping functions, to regulate stress responses. Chaperones, such as DnaK(Hsp70) and SecB, are major regulators of protein folding within the cell, …

Associations Between Stress, Intuitive Eating, And Adiposity In A Cohort Of Midlife Women, Bridget A. Owens

Open Access Dissertations

Stress and eating behaviors can influence the health of midlife women, a population at risk for weight gain and redistribution of fat to the abdominal area related to shifts in reproductive hormones and aging. Higher stress is associated with negative health outcomes such as increased abdominal adiposity, depression, and chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease. Women report higher stress and more emotional and physical side effects from stress than men and are more likely than men to engage in emotional eating in response to stress. Further, the desire to lose weight and the prevalence of body dissatisfaction is high among …

Stunned And Stranded: Characterizing Hypothermic Threats To Sea Turtles In The Northwest Atlantic And Enhancing Conservation By Fostering Community Engagement, Felicia M. Page

Open Access Dissertations

Over 40 years of conservation efforts have led to increases in sea turtle populations, but all species found in U.S. waters are still at risk of extinction. While the contributions of such programs like the Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network and bi-national Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle Restoration and Enhancement Program have rescued and rehabilitated stranded sea turtles, and protected sea turtles and their nests, there are still substantial knowledge gaps that could significantly enhance current conservation programs protecting the most imperiled sea turtle species - Kemp’s ridleys (Lepidochelys kempii).

Manuscript 1 is an overview of the efforts …

Heterogeneous Ribosomes And Bs21: An Investigation Of Impacts And Mechanisms Of Altered Translation In Francisella Tularensis, Hannah Trautmann

Open Access Dissertations

Francisella tularensis is a pathogenic bacterium that requires coordinated regulation of gene expression to cause disease. In this dissertation, I explore a novel area of translation-level gene regulation in F. tularensis: heterogeneous ribosomes that preferentially translate specific mRNAs. Through mass spectrometry and immunoblotting, I find that wild-type F. tularensis ribosomes are heterogeneous with respect to the small ribosomal protein bS21 and all three bS21 homologs are able to be incorporated into ribosomes. Comparing proteomics and transcriptomics data, I determine that cells lacking one homolog, bS21-2, have genome-wide changes in protein abundance that are not explained by changes in transcript …

Digital Twin For Intelligent Cyber-Physical Systems, William C. Danilczyk

Open Access Dissertations

Power grid control centers have long relied on the legacy Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system to protect and control the power grid. However, as the power grid moves towards the future Smart Grid, more sophisticated methods to maintain the resiliency of the critical infrastructure are required. The deployment of intelligent electronic devices, smart control algorithms and wide area monitoring systems has already begun on the modern power grid. The future Smart Grid offers many potential benefits but a large scale Cyber Physical System (CPS) also provides a large vulnerability surface with large repercussions. To address these issues, we …

Examining Bidirectional Relations Between Interpersonal Trauma And Substance Use Among Army Soldiers, Shannon Forkus

Open Access Dissertations

Introduction. Interpersonal trauma (IPT) and substance use are particularly prevalent and problematic concerns among military personnel. Theoretical and empirical findings suggest that IPT and substance use are highly interconnected. Elucidating the developmental trajectory between IPT and substance use is necessary for identifying prominent pathways for intervention. Purpose. The current study examined IPT and substance use longitudinally, from pre- to post-deployment, among a large military sample. Method. This study utilized a sample of 4,645 military service members who were administered self-report questionnaires at four separate timepoints (one pre-deployment and three post-deployment). Results. Cross-lagged panel models were estimated …

A Study Of The Structure-Activity Relationships Of Carcinogenic Protein- And Dna-Binding Chemicals, Alicia M. Crisalli

Open Access Dissertations

Chapter 1

Chemical contaminants in our environment may interact with macromolecules such as proteins and DNA in our bodies and have the potential to disrupt normal biological processes, leading to diseases such as cancer and metabolic conditions. Elucidation of these mechanisms, particularly the relationship between their structure and subsequent biological outcomes, is paramount to mitigating the harm associated with human exposure to such contaminants. It is also an important tool in the drug design/discovery process. This introductory chapter shall serve as background knowledge for readers unversed in the field, outlining several families of persistent chemical contaminants known to cause cancer …

Pelagic-Benthic Coupling In The Gulf Of Maine: Multidecadal Molecular Isotope Records Of Zooplankton And Deep Sea Corals Bioarchives, Catherine Nowakowski

Open Access Dissertations

The export of organic matter from the surface to deep ocean has major implications for global biogeochemical cycles, the transfer of energy across food webs, and the sequestration of carbon through the biological pump. Therefore, understanding the physical and biological conditions that control these processes is important to understanding pelagic-benthic coupling and resulting controls on ocean productivity, fisheries production, and Earth’s climate regulation. Equally important is consideration of and collaboration with diverse audiences that need to understand this information to make scientifically informed decisions about climate and environment policies that come from this research. Despite the importance of this knowledge, …

Dyadic Experience Of Emotion Regulation For Families With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Coral L. Shuster

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation was constructed to better understand the role that emotion regulation(ER) difficulties have in the lives of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Three research methods were utilized and are presented in this order: secondary data analysis, systematic literature review, and a cross-sectional observational study. The secondary data analysis (chapter one) aimed to understand the association between family conflict, child ER, parent perceived stress, and ASD-related social responsiveness in a sample of 2,229 children included in a nationwide longitudinal study. Findings suggest that higher social responsiveness scores predict more ER difficulties as reported by a parent. Parent perceived …

Investigation Of Li-Ion Battery Electrolyte For High Voltage And Low Temperature Conditions, Chamithri Jayawardana

Open Access Dissertations

Developing energy storage technologies play a key role in adoption of intermittent renewable energy sources and expansion of electromobility as a way of overcoming challenges related to climate change. To meet the demands of such diverse applications, Lithium-ion battery (LIB) technologies, one of the most reliable battery technology today, have to be able to work at a wide range of operating conditions. This dissertation attempts to understand the role and the failure mechanisms of the liquid electrolyte in a Lithium-ion battery when operated at high voltage and low temperature conditions. LIB operated at high operating potentials suffer from rapid capacity …

Spatiotemporal And Thermal Variability In Upper Mantle Flow As A Result Of Mid-Ocean Ridge Migration, Loes Van Dam

Open Access Dissertations

Complex tectonic plate motions and thermal heterogeneity in the Earth’s mantle give rise to three-dimensional, time-varying patterns in material transport towards the surface near mid-ocean ridges. The commonly accepted view of mid-ocean ridges is that they are passive features, where plate divergence results in vertical upwelling from deep inside the mantle. In this model, formation of the crust is uniform and symmetric about the ridge axis. Recent plate motion models have revealed that mid-ocean ridges are not stationary in time (Whittaker et al., 2015). Their migration may influence the pathlines of mantle rock motion towards the ridge axis. Both geophysical …

Do Good To Feel Good? Investigating Civic Engagement Among Non-College Young Adults, Natalie Fenn

Open Access Dissertations

Young adulthood is a period of transition during which individuals could greatly benefit from health promotion tools. Civic engagement has been touted as one potential form of health promotion given its association with positive well-being. However, researchers have primarily examined civic engagement as a health promotion tool among older adults and adolescents, and less is known about its mental health implications for young adults. Additionally, findings are more mixed among women and those from lower-socioeconomic populations perhaps because civic engagement is conceived as an extra burden. Less-educated individuals are less likely to civically engage and more likely to demonstrate mental …

Using Constructivist Grounded Theory To Unpack How White Women In Stem Become Committed To Racial Justice, Desiree Forsythe

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation presents findings from a constructivist grounded theory study on the process in which white women in STEM commit to racial justice. The research here captures not only the complexity of racial justice activism in white women, both the participants and my own, but is also grounded in the current events of the Black Lives Matter protests that erupted during a particularly brutal string of murders on Black people by law enforcement in the United States. This dissertation serves to unpack how white supremacy is both rejected and embodied by those attempting to commit to racial justice and to …

Risk And Protective Factors Associated With Opioid Use After In-Patient Detoxification, Megan M. Drohan

Open Access Dissertations

Objective: To identify risk and protective factors for return to opioid use post inpatient detoxification in a sample of persons with opioid use disorder (OUD).

Design and Methods: This study used data from a larger randomized controlled study following 206 eligible individuals who entered in-patient detoxification for OUD. Participants entered the study as part of the observation arm and were assessed for six months following in-patient detoxification. Timeline follow-back assessment was used to identify if and when participants returned to opioid use post-detoxification. A series of bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used to identify risk and protective …

Acoustic And Optical Imaging Techniques For Characterizing Animal Distributions In The Pelagic Ocean, Benjamin Grassian

Open Access Dissertations

Biological processes in midwater habitats -- ocean areas between the sunlit surface layers and sea floor -- are critical drivers of ocean biogeochemical cycling, oxygen availability, fish population dynamics, and ecological interactions over a wide range of scales. Achieving high-resolution observations of the environmental and biological heterogeneity in the ocean's interior is important for understanding the status and evolution of the earth system at large. Traditional ocean sampling platforms (e.g. net systems, moored and shipboard sensors), are often unable to resolve marine biota at fine (cm-m) scales and over submesoscale (sub-km to kms) survey areas comparable to the relevant variability …

An Evaluation Of The Effectiveness And Safety Of Direct Oral Anticoagulants Versus Warfarin In Chronic Liver Disease, And After Anticoagulant-Related Major Bleeding, Oluwadolapo D. Lawal

Open Access Dissertations

The introduction of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) in the last decade have greatly expanded available treatment options for the management of thromboembolic diseases. Based on their non-inferiority in efficacy and safety, and more convenient dose monitoring and adjustment compared to warfarin, DOACs are now considered the first-line treatment option in the management and prevention of venous thromboembolism (VTE) and nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). While the use of DOACs continues to increase in the general population, limited evidence exists to support its use in chronic liver disease (CLD). Of note, individuals with elevated liver enzymes, liver cirrhosis or CLD were excluded …

Black Feminist Autoethnography: How Identity Can Affect Peer Review Practices In The College Writing Classroom, Eileen M. James

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation explores the importance of embodied teaching pedagogy as it relates to peer review practices in the college writing classroom. This work uses autoethnography as a research method, exploring issues of (dis)embodiment and experiences with collaborative learning in classrooms. In addition to a review of applicable literature focused on peer review practices, writing pedagogy, and Black Feminist Autoethnography, this dissertation contains narrative sections from the viewpoint of the subject--a Black woman--as a student, an instructor, and a researcher working to examine her experiences and how they demonstrate the need for embodied approaches in the classroom. The purpose of this …

Automated Acoustic Arrival Matching For Long Range Subsurface Positioning Of Autonomous Seagliders, Cristian Eric Graupe

Open Access Dissertations

An automated method was developed to align underwater acoustic receptions at various depths and ranges to a single reference prediction of long range acoustic arrival structure as it evolves with range in order to determine source-receiver range. Acoustic receptions collected by four autonomous underwater vehicles deployed in the Philippine Sea as part of an ocean acoustic propagation experiment were used to demonstrate the method. The natural sound speed duct in temperate waters known as the Sound Fixing and Ranging (SOFAR) channel enabled stable acoustic transmissions measured at ranges up to 700 km. The arrivals were measured in the upper 1000 …

The American Lobster (Homarus Americanus) In Narragansett Bay During A Time Of Ecosystem Flux: Temperature, Predation, And Larval Dynamics, Kristin Huizenga

Open Access Dissertations

The American lobster (Homarus americanus) in southern New England sustained a particularly prosperous fishery during the 1980s and 1990s. However, in 2001 lobsters in the region began to decline, leading to the eventual collapse of the fishery in Rhode Island. The Narragansett Bay was no exception to this trend, with the number of lobsters caught by the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography weekly fish trawl survey peaking in the 1990s before the decline. Today, few lobsters are caught in the Bay.

This dissertation seeks to identify whether environmental stressors and predators drive lobster populations in …

Advanced Water Treatment And Reuse With Activated Ferrate, Charles D. Spellman

Open Access Dissertations

Ferrate is a promising, emerging water treatment technology. However, there has been limited research on the application of Ferrate in a water reuse paradigm. Recent literature has shown that ferrate oxidation of target contaminants could be improved by "activation" with the addition of reductants or acid. This study examined the impact of sulfite-activated Ferrate in laboratory water matrix and spiked municipal wastewater effluents with the goal of transforming organic contaminants of concern (e.g., 1,4-dioxane) and inactivating pathogenic organisms. Additionally, the formation of brominated disinfection byproducts by activated ferrate were examined and a proposed reaction pathway for byproduct formation is presented. …

Effects Of Surface Waves On Wind Stress And Upper Ocean Response Under Tropical Cyclones, Xiaohui Zhou

Open Access Dissertations

Evolution of a tropical cyclone (TC) is strongly affected by the supply of heat from a warm ocean surface. When strong TC wind enhances upper ocean turbulence, deepens the mixed layer, and cools the sea surface temperature (SST), the reduced SST decreases the heat flux to the atmosphere and weakens the storm. The cool-water entrainment can be further enhanced by three-dimensional processes, notably by upwelling due to Ekman pumping. Therefore, accurate prediction of these upper ocean responses to a TC is critically important for improving TC intensity forecasts.

Since the upper ocean responses are driven by the applied wind stress, …

Investigating The Role Corynebacterium Matruchotii Has Within Supragingival Plaque Spatial Organization And Its Response To Oral Streptococci And Saliva, Eric Ganeto Almeida

Open Access Dissertations

Human supragingival plaque (SUPP) is a polymicrobial biofilm on the tooth surface above the gumline, comprised of ordered structures with spatial associations between specific bacterial taxa. Recent microscopy and microbiome data have suggested that some plaque structures are scaffolded by the abundant filamentous bacterium Corynebacterium matruchotii decorated with Streptococcus species. These taxa are able to make a reproducible structure known as the ‘Hedgehog’ model in vivo where Streptococcus species tend to form 'corncob' like structures around the terminal ends of C. matruchotii. As these species colocalize in vivo, we hypothesize that they also interact biochemically with one another. …

Concept Maps For Middle School Computer Science Assessment, Gabriel De Pace

Open Access Dissertations

Concept Mapping has long been used in academic settings for various pur- poses but has been underutilized for assessment. Creating the concept map task and scoring the maps have been barriers to their widespread acceptance, but these difficulties are mitigated with automation and simple tools for the teacher to use. The aim of this work is to show that concept maps can be used effectively as computer science assessments in secondary schools. Ultimately, they can be used to measure student knowledge and to complement other forms of classroom assessments. We used the Code.org CS Discoveries Units 1-3 Curriculum taught in …

Analyte-Sensing Particles And Impact Of Plastics On Environmentally Abundant Bacteria, Tania Thalyta Silva De Oliveira

Open Access Dissertations

Nano and microscale materials exhibit exciting chemical, physical and biological properties that dictate how they function. Furthermore, their surface chemistry influences how they respond to a specific application and interact with their surroundings. In this dissertation, a technique used to synthesize tunable hybrid gold nanoparticles for environmental sensing applications by Raman is presented, as well as the fate of nano and microplastics when in the presence of an abundant bacteria in the aquatic environment.Gold nanoparticles are widely used in many applications due to their various properties, such as facile synthesis, biocompatibility, surface conjugation with various ligand types, and tunability. The …

Chemically Tuned Sers Sensors And Signal Processing For Marine Sensing, Robert Chevalier

Open Access Dissertations

The aim of this dissertation was to explore and develop tools for marine sensing by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). The first chapter focuses on the development of a real-time signal processing program to deal with background removal in different spectroscopic techniques such as UV/Vis, SERS and XPS. Background removal by a dual-tree complex wavelet transform with an iterative algorithm (DTCWT-IA) was compared to different background removal methods such as: linear, spline, Tougaard, Shirley, and unspecified proprietary methods from the instrument software companies. Unlike the more conventional methods, DTCWT-IA more resembled the presumed background shape and was generalizable across different spectroscopic …

Longitudinal Clustering Of Health Behaviors Within The Framingham Heart Study, Nathan L. Baumann

Open Access Dissertations

Health risk behaviors (HRB) have been shown to impact non-communicable chronic disease (NCI) over the lifespan, which are among the leading causes of mortality within the United States. Treatment of NCI includes both pharmacological and behavior change intervention. Though behavior change recommendations are common in the treatment of NCI, our understanding of the long-term trajectory of HRB and how they cluster are not yet fully understood. The current study seeks to elucidate the clustering of specific health behavior changes over the lifespan, bolstering the potential for taking preventative measures as well as fostering positive health behavior change more broadly in …

Empowering Industrial Iot Systems With Gpu-Powered Optimization Algorithms And Cybersecurity Tools, Marwan Fouad Abdelatti

Open Access Dissertations

Today's consumers' demands are continuously increasing, sometimes surpassing commercial and operational advancements. Both individual and business customers expect to get goods faster, more flexibly, and at low or no delivery cost. These high expectations along with more customized manufacturing are burdening the supply chain industry. Many report analyses underscore the vulnerability of current supply chain systems, particularly in their agility and reaction times, which was so apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the direct succession of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict. These analyses emphasize the necessity of automation with swift and accurate planning. Judging from the aforementioned facts, this dissertation follows two …

Analyzing Factors That Contribute To Attrition Of Underrepresented Undergraduate Students In Computer Science, Noura Albarakati

Open Access Dissertations

In recent years, women and underrepresented minority students have made significant advances in traditionally White male-dominated majors. Nevertheless, they are still underrepresented in most STEM majors. Consequently, many institutions in Higher Education are exploring ways to deliver environments that support those underrepresented students’ retention in science and engineering. This study sheds some light on women and minority students’ underrepresentation in computer science by exploring factors associated with their retention in the field.

This dissertation starts with an exploratory analysis that examines the attrition rate of underrepresented students who switched to other majors compared to their majority peers and investigates any …

Reweighted Components In Diet Quality Scores And Mortality Risk Associations, Haley Wynne Parker

Open Access Dissertations

Over the past few decades, evidence-based dietary guidance has transitioned in focus from single components (i.e., nutrients or food groups) to a more holistic total diet approach. While the total diet approach is more practical for public health messaging, capturing the complexity and multidimensionality of overall diet is methodologically challenging. As a result, diet quality indexes have been developed to facilitate comparisons across dietary patterns by yielding total diet quality scores (i.e., higher score=healthier diet). Various high-quality diets are consistently associated with a similar magnitude of overall and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality risk reduction across different diet quality indexes, despite …