Digital Commons Network^™

Molecular Characterization Of Gastroenteritis Viruses Among Equines And Porcines In Southern Ireland From 2005-2007., P. J, Collins

Theses

Rotaviruses are a major cause of gastroenteritis in humans and animals. To date, seven serogroups (A to G) of rotavirus have been determined. Group A Rotaviruses (GARVs) are enteric pathogens, causing acute watery dehydrating diarrhea in various host species, including birds and mammals. Rotaviruses account for ~611,000 child deaths each year, mainly in developing countries. Likewise, rotavirus-associated enteritis is a major problem in young calves, weaning and post-weaning piglets and foals. Vaccines against the most important serologic group of rotaviruses (GARVs) are available for the prevention of rotavirus diseases in cows and horses, and, more recently, they have been made …

Development Of Pcr Assays To Detect And Characterise Salmonella Isolates From Cheese And Meat Products By Utilizing An Integrated Genomics Approach, Noelle Geraldine Mccarthy

Theses

Salmonella is an extremely important foodborne pathogen which is responsible for millions of cases of gastroenteritis annually. Salmonella outbreaks have been associated with numerous common food stuffs such as meat, dairy and seafood. Traditional culture based methods for the detection Salmonella are labourious and costly. Rapid detection and serovar identification would dramatically decrease the time required to identify Salmonella outbreaks and potential health risks.

In the US 99% of all Salmonella infections are caused by members of Salmonella enterica subspecies 1. Serovars within subspecies 1 can vary due to host specificity and pathogenicity. DNA sequencing projects have provided valuable genomic …

The Detection And Analysis Of Selected Pathogens In The Water Supply Of Dairy Cohort Herds., Niall Drummond

Theses

The issue of food safety is a growing concern to Irish agriculture and to the food industry. In the last twenty years, many novel pathogens, which can cause concern to the food industry, have been identified. Organisms such as Verocytotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) cause hemorrhagic colitis and Haemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS), which is the major cause of acute renal failure in children in many countries, and it’s presence in food is a cause of growing concern. Other pathogens causing concern are those implicated as causative agents of Acute Gastroenteritis (AGE) and these can be bacterial, viral and parasitic organisms.

Consumption …

Renovating A Control Engineering Laboratory For Enhanced Learning, David Hamilton

Theses

In an attempt to both place the student at the centre of the learning process and thus improve student engagement with the discipline, and to incorporate professional skills into the engineering curriculum at the module level, an enquiry based learning (EBL) component to enhance teamwork, problem solving skills and the student’s ability to learn independently was developed using current best practice in teaching and learning. As EBL is not widely used in engineering curricula in CIT, a pilot scale three week trial was performed during the academic year 2007-08 to evaluate the appropriateness of the pedagogy and student reactions to …

Aspects Of The Microbiological Quality And Safety Of Ready-To-Eat Foods In Sharjah Supermarket Stores, Najla Ali Al-Mualla

Theses

Ready to eat foods covers a wide range of pre-processed food products that are readily eaten by consumers without further processing. Recently, there has been considerable increase in the demand of processed and convenience foods that are mildly pre-cooked, rapidly chilled, portioned and distributed for refrigeration prior to reheating and consumption by consumers. However, some of these foods such as, luncheon meals, ready to eat vegetables, fruit salad, spinach salad, and other deli-style meat and poultry products can be a harbor for pathogenic bacteria that are harmful to health when consumed by people especially with weak immune system.

Unfortunately, these …

Understanding The Link Between Ethanol Production And Food Prices, Nathalia Ferreira Monteiro

Theses

Food prices have increased rapidly in recent years, and so has ethanol consumption. Some studies have claimed that there is a connection between those two. Net exporters of food tend to benefit from higher prices, while regions that are net importers of food, tend to be adversely affected. The large amount of poor countries in the second group justifies an investigation of the causes of increasing food prices. This thesis aims to contribute to the discussion, analyzing, theoretically and empirically, the impact that the diversion of feedstock from food to ethanol production has on food prices. The interaction between food …

Moral Enquiry In A Pluralist Society: From Contention To Conversation, Philip Matthews

Theses

Over the last five hundred years, several conceptually incommensurable theories of ethics have been promulgated. For some moral philosophers, this incommensurability is a matter of deep concern because, in complex cases, there is no tradition-independent method for resolving moral conflict. More recently, a new discipline of applied or practical ethics has emerged. Practical ethics attempts to fill the void between rival moral theories by appealing, first, to the role of reason from an impartial observer perspective and, second, to decision making protocols based on moral principles. This ―first generation‖ attempt at codifying practical ethics failed to bridge the incommensurability gap …

Screening For Latent Or Silent Celiac Disease “Gluten-Sensitive Enteropathy” In Uae Adults Nationals, Waheeba Salman Al Zaabi

Theses

No abstract provided.

Integrating Advanced Facades Intro Sustainable Office Buildings In The Emirate Of Abu Dhabi, Uae, Ahmad Omar Balhamar

Theses

Abu Dhabi emirate consume about 130 millions AED in air conditioning electricity bills, this amount is only for 700 buildings in Abu Dhabi City and 300 buildings in Musafah district. Abu Dhabi city consumes 239.70 Kw/m²/year; however Musafah district consumes 179.92 Kw/m²/year. The difference came from different in total area of glass building facades between Abu Dhabi city and Musafah district buildings. Despite the fact that Abu Dhabi is one of the hottest cities in the Gulf region, its modern office buildings are characterized by glass facades. Such a concept comes with increased air conditioning operational …

"Welcoming The Stranger": A Dialogue Between Scriptural Understandings Of And Catholic Church Policies Towards Migrants And Refugees And Pastoral Praxis In The Migrant And Refugee Pastoral Care Bodies Within The Archdiocese Of Perth, Judith M. Woodward

Theses

Growth in human movement around the world has been one of the phenomenal aspects of globalization since the Second World War. Among these ‘people on the move’ those whom the United Nations Humanitarian Commission for Refugees has described as ‘persons of concern’ – refugees, displaced persons etc. – have increased at an alarming rate. They are now well in excess of the global population growth rate over the same period Many of these have moved into adjacent poorer developing countries but increasingly many are seeking asylum, either through official United Nations’ channels or through on-shore arrivals, in developing nations. This …

Sustainability Of Potable Water In The Pilbara, Timothy P. Pidhirnyj

Theses

This paper provides an examination of current and future demands on potable (drinking) water in the Pilbara. In this examination, it builds a picture summarizing human habitation in the Pilbara, and the nature in which the Western Australia state and Commonwealth governments assess and manage resources in the Pilbara, state wide, and nationally. Following on, water demand is broken down into its major user groups per town, and future demand is estimated based on publically available documents. It will be shown that water demand in certain areas of the Pilbara will exceed their licensed extraction limits within the next 20 …

Website About Chinese Food: Information Design Promoting Culture Identify By Website, Xiaoqiu Shan

Theses

Information design for the web and interactive multimedia integrates content with visual indicators. Legibility and clear communication of information and direction are important to the success of graphical user interface design. This thesis is a systematic introduction about Chinese fish dishes. The information is built into a website. The objective of the thesis is to increase the efficiency of transmitting information to users, making it more easily understandable and less time-consuming to be comprehended. Users can find information on classic Chinese fish dishes conveniently from the website. The project includes five parts, they are: Home page, Introduction, Restaurant, Kitchen and …

Designing A Cell Phone Application To Alert And Report Drinking Water Quality To South Africans, Deana Brown

Theses

Drinking water quality, especially in many parts of South Africa, is far below acceptable standards. With an annual estimate of 43, 000 deaths from diarrheal diseases, 3 million cases of illness and treatment costs of over half a billion US dollars, the impact is critical (Mackintosh & Colvin, 2003). To address this issue the Aquatest project seeks to develop a simplified low-cost water quality test kit and information management solution. This would allow Water Service Providers, especially in rural areas, to monitor water quality and distribute test data to the necessary parties - Water Service Authorities and consumers. This research …

How To Use Computer Graphics To Promote Virtual Idols Based On 3d, Chuanshi Qin

Theses

Computer Graphics is developing rapidly day by day and 3D technology is becoming a more and more important part of art and design. 2D animation has its own beauty that I really appreciate. However, I believe that 3D cartoon characters can be the virtual idols mainly produced in the future. My thesis project is a combination of many kinds of design. The essential one is character design for sure because it is something that all the other kinds of design in this project come from. The motion graphics design and website deisgn are the key part of this project because …

Germination Ecology Of Two Indigenous Range Grasses Lasiurus Scindicus And Panicum Turgidum, Naeema Sultan Abdullah Al-Shamisi

Theses

The utilization of indigenous forage species to replace the exotic ones could help in saving large amounts of water. The indigenous forage grasses Lasiurus scindicus and Panicum turgidum have been ranked among the plants that could tolerate drought during vegetative and reproductive stages and are currently being successfully used as fodders under experimental conditions in the UAE and in some parts of the world. However, there are no enough information about their dormancy and the environmental factors affecting their seed germination. In this study, the innate dormancy, light and temperature requirements, drought and salinity tolerances and the impact of dormancy …

The Germination Ecology And Composition Of The Indigenous Seeds Of Cyprus Conglomeratus: A Sand Dune Binder, Sheikha Saeed Amer Al Neyadi

Theses

Cyperus conglomeratus is among few species that tolerate the instability of sand dunes and its low nutrients. This species tolerates grazing animals and sand burial. It is considered as a good fodder for both domestic and wildlife animals. It has the potential to fix sand dunes. In addition, a preliminary observation indicated the presence of high contents of oil in the seeds. Despite the ecological importance of C. conglomeratus, little information is available about germination behaviour and seed composition. The present study assessed the dormancy, germination requirement, tolerance to salinity and drought during germination stage, the impact of dormancy regulation …

Extraction Of Hydrocarbons And Minimizing Organic Deposits From Crude Oil Using Carbon Dioxide, Adel Adib Azzam

Theses

Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) technology is a new and powerful separation process, which has several applications in environmental and petroleum industry fields. Supercritical carbon dioxide (SC CO₂) extraction process can be applied as a remediation technique for sediments contaminated with crude oil. On the other hand, SC CO₂ can be applied as an Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) technique in the petroleum industry to increase the ultimate recovery factor of crude oil from reservoirs. Therefore, utilization of SC CO₂ for the extraction applications can result both in environmental and economic benefits.

In this study, SC CO_{2 …}

Environmental Enrichment Effects On The Activity Of A Nearctic River Otter, Kenneth O. Nelson

Theses

Environmental enrichment has been used to identify and change a stimulus in a captive environment to increase the animal's welfare by bring out species-appropriate behaviors and combating stereotypic behaviors. One captive North American river otter (Lontra canadensis) was presented four enrichment initiatives (live fish, frozen fish, swim tube, PVC scent tubes) in a random order and placement throughout the exhibit. Baseline data showed that the otter preferred to spend mornings in the lower level of the exhibit and the afternoons in the upper level. Food initiatives (i.e. live fish, and a lesser degree frozen fish) were most effective in deterring …

Development Of A Gis Database For Water Resources Management In Ajman Emirate, Uae., Mohammad Rehan Yusuf

Theses

The lack of freshwater resources represents a major constraint against the sustainable development in arid and semi-arid regions. Because of the scarcity and randomness nature of rainfall in arid regions, surface water resources are almost absent. Groundwater resources are always under stress and in many cases do not suffice the water demands for different sectors. Desalination plants are widely constructed to substitute for the water shortage. The UAE, including Ajman emirate, is witnessing a rapid development in the industrial, commercial, construction and agricultural fields which has led to a tremendous increase in water demands.

Proper management of the limited water …

Impact Of Heavy Metals On Childhood Behaviors And Development: A Uae Study, Said Yousef Ahmad Abdel Razeq

Theses

BACKGROUND: Environmental toxic metal exposure is well known to adversely affect children's development and behavior. To our knowledge, there are no studies that carefully examined this potential hazard in UAE and Gulf countries.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this case-control study was to determine blood concentrations of 12 heavy metals in school-age children in Al Ain City. The other aim was to correlate the blood levels with developmental (e.g., learning disability) and behavioral (e.g., Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) problems in children.

METHODS: One hundred and forty seven subjects (73 with developmental and/or behavioral disorders and 74 controls) participated in the study. The …

'Purification Of Memory': The Ritual Acknowledgement Of Social Sin And The Penitential Celebration, Corran T. Pike

Theses

The Sacrament of Penance in the Australian Catholic Church is experiencing a pastoral decline. Concurrently, in the secular world, increasingly people are demanding and experiencing rituals of communal apology for social sin. Secular communal apologies (and rituals of forgiveness) appear to be speaking to people in a way that existing liturgical rituals in the church are not. There are no communal rituals for the acknowledgement of social sin currently included in the Rite of Penance. This is a lacuna in the church’s ritual complex that needs to be addressed. This dissertation will analyse several recent communal apologies for social sin …

Distribution And Geochemical Speciation Of Pb, Cd, Zn, Cr, And Cu In Sediments Of Major Dams In Uae, Mona Rashed Musabah Al-Alili

Theses

Assessment of availability and mobility is required to predict the behavior of heavy metals in dam's sediments, which hold up rainwater and make use of them. Therefore, a total number of ninety-three of sediments samples collected from the major dams AI-Shuweib, AI-Bih, AI-Tawiyeen and Ham dam were analyzed by several sedimentological and geochemical analyses procedures for Cu, Cd, Cr, Pb, Zn, AI, and Fe. The samples were investigated for mineralogy using X-ray diffraction analyses for non-clay and clay fractions. ICP-OES and Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS) were used to measure the concentration of heavy metals. The statistical treatments and graphical presentations …

The Botanical Thread, Kaitlin Wilson-Bryant

Theses

My thesis is an exploration of my dual desires of creation/destruction and manipulation/transformation as realized through the remediation of botanical specimens gathered from my domestic environment and transformed into works of art. Each image questions and presents an understanding of the history of botanical representation, within Western art history, as symbols of nature and femininity and the domestic skill of needlework, a traditional skill learned by women as part of the feminine. I created a conceptual dialogue with those who preceded me, intrinsically linking the acts of sewing and botany as re-interpreted feminist acts. In this work, I attempt to …

Indirect Camera Calibration In A Medical Environment, Bennet Tillapaugh

Theses

This thesis addresses the need to have calibrated cameras in surgery rooms. Data can then be collected during surgeries to assist the surgeons and it can later be used for postoperation analysis. Typical techniques for camera calibration are not adequate for a medical environment due to the cameras constantly moving and with no rigid area always in the cameras’ view. The proposed approach is to calibrate cameras attached to surgical lights by utilizing extra cameras placed on the ceiling. The ceiling cameras find the position of the light cameras and calibrate their extrinsic parameters. This indirect calibration method provides an …

Thokolosi, Karabo Legwaila

Theses

The legend or myth of the malevolent spirit known as Thokolosi has long been known among my people. Some people have even been known to take measures to protect themselves from attacks by Thokolosi by raising their beds on bricks to prevent the spirit attacking them at night. I have always felt that this legend was ripe with possibilities for the animation medium and having loved the idea of Thokolosi, I felt it was a good time to attempt to make a film about it. This was also a way for me to introduce a small piece of my culture …

Estimating Evolutionary Dynamics Of Cleavage Site Peptides Among H5ha Avian Influenza Employing Mathematical Information Theory Approaches, Sherry Dadgar

Theses

Estimating evolutionary conservation of cleavage site peptides among HA protein of all strains facilitates vaccine development against pandemic influenza. Conserved epitopes may be useful for diagnosis of animals infected with the influenza virus, and preventing their spread in other regions [ 1]. In the preliminary stage of this study, in silico analysis of hemagglutinin was applied to predict potential cleavage sites of each strain employing

SigCleave [2] and SignalP 3.0 server [3]. The second stage of the study focused on analyzing the structure of connecting peptides of hemagglutinin cleavage sites based on the availability of the existing experimental data. Our …

A Shadow Of An Idea, Myung-Chul Jung

Theses

This story is about three cavemen’s escape from an active volcanic island. Whenever the island’s volcano begins to act up, they react to run as far away as possible from the volcano. But they cannot go beyond the shoreline to save their life. One day, the main character has had a dream of ship during taking a nap. He explains the ship to his fellow cavemen, however, he is ignored by them because they have never seen ships that float on the water. He is now faced with the additional problem of explaining his vision to them. In entering the …

Motion Graphics Documentary Video Of Deaf Artists Of The 21st Century, Heather L. Smith

Theses

Deaf art reflects a unique culture where Deaf people express their life experiences, which are different from those of hearing people. Deaf art also shows the joy and community among Deaf people with their shared language and experiences, expressed through art that includes painting, sculpturing, acting, and writing. In other words, Deaf culture is a celebration where we as Deaf people can bond and share our similar experiences with life struggle in this majority world of hearing people. We often seek out other Deaf artists to connect with and get the sense of “home.” That “sense of home” includes not …

Breeding Bettas: An Interactive Study To The Breeding And Caring Of Siamese Fighting Fish, Ali Alquraini

Theses

Siamese fighting fish also known as “Betta fish” is one of the most well known fresh water fish around the world. Their beautiful colors and long finnage is one of the reasons in which most people are familiar with these fish. Also their unique labyrinth organ that helps this fish to get oxygen from the air made it easy for people to adopt. Over the past five years, I have been adopting Bettas from different countries around the world such as Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and United States. During this time I have met a lot of Betta lovers which made …

Interactive Tutorials In The Marketing Of Digital Cameras: How Tutorials Benefit Consumers & Retailers, Andrew Eckert

Theses

There is a growing market for digital single-lens refl ex cameras (SLRs) that is driven by their ease of use, accessibility, and falling price points. Marketing these cameras with an interactive tutorial not only allows photo enthusiasts to improve as photographers, but also gives the retailer a profi table add-on and selling incentive. This work explores how interactive multimedia can be utilized as a source for instruction in camera mechanics. The proposed model is an interface using a virtual camera with which the user interacts. From this starting point the user can choose tutorials from corresponding elements on the camera. …