Digital Commons Network^™

The Vulnerability Of Chronic Stress: Implications For Feeling Like Giving Up, Miranda Jany

Theses

The feeling of learned helplessness has been associated with prolonged stress and trauma. Additionally, many previous studies have examined the relationship between stress and decreased feelings of control, such as self-efficacy and locus of control. However, these forms of control have been primarily self-reported. The present study aimed to investigate the relationships among learned helplessness, chronic stressors, and self-agency using a computer-based task. We also measured heart rate variability (HRV) during the self-agency task to assess psychophysiological correlates of these variables. Seventy-four participants completed a series of questionnaires that were used to assess lifelong stressors (e.g., exposure to natural disasters, …

Influences Of Salvinorin A And Sex Differences On Depressive- And Anxiety-Like Behaviors In A Chronic Mild Stress Paradigm, Sarah Mitchell

Theses

Kappa opioid receptors are colocalized with dopamine receptors and are frequently associated with depression, anxiety, stress, and drug use and abuse. KOR antagonism has widely been considered anti-depressive and anxiolytic in animal models while agonism is pro-depressive and anxiogenic. However, recent findings suggest that SalvA, a natural kappa agonist derived from a plant in the mint family, can reduce depressive- and anxiety-like behavior in rats. The current study investigated the effects of chronic mild stress on behavior, attenuation by SalvA, and sex differences. 52 Long-Evans rats, 26 males and 26 females, were exposed to six weeks of CMS. Animals received …

Meaning In The Noise: Neural Signal Variability In Major Depressive Disorder, Sally M. Pessin

Theses

Clinical research has revealed aberrant activity and connectivity in default mode (DMN), frontoparietal (FPN), and salience (SN) network regions in major depressive disorder (MDD). Recent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies suggest that variability in brain activity, or blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal variability, may be an important novel predictor of psychopathology. However, to our knowledge, no studies have yet determined the relationship between resting-state BOLD signal variability and MDD nor applied BOLD signal variability features to the classification of MDD history using machine learning (ML). Thus, the current study had three aims: (i) to investigate the differences …

Supererogation And Moral Reasons, Justin B. Yee

Theses

This paper is about the paradox of supererogation and why supererogation is morally optional. I argue that supererogation is morally optional because it is supported by both moral reasons and nonmoral reasons. I understand moral reasons to be agent-neutral reasons that apply to everybody while nonmoral reasons are agent-relative reasons that don’t apply to everybody. By understanding supererogation in this way, I have rejected the common assumption that what makes supererogation supererogatory is moral. Instead I argue that the source of supererogation is nonmoral. One important upshot to this is that unlike those who claim that the source of supererogation …

A Social Game Design To Solve Young Peoples’ Loneliness Problem, Jiaxi Yuan

Theses

This project’s topic is helping solve young people’s loneliness problem. According to my research, young people are more likely to feel lonely than old people. Because young people need to work or study in other cities or countries, they have always been apart from their families and friends. Although loneliness is not a mental illness, it does have negative effects on young people’s mental health.

Therefore, I designed a warm and healing social game to help to solve young people’s loneliness problems. After the user research, I defined the major functions of this social game. The functions of this social …

For The Sensing Of Viral Dna: An Integrated Polydimethylsiloxane Accurate Crispr Detection (Impact) System, Kenneth N. Hass

Theses

Infectious disease outbreaks have become more frequent and extreme in recent years, and as populations continue to grow and the world becomes more interconnected, they show no signs of stopping. The current COVID-19 pandemic affecting the world and grinding economies to a halt was known about months ago but could not be contained. One of the largest issues facing the containment of infectious disease is a lack of real-time, point-of-care detection devices which can accurately and effectively identify those who are infected so they can be treated and quarantined. Here, an Integrated Micropillar Polydimethylsiloxane Accurate CRISPR Detection (IMPACT) system is …

Empowering Young Adults: The Adolescent Insight Development Model, Joshua M. Hamilton

Theses

Quality of life and ease of reintegration into the family and the community are particularly important for the adolescent or young adult with mental illness. Such rehabilitation has long been focused on empowerment, partly by developing insight into one's illness. Current applications of insight assessment appear to be limited to inpatient assessment rather than fostering its development. Further, no single assessment protocol adequately addresses all accepted dimensions of insight. These tools are written for use by a trained observer rather than as a self-reflection tool. The clinical language of the existing tools precludes their usefulness for self-assessment by adolescent patients …

Effects Of Heterogeneity, Technological Progress And Interaction On Carbon Mitigation Costs, Saptarshi Das

Theses

As many societal needs compete with sustainability for a finite pool of public resources, understanding the cost of mitigating greenhouse gas emissions has become a critical sustainability question. The Marginal Abatement Cost Curve (MACC) is a widely used approach to characterize mitigation costs. It is constructed by ordering technological and other interventions to mitigating an emission from lowest to highest cost, indicating the cumulative mitigation possible for each intervention. It is clearly a simplification of a complex techno-economic system and has been criticized for neglecting factors such as dynamics, consumer behavior, non-cost barriers to adoption, and interactions between technologies. However, …

Applying Systems Pharmacology To The Treatment Of Chronic Illness Using Novel Scoring And Translational Methods, Spencer Richman

Theses

Chronic illnesses are poorly understood diseases that are often highly resistant to treatment. The prevalence and severity of these illnesses necessitates new methods for treatment development that diverge from the paradigm of one drug, one illness. Instead, multidrug interventions that utilize repurposable, previously approved drugs could be far more advantageous. In order to support this, a novel scoring framework and accompanying set of tools, collectively termed DrugAble, have been developed. DrugAble scores proposed, model-based treatment target solutions by analyzing drug-target interaction data and addressing the network complexity of these solutions. Actionability scores that summarize the likelihood of a proposed target …

Visualization & Automation Of Shams Dubai Report, Noora Ibrahim Alblooshi

Theses

Dubai’s Smart Grid strategy includes the implementation of Distributed Energy Resources and Distribution Automation (DA) facilities to continuous monitoring and remote control from DEWA’s Distribution Control Center (DCC) , and, in some cases, automatic control of electric distribution assets operated at 33kV or lower. The increase level of telemetry and automation in the field imposes a greater challenge in monitoring and live data visualization for establishing a decision support system that empowers distribution system operators and enables optimal control of existing and planned assets. This challenge can be overcome through introducing data science tools in the sector of energy. Through …

Decolonization Of Zimbabwean Museums: The Movement Toward Practices Informed By Indigineous Cultures, Rebecca Jarrett

Theses

Since Zimbabwe won its independence from the United Kingdom in 1980, the country has sought to embrace and reinterpret its own cultural history. Influences of the colonial era linger in museums, especially in the areas of architecture, interpretation, administration, and community relations. How can Zimbabwean museums systematically identify the colonial influences affecting them, deconstruct those influences, and form new models that reaffirm indigenous cultures and stimulate growth for cultural institutions? The sources cited within this document discuss Zimbabwean history, colonial history, and cultural heritage. The BaTonga Community Museum, the first museum to serve a minority ethnic group, is an important …

Randomizable Phenology-Dependent Corn Canopy For Simulated Remote Sensing Of Agricultural Scenes, M Grady Saunders

Theses

Crop health assessment and yield prediction from multi-spectral remote sensing imagery are ongoing areas of interest in precision agriculture. It is in these contexts that simulation-based techniques are useful to investigate system parameters, perform preliminary experiments, etc., because remote sensing systems can be prohibitively expensive to design, deploy, and operate. However, such techniques require realistic and reliable models of the real world. We thus present a randomizable time-dependent model of corn (Zea mays L.) canopy, which is suitable for procedural generation of high-fidelity virtual corn fields at any time in the vegetative growth phase, with application to simulated remote sensing …

Effectiveness Of The Smart Government In Abu Dhabi Municipality: A Study Of The Customers’ Opinion, Hajar Saeed Alafreet Alkuwaiti

Theses

Smart government has become a new way of delivering services to the public that not only is efficient and quicker, but is also useful and convenient for the customers availing those services. By adopting advanced technologies government nowadays are transforming public services and offering enhanced experience to the customers. However, since these services are based on new technologies, people are often apprehensive of using them because of privacy security and other concerns and that creates challenges for smart government implementation. The current research that aims to understand if Abu Dhabi Municipality’s smart government initiatives are meeting customer service expectations and …

High – Rise Housing And Social Interaction Study Under Current Chinese High-Rise Residential Situation, Yao Yao

Theses

High-rise residential buildings, accommodating the significant amount of Chinese population in urban areas, has been the most primary housing style in great cities of China today, due to the conflict between severe Chinese land use and huge population. However, after moving to high-rise housing, Chinese residents in high-rise buildings barely have social interaction with each other compared with the past decades. Additionally, less social interaction in residential housing could lead to a series of problems which have a negative influence on people’s daily lives.

Through a summary of previous research and a questionnaire, to investigate the current situation of social …

Impact Analysis Of Electric Vehicle Demand On Demand Profile, Electricity Charges And System Emissions Of Rochester Institute Of Technology, Akshata Shanbhag

Theses

In view of growing concerns of greenhouse gas emissions, electrification in the transportation fleet is expected to increase globally. To accommodate the incoming increase in energy demand from vehicle charging, the existing electrical network should be managed in a way that the load is operated with no electrical instability. Peak demand occurrences which could be measured daily, annually, weekly, monthly or annually should be avoided in order to maintain the health of the electrical network and reduce demand charges billed to the end energy user. Moreover, depending on the emissions factor of the fuel mix used in a region for …

Animal Testing Sentimental Analysis Using Twitter, Afra Naji Saeed Almansoori

Theses

This research explores attitudes towards the testing of cosmetics on animals, as pressure is increasing all over the world to stop animal testing and different countries have introduced policies to ban it. It is estimated that more than 115 million animals worldwide are used in laboratory experiments every year. But because only a small proportion of countries collect and publish data concerning use of animals for testing and research, the precise numbers are unknown. This research was designed to investigate whether awareness of the issue impacts whether or not people support animal testing. The research hypothesis is that the reason …

The Impact Of Pocket Parks To Enhance Public Space And Realm In Ajman, Uae, Manal Abdalla Al Shamsi

Theses

Green spaces in urban life play an important role in maintaining healthy lifestyle and providing a calm and peaceful place for roaming around. Large new urban park projects are gradually decreasing in dense cities, and small green spaces like pocket parks are likely to become more important. However previous studies showed that multiple research studies on small urban green spaces have been conducted. On infill sites and other overlooked city corners, pocket parks are created. Apart from the obvious benefits of the ecosystem and the environment, they can be a small but important step towards a fair architecture. The project …

Exploring Students Mental Behaviors Using Unsupervised Learning Algorithms And Graph Theory, Abdullah Hussein Mohsen

Theses

With the high amount of mentally seeking behaviors among students nationwide according to Healthy minds network survey (2019) and lack of related studies to students mental health in the Gulf region, a gap is created Fatima Al-Darmaki et al. (2015) this project is executed to fill the gap by utilizing data analytics techniques to generate insights that can be used to support future decisions. Students who suffer from mental disorders are most likely to disengage from university which can be translated into a dropout. Many organizations are conducting periodically to capture as many insights to tackle those behaviors. This project …

Designing A Mental Health Institute For Adolescents In Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia (Healing Architecture), Heba Bin Seddeq

Theses

The society in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia obstructs people who want to see a psychiatrist, especially adolescents. Based on the lack of mental health support in Saudi Arabia, this thesis will introduce a mental health institute project for adolescents that puts more attention on specific design factors, such as daylighting, color, and green roofs. These aspects provide help for the recovery process by supporting healing according to many psychological studies. This psychiatric institute will be specialized for teenagers 10-19 because the early intervention at this critical period has the possibility for the potential for making a lifelong difference. by …

Cognitive Reappraisal And Expressive Suppression: An Examination Of Their Associations With Seeking Social Support, Well-Being And Academic Performance, Khalid Abdulazem Mohamed Ahmed

Theses

This thesis examined individual differences regarding two prominent emotion regulation processes - cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression - and their associations with social functioning, psychological well-being, and academic performance. Six hypotheses were proposed. It was hypothesized that frequent use of cognitive reappraisal is positively correlated with seeking social support, psychological well-being, and academic performance, while the chronic use of expressive suppression is negatively associated with the three factors. Additionally, the differences between high reappraisers and low reappraisers, and between high suppressors and low suppressors, were investigated to confirm the results following the correlational analyses. An online survey was conducted …

Prevalence, Antibiotic-Resistance And Growth Profile Of Vibrio Spp., Isolated From Imported Shellfish In The Local Markets, Hind Obaid Al Rumaithi

Theses

Seafood-related human illness caused by Vibrio species is a major problem. Seafood is prone to contamination by pathogenic Vibrio bacteria especially, Vibrio mimicus, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, and Vibrio vulnificus. The study on the prevalence of this microorganism in seafood of the United Arab Emirates is vital due to the cultural background of the Emiratis as a coastal heritage. A study was conducted to assess the prevalence of Vibrio spp. in imported shellfish from local markets and to identify the Vibrio spp. examine the antimicrobial resistance and profile growth conditions of the isolated Vibrio. In the present study, …

Modulation Of Anti-Microbical Defenses In The Gasrointestinal Tract By Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitors, Alreem Abdulaziz Al-Dhalali Al-Mansori

Theses

Inflammation is a crucial defence mechanism that protects the body from the effect of invading pathogens. However, the inflammatory response needs to be controlled in order to avoid systemic manifestations with serious consequences to the host. Accumulating evidence indicates that the inflammatory response is tightly regulated through immunological and neural pathways. Previously, it has been demonstrated that cholinergic stimulation by paraoxon, a specific and irreversible inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), improved survival in mice following oral infection with virulent Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium). However, paraoxon is an organophosphorus compound unsuited for human use. In this study, the …

Smart Reversible Lanes In Dubai, Amna Nabeel Hamad Al Shamsi

Theses

There is no doubt that transportation is one of the most important elements in any city and its development. However, traffic congestion is hurdle to any transportation system and especially in top cities like Dubai. Traffic congestions have many reasons like traveling from suburban to the city center for work and study, and relaying mostly on private vehicles. The impacts of traffic congestions reach beyond the increase in travel time, it also increase gas consumption, and affect people’s health negatively. One of the most practical ways to ease traffic congestion is using Reversible lanes (RL) which are lanes that can …

Dynamic Speed And Separation Monitoring With On-Robot Ranging Sensor Arrays For Human And Industrial Robot Collaboration, Shitij P. Kumar

Theses

This research presents a flexible and dynamic implementation of Speed and Separation Monitoring (SSM) safety measure that optimizes the productivity of a task while ensuring human safety during Human-Robot Collaboration (HRC).

Unlike the standard static/fixed demarcated 2D safety zones based on 2D scanning LiDARs, this research presents a dynamic sensor setup that changes the safety zones based on the robot pose and motion.

The focus of this research is the implementation of a dynamic SSM safety configuration using Time-of-Flight (ToF) laser-ranging sensor arrays placed around the centers of the links of a robot arm. It investigates the viability of on-robot …

Improving Template-Based Nanomanufacturing Of Carbon Nanotube Arrays Via Polishing Wet Etching Method, Kosar Samadi

Theses

Multifunctional carbon nanotubes (CNTs) enable novel ways of interacting with complex biological fluid environments, such as single living cells and tissues. It has been shown that vertically aligned carbon nanotube arrays can be utilized to deliver genes into cells with high efficiency. These arrays were produced through template-based nanomanufacturing, where chemical vapor deposition forms carbon nanotubes inside the pores and oxygen plasma and reactive ion etching (RIE) expose the tubes by selective etching. The same devices could be produced faster and cheaper by replacing oxygen plasma and RIE with mechanical polishing and wet etching. However, the biomedical utilization of CNT-based …

Conversion Of Ready-Mix Concrete Energy To Solar Pv, Zulfa A. Rasheed

Theses

The purpose of this project is to study a case of a ready-mix concrete company to evaluate the feasibility of converting the electrical consumption to solar PV. The documentation of this project goes along with the proceeding of the work. Some data in the first and second chapters will be validated and corrected in the validation section. This work aims to encourage the adoption of solar technology in heavy industry. The work looked at various options to convert the energy consumption to solar PV. Taking into consideration the managerial and technical sides.

Design Approval Smart Application For Dubai Electricity Installations (Dasa-Dubai), Maryam Ahmad Mohammed Al Ali

Theses

Design Approval smart application for assure the healthy and safety installations for buildings and properties in Dubai using programming and automations. It will enable the engineers in the concerned departments to have effective use of time and effort through having automatic first line defends reviewing the submissions of the electrical engineers contractors/ consultants who will be referred to as customers through the project description. The application will be a data base that carries the original standards and regulations that related to the installations of the electricity wiring in the government of Dubai. That kind of information’s are already distributed as …

Young Patient Education On Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, Margaret Jane Atieno Mcfarland

Theses

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a genetic disorder that primarily causes the degeneration of major muscle groups. It’s caused by the absence of an essential sarcolemma protein called Dystrophin due to mutations in its gene that is in the X-chromosome. DMD affects 1 out of 4,000 boys worldwide with most being diagnosed between ages 3-5 and if left untreated, most patients would succumb to the disorder by their late teens or early twenties. While there currently isn’t a cure for DMD, there are different treatments available that are effective in prolonging patients’ lives.

Because DMD is such a deadly disorder, …

Pleasure From Erotic Nipple Stimulation, Pre-Pregnancy, As A Predictor Of Successful Initiation Of Breastfeeding, Jessica Jolie Badonsky

Theses

The erotic association with breasts and nipples can be a barrier to breastfeeding due to fear and misunderstanding by breast feeders and health professionals alike (Polomeno, 1999). Little is known about erotic pleasure from nipple stimulation and its correlation to initiate breastfeeding. This study was to determine if erotic pleasure from nipple stimulation prior to pregnancy is a predictor of successful initiation of breastfeeding.

Investigating The Synergistic Bioactive Effects Of Fruit, Vegetable And Protein Combinations In A Market-Ready Food Product For Young Adults, Jessica Eivers

Theses

Diets high in fruits and vegetables (FV), are widely recommended for their health-promoting properties. A low intake of FV among young adults, is associated with the risk of developing chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease (CVD), hypertension, osteoporosis, obesity, type 2 diabetes, dental caries, hypercholesterolemia and certain cancers in later life. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), despite an increasing awareness of the health benefits of FV, consumption by young adult’s remains below the recommended intake of 400g per day. This project aims to develop innovative, FV products for young adults with demonstrated bioactivity and high nutrient density. Initially, …