Digital Commons Network^™

Biochemical Characterization Of Date Palm (Phoniex Dactylifera L) Seeds Maintained At Microgravity In Outer Space Iss, Shamma Khalid Aldhaheri

Theses

The UAE’s vision to reach space dates to 1976 when Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan met with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Apollo group; this meeting marked the first attempt of UAE to enter the field of space science. The UAE is currently one of the top countries executing space missions and research. This research focuses on the biochemical characterization of date palm seeds that are sent to the International Space Station (ISS) in outer space. The research methodology involves biochemical analysis of seeds maintained under two different environmental conditions-microgravity and standard gravity. In total, 30–45 seeds …

Fog Harvesting Using Chemically Functionalized Porous Membranes, Afra Saif Alhumaidi

Theses

This work explores the use of chemically functionalized porous membranes for fog harvesting. Fog water has emerged as a valuable alternative water source in regions where traditional freshwater resources are scarce. However, conventional fog harvesting techniques often suffer from low collection efficiency and limited scalability. To address these challenges, this research investigates the potential of chemically functionalized porous membranes for enhanced fog water collection. The study focuses on the development and characterization of specialized membranes with surface properties optimized for efficient fog droplet capture.
/="/">The current study proposes the use of aluminum mesh for fog collection, as it stands …

Understanding The Intracellular Positive Regulatory Interactions In The Metabolic Network, Sultana Mohammed Al Zubaidi

Theses

Metabolism is an essential cellular process that produces essential components such as energy molecules and cellular building blocks. It is regulated by intracellular metabolite-enzyme interactions, which can increase or decrease enzyme efficiency. Each metabolic process is not evolved in nature and may not contribute to the optimal efficiency of the organism's metabolism. However, this study aims to clarify the relationship between cellular positive regulatory interactions and the cell's metabolic network, especially how these relationships regulate metabolism and how it evolved in nature. To obtain that, for each enzyme, the activation molecules from the BRENDA database were downloaded, mapped data to …

Screening And Genomic Characterization Of Multi-Drug Resistant (Mdr) Bacteria From Hospital Wastewater, Showq Abdelaziz Abdelaziz

Theses

Antimicrobial resistance poses an imminent global threat to public health, with multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria being particularly worrisome due to their resistance to multiple antibiotics. Hospital wastewater has been identified as a potential source of MDR bacteria and antibiotic-resistant genes (ARGs). This study aimed to investigate MDR bacteria's prevalence, diversity, and genomic potential in hospital wastewater samples collected from three different hospitals in the UAE. Samples were processed for culturing antibiotic-resistant bacteria using different HiCrome™ chromogenic media to screen for ESBL-producing, Vancomycin, Carbapenem, colistin, and Methicillin-resistant bacteria. The isolates were characterized using VITEk2 antibiotic profiling and identified using 16S rRNA sequencing …

Preparation Of Copper Oxide Nano-Architectures For Fog Harvesting Applications, Ola M. Abu Draz

Theses

The issue of limited freshwater resources is a significant problem for humans, especially in desert areas where water scarcity poses a serious risk to human survival. In nature, there are several species that harvest fog based on their tuned surface structure, e.g.., Cactus, desert beetles, etc. In addition to surface hydrophilic/hydrophobic architecture, another key factor in effective water collection is the porosity of the surface, which helps droplets to form, grow, and be removed. To address the challenge of water scarcity, we inspired, from nature, to design surfaces that have features that favor water collection. In this aspect, we introduced …

Dominance Of Blaoxa-48-Like Among Carbapenem Resistant Klebsiella Pneumoniae Isolated From Abu Dhabi Hospitals, Mohammed Awase Baig

Theses

Antibiotic resistance is a major concern for public health worldwide due to its associated morbidity and mortality, which is primarily attributed to the inappropriate use of antibiotics. This, in turn, leads to the evolution of bacteria which can develop genetic mechanisms to combat antibiotics. Despite the discovery of various antibiotics with different mechanisms of action, many have become ineffective due to the development of resistance over time. Carbapenems, in particular, are considered the last line of defense against some bacterial infections, making their resistance a major concern. Among the various carbapenem-resistant bacteria, Carbapenem-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) is of utmost concern …

Assessment Of Microplastics Consumed By Fishes In The United Arab Emirates Waters Of The Arabian Gulf, Maisan Mhd Al Wattar

Theses

Microplastics are plastic particles that are between 1 μm to 5 mm in size. Microplastics are currently threatening the marine ecosystems, including the water, sediments, and biota. Due to microplastics being relatively mobile, evidence of microplastic pollution is found in all water bodies, even in remote places such as the Antarctica. Although the Arabian Gulf is subjected to a number of anthropogenic stressors, to date, only few studies on the presence of microplastics have been carried out. This study assesses the microplastic presence in 60 fish samples from the emirates Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and Ras Al Khaimah. The 5 fish …

Establishing A Scootability Index To Prioritise Road And Footway Infrastructure Improvements For Smooth And Safe E-Scooter Usage, Nadia Jalal Maksoud

Theses

The intensifying use of electric scooters as a form of transportation calls for new infrastructure assessment methods to improve the smoothness and safety of facilities in which these devices are ridden. Despite the extensive research on the infrastructure requirements of bicycles, there is a dearth of studies on electric scooters. This study aims to define the main infrastructure requirements for electric scooters in an urban context. A mixed-methods approach is employed combining quantitative and qualitative data collection and regression analysis. To provide a basis for a so-called multi-dimensional “scootability” index that covers all aspects pertaining to the safety and smoothness …

Anti-Pancreatic Cancer Activity Of Rhus Coriaria (Sumac), Yassine Elmahi

Theses

Cancer is a major health problem and is considered a chronic disease globally. Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest types of cancer. That is because symptoms increase until the cancer is spread to other parts of the body in late stages. Among the many different therapeutic approaches to treat cancer, it appears that many plants have promising treatment effects, and one of these plants is Rhus coriaria, commonly known as Sumac. Previous studies have indicated that the Sumac plant, which is used in cooking, possesses various therapeutic values, including antioxidant and antibiotic activities. This study investigates the effect …

Heavy Metal Bioaccumulation In Benthic Flatfishes From Territorial Waters Of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, Shima Mohammed Albadi

Theses

Marine pollution from anthropogenic sources is a major threat to many coastal and offshore species. A variety of potentially harmful elements are released from wastewater runoff, leached from landfills or industrial effluents. I measured trace metal concentrations in the liver, gills, and muscles of two benthic flatfish species, the halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus), and the Dover sole (Solea solea). The primary objective of this thesis was to evaluate the status of the benthic fish species in the Fujairah waters to understand the pollution status of regional waters and assess their effects on human consumption. Inductively Coupled Plasma …

A Computational Study Of Adsorptive Desulfurization In Metal Organic Frameworks, Kyle Concha

Theses

Fossil fuel usage has been related to several concerns about the environment and human health. One of these concerns is related to fuels containing Organic Sulfur Compounds (OSCs) which upon burning produce hazardous compounds such as SO₂ which contributes to acid rain and affects respiratory health. Removal of these OSCs is an important field of study as it can prevent the production of SO_x compounds. One technique to remove OSCs is Adsorptive Desulfurization (ADS) in which Metal Organic Frameworks (MOFs) are potential candidates to be used as adsorbents. Two archetypal MOFs, HKUST-1 and Cu₃HHTP₂, …

The Role Of Trees In Reducing The Urban Heat Island Effect On The New Jersey Institute Of Technology Campus, Newark, Nj, Dahlia Mansour

Theses

Every year, an estimated 12.3 million tons of glass are generated in the United States. Of all glass generated, only 3.1 million tons are recycled. Despite the near endless recyclability of glass waste, recycling rates in the United States remain low. This is primarily due to the lack of color separation and presence of non-recyclable materials associated with single-stream curbside collection used in many municipalities throughout the country. These factors make recycled glass unusable for many glass bottle manufacturers, causing the majority of glass placed in a recycling bin to eventually be landfilled. The purpose of this research is to …

The Evaluation Of Carbon Benefits Produced By Urban Street Trees, Hanyu Wang

Theses

Urban tree service and urban forestry are important fields that focus on the care and management of trees in urban areas. Urban trees provide numerous benefits around all aspect, including carbon storage, improving air and water qualities. Carbon storage refers to the process of removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and storing it in various reservoirs, and in this case, in trees and forests.

i-Tree is a suite of software tools developed by the United States Forest Service that provides a range of resources for assessing and managing forests. i-Tree Eco is one of the more used tools from …

A Novel Approach To The Treatment Of Degenerative Disc Disease, Alexandra Mckillop

Theses

Low back pain is estimated to affect 80% of the population at some point in their lives. It places a high economic burden on society, as individuals suffering from low back pain are often less productive and miss more work days, resulting in lost wages (Freburger et al., 2015; Katz, 2006; Taher et al., 2012). Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD) is among the most common causes of low back pain. It is a pathological process where the intervertebral disc (IVD) undergoes structural changes and is characterized by increased inflammation within the disc, in combination with nerve ingrowth causing pain. Structural changes …

3-D Printed Microstructures With Zno Nanoflower For Antimicrobial Applications, Henry Yuqing

Theses

Many studies have been conducted to combat the bacterial infections problem by creating antimicrobial surfaces. However, the majority of them require complex manufacturing processes and expensive equipment. In this study, a cheaper and easy to be fabricated antimicrobial surface has been developed. First, a micropatterned 3D printed structure was fabricated. Then it was coated with zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoflower. The study demonstrated that micropatterned structure served as an “armor” to the nanostructure from plastic scraper and finger abrasion. To test the antimicrobial performance of the surface, the chip was immersed in 2E8 CFU/mL Escherichia coli (E. coli) suspension and incubated …

Emergent Properties Of Cells And Tissues In Health And Disease, Pancy T. Lwin

Theses

This dissertation uses statistical physics based mathematical models to investigate and predict the emergent properties of biological systems in both healthy and diseased states. Three projects are presented, each exploring a different aspect of biological systems. The first project focuses on modeling cartilage-like tissue systems as a double network consisting of two interconnected networks. By using rigidity percolation theory, we study the tunable mechanics and fracture resistance of such biological tissues in healthy and degraded states. Our findings show that the secondary network density can be tuned to facilitate stress relaxation, leading to robust tissue properties when the primary network …

Early Detection Of Autism Spectrum Disorder (Asd) Using Machine Learning Techniques, Mahra Musabbah Bin Beyat Alfalasi

Theses

ASD is a neurological disorder that affects over 1 in 44 chilren and this rate has increased. The diagnosis process can be timely and costly. This will make it difficult for the patients to adhere to the prescribed treatments and will hinder the progress of the patient. This project is focused on increasing the efficiency of this diagnosis process through machine learning techniques. The proposed datasets are; ASD Screening Data for Adult, ASD screening Data for Children and ASD Screening Data for Adolescent. These datasets are a categorical, continuous, and binary data type. They have 21 common attributes and a …

Using Machine Learning Application For Cardiovascular Disease Prediction And Diagnosis, Abdullah As'ad Mohammad Abu Hanieh

Theses

Despite the "information rich" nature of the healthcare business, not all data are mined to reveal unseen patterns or knowledge and enable sound decision-making. Nowadays, a persistent need is increased for data mining to discover new information from different datasets and apply it in the healthcare system to help healthcare professionals in decision making for predicting diagnosis and treatment for different diseases, such as cardiovascular disease (CVDs). In the current era, it is estimated that cardiovascular diseases constitute 30% of the global mortality rate annually. Predicting cardiovascular diseases at the right moment is challenging for cardiac consultants. The medical industry …

The Effect Of Demographic Imbalance On Crime, Maher Bhadri

Theses

This study investigates demographic imbalance on crimes in the UAE by analyzing a record of crimes from 2020 to 2022 using descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings reveal gender, marital status, and age imbalance among crime offenders in the UAE. Males, married individuals, and individuals in their 30s are more prevalent in committing crimes. Certain countries, accused individuals, and certain types of crimes are also more frequent in the UAE. Policymakers and law enforcement agencies can use these insights to develop targeted interventions to reduce crime rates in the country. Future studies should investigate the underlying causes of these imbalances …

Augmented Reality Shopping Guide: Enhancing Efficiency And Experience, Shengyang Luo

Theses

Shopping is important in our life, especially food shopping. Almost every family needs to go shopping once per week and spend lots of time and energy on it. This project proposes the design of an application to help people have a better shopping experience by saving time, saving energy, and saving money. The application combines online shopping and in-person shopping in a new shopping mode. People don’t need to pay the expensive delivery fee and wait a long time to get food which could be unfresh. And they also don’t need to spend lots of time at the supermarket, which …

Hua Shang, Yanjie Zhang

Theses

This thesis aims to convey the "leisure" and "slow" Chinese life concept. This Thesis shows the lives of people in different dynasties from a third-person perspective. Using traditional costumes as the carrier, it focuses on using semi-realistic visual styles to show the connection between emotions and the environment, creating an atmosphere-filled picture, and arousing the audience's thinking about the rhythm of life and their spiritual yearning for the non-obvious pleasures in life.

The Tower: An Act-Based Product System That Helps Porn Addicts Eliminate Shame And Develop Healthier Habits Aligned With Their Core Values., Adetayo E. Oke

Theses

Pornography is a media phenomenon that has either educated or plagued the minds of young adolescence and teens, the topics that involve sex. Stated in a paper with (Lewczuk, K) [pornography usage has seen a rapid three times increase]; “(310%) between October 2004 and October 2016–starting from an estimated 2.76 million in the first period to 8.54 million.” The rise of pornography usage has thus caused new cases of Porn Addiction. What may seem like harmless addiction, pornography identifies as a new drug consumed by heterosexual men, and some women primarily consume it. According to studies, from (Kuer 90.1.), people …

Healthy Grocery Shopping Experience Via Augmented Reality, Mengjia Isabelle Qiu

Theses

This paper presents how augmented reality can facilitate the modern grocery shopping experience in a fast-paced environment. Grocery shopping customers are facing several problems. Firstly, filtering necessary information by eyes while shopping in grocery stores. Secondly, being distracted by overwhelming information leads to time-consuming deviation in an unfamiliar shopping environment. Thirdly, losing track of purchased food at home and buying the same ingredient repeatedly. Fourthly, neglecting ingredient lists that contain allergic or unhealthy food. To solve these problems, increase the efficiency of decision-making, and achieve shopping goals, this project aims to utilize augmented reality as the primary tool to complete …

Numerical And Experimental Investigation And Optimization Of Particle Size Distribution In A Medical Jet Nebulizer Using A Multiphase Multiscale Approach, Benjamin Beaudry

Theses

Jet nebulizers are a common form of nebulizer used for aerosol treatment. They are known to function poorly in children under five due to differences in patient attributes. They must reduce their mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD) to work more effectively. This allows more medicine to be deposited in the lungs and absorbed. Solving this problem can affect 9 million annual deaths worldwide due to repository disease. While lowering the billions of dollars, the U.S. spends on these deaths. This study focused on the standard Hudson Micro Mist Nebulizer and investigated spray physics using experimental and simulation methods to enhance …

Welcome To Club Soda: Ways Of Welcoming A Hearing Sibling Into The Deaf Community To Create Feelings Of Acceptance, Belonging, And Lifelong Allyship, Ariella Knight

Theses

Children who have a sibling with one or more disabilities are more likely to take on caregiver roles, the role of the elucidator, as well as exhibit externalized aggressive behaviors and/or internalized depression and anxiety than their peers. Causes of this vary but can include the differential impact of parents/caregivers, feelings of a “loss of childhood”, communication challenges, and social stigma. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a therapeutic methodology in which a person works towards well-being by accepting and embracing current realities.5 S.O.D.A. is the acronym for a Sibling of a Deaf Adult/child and this paper explores how welcoming …

An Analysis Of The Homicide Response Team In Rochester, New York, Nicole Pratt

Theses

The focus of this capstone project is on the Homicide Response Team in Rochester, New York, which is a collaborative effort among various government and local agencies to provide outreach services to the family members of homicide victims. This capstone seeks to examine community-based responses to violence, their impact on the community, and related literature, including community organizations and crisis intervention teams.

Microclimate Enhancement In Arid Climate, Paras Bharat Nandu

Theses

In summary, the four primary variables for human comfort - air temperature, wind speed, humidity, and mean radiant temperature - can be analyzed using solar analysis and computational fluid dynamics on computer-aided software. This allows for quick calculations and the ability to measure the effects of sun and wind on building design. Historically, designers relied on judgment for passive design decisions, but now with the help of software, sustainable architectural design solutions can be achieved. This includes utilizing proven passive techniques that have existed since ancient times but are often overlooked in favor of energy-consuming mechanical systems. This thesis challenges …

The Inspector: Removing Barriers To Efficient Specimen Analysis By Reduced Specimen Repositioning, Josef Mayo

Theses

Entomology is the scientific field dedicated to the research and study of insects. In the last several decades, many journals and scientific papers have addressed the decline in insect populations worldwide and the increased need to understand the reasons for this. Many have called this decline an indicator that we have entered a “Sixth Extinction” which would lead to a mass extinction of life on Earth. How can we as designers provide assistance to the scientific community who are working to understand and provide solutions to this natural crisis? As an Entomologist's primary tool for observation, microscopes and other optical …

Optical Phased Array For Lidar Systems At Blue Wavelengths, Long H. Nguyen

Theses

Optical Phased Array has become a popular solution for light detection and rang- ing (lidar) due to its compact size, steering ability without physical moving parts, and integration with conventional CMOS manufacturing processes. With the rising demand in advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and surveying in agriculture and oceanography industries, there is a need for a durable, high performing, and integrable lidar module. For that, a suitable integrated OPA is required to carry sufficient power and have large steering angle at a particular wavelength range. This thesis is specifically focused on blue wavelengths for use in applications such as aug- …

The Impact Of Digital Transformation On Human Resources During The Pandemic Covid-19, Hind Rashid Alessa

Theses

Technological advancement in human resources and the adoption of artificial intelligence, analytics, and machine learning help HR leaders become strategic leaders. Automation helps in engaging employees and improving their work experience. Human resource is an important part of an organization and before covid epidemic the human resource department works manually and in an office environment completely. However, due to covid-19 pandemic has raised the demand for working online and implementing digital transformation ways. There is a high demand for working virtually or what is called hybrid working, simple-to-use technology that can be accessible at anytime from anywhere. Human resource employees …