Digital Commons Network^™

Quantum Correlations Using Classical Detectors, Chamithri Adikarige

Theses

Single photons are vital to quantum computing, information processing, and transportation. Popular single-photon experiments are one or two-photon interference, classification of the light source, and characterization of detectors. Currently, the most efficient detector in the telecom wavelength is the Superconducting Nanowire detector. How- ever, experiments have been successful in demonstrating single-photon measurements can be done with unconventional detectors. One such method employed an EMCCD camera to observe spatial correlations between pixels with single photons. This thesis aims to test non-single photon-counting PIN photodetectors to observe time-correlation measurement. The improved detection model uses a high-resolution 2GHz oscilloscope and a cross-correlation algorithm. …

Used Cars Price Prediction And Valuation Using Data Mining Techniques, Abdulla Alshared

Theses

Due to the unprecedented number of cars being purchased and sold, used car price prediction is a topic of high interest. Because of the affordability of used cars in developing countries, people tend more purchase used cars. A primary objective of this project is to estimate used car prices by using attributes that are highly correlated with a label (Price). To accomplish this, data mining technology has been employed. Null, redundant, and missing values were removed from the dataset during pre-processing. In this supervised learning study, three regressors (Random Forest Regressor, Linear Regression, and Bagging Regressor) have been trained, tested, …

Adaptability And Revisability In Climate Models, Kristopher Edelman

Theses

The global climate is shifting rapidly, bringing with it increased risk for climate-related harms to human societies. Climate science is a multi-disciplinary field, requiring experts from diverse specialties to collaborate in order to model complex systems. The complexity and uncertainty of these scientific models raise philosophical questions such as:

• What epistemic, ethical, and social assumptions go into model creation?
• What mathematical and statistical principles are incorporated into their design?
• How is interpretation involved in the selection and analysis of data to generate climate models?

Philosophical issues related to complexity, uncertainty, and the role of values require that modelers evaluate trade-offs. …

Possibilities In Simulated Reality, Yuan Yuan

Theses

This thesis work is based on two simple questions- what is reality, and is there any way to determine if you live in a real world. Whether from ancient times or the present, the east or the west, or fiction movies to philosophical reflection, countless people have ruminated on these questions. The answer seems obvious that reality is anything we can perceive based on our perceptions, but it’s not necessarily factual even though it feels very real. A philosophical viewpoint called epistemological skepticism indicates that we cannot be certain of anything, and there is a philosophy hypothesis named simulation theory …

Development Of A Novel Algorithm To Remove Spurious Edges From Biological Networks Through Functional Enrichment, Jeffrey Page

Theses

The field of systems biology has facilitated the modelling of large and complex biological networks. These networks, generated from prior knowledge contained in the corpus of medical and scientific literature, or from experimental data are being used to model differing macromolecule networks associated with distinct disease states. While these networks are vital in understanding disease pathology and possible treatment options, they are rife with spurious interactions. These interactions arise from the methods used to create such networks, where the ability to discriminate between direct and indirect relationships is a challenge. To combat these spurious interactions an algorithm that leverages functional …

Interpretation And Physical Modeling Of Electronic Transport And Defect States In Igzo Thin-Film Transistors, Muhammad Salahuddin Kabir

Theses

This work is a comprehensive study on the interpretation and modeling of electronic transport behavior and defect states in indium-gallium-zinc-oxide (IGZO) TFTs. Key studies have focused on advancing the state of IGZO TFTs by addressing several challenges in device stability, scaling, and device modeling. These studies have provided new insight on the associated mechanisms and have resulted in the realization of scaled thin-film transistors that exhibit excellent electrical performance and stability. This work has demonstrated the ability to scale the conventional inverted staggered IGZO TFT down to one micron channel length, with excellent on-state and off-state performance where the VT …

Mathematically Modeling Plastic Pollution In The Great Lakes, Juliette Daily

Theses

Mass estimates of plastic pollution based on open water surface samples differ by several orders of magnitude from what is predicted based on production and input rates to the world’s oceans and the Great Lakes. Researchers have proposed that this missing plastic may be located in other reservoirs, including beaches, nearshore water, the water column, or sediment. Studying plastic via sampling efforts is logistically challenging and time consuming. Models, which provide full spatial and temporal distributions, can help fill in the knowledge gaps that sampling efforts leave. Here we present the first three-dimensional modeling effort in the Great Lakes to …

Gourmetnet: Food Segmentation Using Multi-Scale Waterfall Features With Spatial And Channel Attention, Udit Sharma

Theses

Deep learning and Computer vision are extensively used to solve problems in wide range of domains from automotive and manufacturing to healthcare and surveillance. Research in deep learning for food images is mainly limited to food identification and detection. Food segmentation is an important problem as the first step for nutrition monitoring, food volume and calorie estimation. This research is intended to expand the horizons of deep learning and semantic segmentation by proposing a novel single-pass, end-to-end trainable network for food segmentation. Our novel architecture incorporates both channel attention and spatial attention information in an expanded multi-scale feature representation using …

Material Characterization For Microwave Absorbing And Shielding Applications, Muhammed Shafeeque Kallumottakkal

Theses

The rapid advancement and widespread of microwave and RF-communication systems have contributed to an abundant rise in electromagnetic energy radiation in our living environment. Such an increase in microwave sources is due to the development and advancement in communication techniques (mobile phones, laptops, and antennas for aeronautics or automobile) and electronic warfare in the military field (radar and satellite). To address these concerns, EM absorbing materials are used to ensure public safety and the safety of military operations. Various types of EM absorbing materials made up of composite materials have been produced and studied. This thesis discusses the microwave properties …

Improving Phytoremediation Of Oil Polluted Soil In The Uae Using Acc Deaminase Producing Bacteria Under Arid Conditions, Maitha Mubarak Almansoori

Theses

Many 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) deaminase-producing and oil-degrading rhizosphere actinobacteria were isolated from oil-contaminated soils in the United Arab Emirates. These actinobacterial isolates were further selected based on their ability to solubilize phosphorus, to produce siderophores, and to produce plant growth regulators (PGRs) including auxins and polyamines. The ability of the most-promising isolate #20 (Streptomyces sp.) to promote the growth of the hyper-accumulating plants “Bermuda grass” in soil polluted with Light Arabian Crude Oil (LACO) was evaluated under greenhouse conditions. Under controlled greenhouse conditions, the application of the strongest Streptomyces sp. #20 which exhibited the maximum production of ACC deaminase and …

Development Of A Methodology For Data Integration Of Multiple Datasets In The Study Of Martian Dust Storms, Rawdha Majid Al Bedwawi

Theses

The research investigates the distribution of dust on mars. In general, the study is inspired by the need to provide findings that will improve the study about extraterrestrial phenomena. The research explains the practical effects of extraterrestrial physics considering it entails assessing the extraterrestrial matter. The research seeks to validate the correctness of multiannual data pretending to the pertaining to the optical depth of optical depth of column dust, which would assist in determining the necessity of evaluating the existing map reconstruction approaches. the methodological section has several steps which combined qualitative and quantities optical depth and virtual imagery to …

Plankton Dynamic At Eastern Arabian Gulf And Sea Of Oman, Muzna Mohammed Husam Saeed Al Junaibi

Theses

The present study is part of the collaborative research project entitled “Comparative Analysis and Predictions of Algal Blooms in the Arabian Gulf and the Sea of Oman”, between the United Arab Emirates University and Sultan Qaboos University (Grant # G00002684- 31S321), in which simultaneous and intensive biweekly plankton and water samples were collected from two opposite coastal stations off the Strait of Hormuz with the aim to study plankton dynamics at the Arabian Gulf and the Sea of Oman and the effect of environmental parameters on their community structures during the period from May 2018 until May …

Flutter Suppression By Active Controller Of A Two-Dimensional Wing With A Flap, Abdallah Muhammed Tarabulsi

Theses

Flutter is a divergent oscillation of an aeroelastic structure, and one of a family of aeroelastic instability phenomena, that results from the interaction of elastic and inertial forces of the structure with the surrounding aerodynamic forces. Airfoil Flutter is important due to its catastrophic effect on the durability and operational safety of the structure. Traditionally, flutter is prevented within an aircraft's flight envelope using passive approaches such as optimizing stiffness distribution, mass balancing, or modifying geometry during the design phase. Although these methods are effective but they led to heavier airfoil designs. On the other hand, active control methods allow …

Immobilization Of Lipase On Metal Organic Frameworks For Biodiesel Production, Reem L Husam Safwan Shoma

Theses

For the economical application of enzymatic processes in biodiesel production, lipase enzyme has to be used in immobilized form to allow easy retention and reuse. The main challenges facing the industrialization of the enzymatic process are the high mass transfer resistance, the tendency to adsorb the by-product glycerol onto the support matrix and poor operational stability. These problems can be solved by a good selection of supports of favourable surface characteristics and pore sizes. In that regard, increasing interest has recently been in Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) as a new kind of porous support for enzyme immobilization. Physical adsorption, which is …

Teachers’ Perceptions Of Teaching Mathematics Online In Elementary Schools In Al Ain., Kamar Fayez Kamar

Theses

Online learning is an active method of learning in our lives, and it has been implemented in all the schools in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Many methods such as platforms, online educational websites, and other applications were used by teachers to support online learning, and to be able to assist students to achieve their goals and accomplish what is required from their curriculum. The main objective of this study is to examine teachers’ perceptions toward teaching mathematics using online learning in elementary schools. Data was collected from 90 (n= 90) elementary teachers in Al Ain City, UAE, during the …

Biological Treatment Of Produced Water Using Algae: A Proof Of Concept, Shibin Hashem Mohammed Nadersha

Theses

Produced water (PW) is the effluent generated during oil mining and extraction. On average, for every barrel of oil, 4 - 5 barrels of PW are generated worldwide. In UAE, 1.22 billion cubic meters of PW were generated in the year 2017. Proper management of PW is thus very important taking into account the large volumes of it being generated. In addition, PW is considered toxic as it contains various contaminants such as aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, inorganic salts, metals, phenols, radioactive materials, and chemical additives. Disposal of untreated PW into oceans and water bodies can cause adverse effects on …

Aqueous Wastewater Treatment With Aluminium Oxide, Silicon Dioxide And Alginite, Anifat Adenike Bankole

Theses

Wastewater, regardless of the source, has always found its way into the environment. If not treated it can pose a threat to the life of humans as well as aquatic organisms. In regard to the treatment of wastewater containing remnant organic dyes, the adsorption of these on recyclable sorbent materials such as alginite, alumina, and silica gel was evaluated. The main objective of this thesis is to evaluate the sorption process for dye tainted water specifically stemming from educational and research laboratories. Adsorption studies of the wastewater with sorbent materials were carried out under different experimental conditions. The study investigates …

Studying Neurotoxic Effects Of Three Synthetic Insecticides And Two Herbal Infusions On The Nervous System Of The Fruit Fly Drosophila Melanogaster, Sara Khamis Obaid Hamarain Al Dhaheri

Theses

Pesticides applied on plants and animals can reach the human diet once they enter food chains. Insecticides are neurotoxic agents; they have the potential of causing damage to the nervous system in people. The damage could induce or promote neurodegenerative diseases such as the Parkinson’s and Alzheimer's. It is well-documented that the exposure to the insecticide chlorpyrifos (CPF) stimulate the Parkinson disease in humans and experimental animals. Thus, this research project will study effect of three synthetic insecticides pirimicarb, tefluthrin, and CPF on the nervous system of Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism. In addition, the project will evaluate the …

Preparation And Evaluation Of Crocetin-Coated Biodegradable Polymer On Top Of Magnetite Nanoparticles For Their Anticancer Effects, Sulafa Saeed Abdelhalim

Theses

Liver cancer is still one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. This is due to many reasons including lack of effective drugs, late diagnosis of this type of cancer due to the overlapping of symptoms with many other liver diseases, and lack of effective screening tests. Targeted drug delivery systems offer many promising advantages compared to conventional chemotherapy. Targeted delivery will mitigate the bad side effects of chemotherapy such as drug resistance, low therapeutic value since the drug mostly will be administered through an IV affecting healthy and cancer cells alike, and that leads us to an important …

Reducing Catastrophic Forgetting In Self-Organizing Maps, Hitesh Ulhas Mangala Vaidya

Theses

An agent that is capable of continual or lifelong learning is able to continuously learn from potentially infinite streams of pattern sensory data. One major historic difficulty in building agents capable of such learning is that neural systems struggle to retain previously-acquired knowledge when learning from new data samples. This problem is known as catastrophic forgetting and remains an unsolved problem in the domain of machine learning to this day. To overcome catastrophic forgetting, different approaches have been proposed. One major line of thought advocates the use of memory buffers to store data where the stored data is then used …

Advanced Photovoltaic Devices Enabled By Lattice-Mismatched Epitaxy, Anastasiia Fedorenko

Theses

Thin-film III-V semiconductor-based photovoltaic (PV) devices, whose light conversion efficiency is primarily limited by the minority carrier lifetimes, are commonly designed to minimize the formation of crystalline defects (threading dislocations or, in extreme cases, fractures) that can occur, in particular, due to a mismatch in lattice constants of the epitaxial substrate and of the active film. At the same time, heteroepitaxy using Si or metal foils instead of costly III-V substrates is a pathway to enabling low-cost thin-film III-V-based PV and associated devices, yet it requires to either use metamorphic buffers or lateral confinement either by substrate patterning or by …

The Red Palm Weevil In The Uae: Morphological Diversity And Rnai-Mediated Gene Silencing Of Two Cuticle-Related Genes, Safa Hashem Mohammed Musaed

Theses

Red Palm Weevil (RPW), Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), threatens palm trees worldwide. A better understanding of this insect can help with designing an adequate management strategy. This study aimed to a better understand the morphological diversity of RPW and examined RNAi-mediated gene silencing of two cuticle-related genes, vestigial (vg) gene, and Laccase (Lac2) gene by injecting the last larval stage with double-stranded RNA (dsRNA). For the morphological diversity study, adults of RPW were collected and classified by their prothoracic spots. Additional morphological characters were measured such as Pronotum Length (PL), Pronotum Width (PW), Elytra Length (EL), Elytra Width (EW), and …

Assessment Of Heavy Metals In Sharks From The Arabian Gulf Waters, The United Arab Emirates, Noor Alali

Theses

Metals occur naturally in the environment however anthropogenic activities have contributed to their increase in the marine ecosystem. As elements have the ability to bioaccumulate, biomagnify and transfer between biological compartments throughout the food web, they pose a great threat to living biota. The characteristics of the Arabian Gulf make it a harsh environment for marine species especially when multiple stressors are acting together. Rhizoprionodon acutus (milk shark) and Carcharhinus sorrah (spot-tail shark) are essential compartments of the Arabian Gulf ecosystem. As they are found up in the food chain and considered a predator species they are under the threat …

Multivariate Statistical Analysis Applied To The Forensic Analysis Of Synthetic Fibers, Abdulrahman Aljanaahi

Theses

Textile fibers obtained from crime scenes can provide trace evidence to help solve criminal cases through forensic science. Examining the samples involves the use of different analytical procedures to determine associations between different fabric fragments. The current study explored multivariate statistical methods applied in synthetic fiber forensic science comparisons. The literature review of the current research identified various multivariate approaches such as Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Partial Least Square Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) to analyze spectroscopic and chromatographic data. The capstone project used Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) Spectroscopy instrumental methods for the analysis of standard synthetic fibers. Afterwards, multivariate data …

Wave Optics In Scanning Electron Microscopy, Surya Kamal

Theses

Better quality imaging is often needed for all optical instruments including the scanning electron microscope (SEM). Inside the SEM, an electron beam is generated by applying a voltage to the electron gun. The electron beam propagates through the SEM column and illuminates the specimen with a small probe. Our research is oriented towards the end goal of obtaining better images by modeling the SEM column which contains the lens system needed for probe formation. This probe which scans the specimen to produce the final image is one of the pivotal factors which determines the fundamental resolution of a SEM. We …

Comparing Adobe’S Unsharp Masks And High-Pass Filters In Photoshop Using The Visual Information Fidelity Metric, Nhung T. Pham

Theses

The present study examines image sharpening techniques quantitatively. A technique known as unsharp masking has been the preferred image sharpening technique for imaging professionals for many years. More recently, another professional-level sharpening solution has been introduced, namely, the high-pass filter technique of image sharpening. An extensive review of the literature revealed no purely quantitative studies that compared these techniques. The present research compares unsharp masking (USM) and high-pass filter (HPF) sharpening using an image quality metric known as Visual Information Fidelity (VIF). Prior researchers have used VIF data in research aimed at improving the USM sharpening technique. The present study …

Environmental Assessment Of The Impact Of Land-Based Discharges On Marine Water And Sediment Quality In Dubai, Uae, Ayman Fathy Halawa

Theses

The current seawater and Creek – Canal waterway in the Emirate of Dubai, UAE, is under tremendous pressure because of continuous urban water discharges from land-based sources. Therefore, the impact of urban water discharges on marine water and sediment quality in the Emirate requires a thorough assessment. The main objective of this study is to assess the impacts of effluent discharges on the quality of water and sediment in the open sea and Dubai Creek. The land-based sources include the power and desalination plants, industrial sector, sewage treatment plant, and stormwater runoff. To achieve the stated objective, relevant data on …

Noninvasive Electrocardiographic Imaging (Ecgi) To Guide Catheter Ablation Of Scar-Related Ventricular Tachycardia, Omar Ahmed Gharbia

Theses

Scar-related VT is caused by local \textit{short circuits} of electrical propagation formed by slow-conducting channels of surviving tissue within a scar. Catheter ablation treats scar-related VT by destroying the critical channel of surviving tissues. Its efficacy heavily relies on how well the channels critical to the formation of VT circuits can be localized. Unfortunately, in current practice, this relies on invasive catheter mapping that falls short in several critical aspects: up to 90$\%$ of the VT circuits are too short-lived to be mapped, the mapping cannot be done non-invasively prior to the ablation procedure, and the mapping is restricted to …

Simulation Analysis Of Mixed Bulk And Rack Warehouse Systems, Rukshar Bhisti

Theses

With the growth of the supply chain and increased customer demand, warehouse operation has become very important. One of the critical functions of warehouse operation is to have a warehouse layout such that the day-to-day operations enable on-time delivery. Poor warehouse design can lead to ineffective warehouse space utilization and incur the cost associated with inefficient operations. The purpose of this study is to develop an analysis tool that enables companies to identify the appropriate mix of bulk and rack storage locations to utilize warehouse space effectively. A simulation-based methodology is used to determine the optimal mix of racks and …

Improving Sub-Bandgap Carrier Collection In Gaas Solar Cells By Optimizing Ingaas Quantum Wells Using Strain-Balancing And Distributed Bragg Reflectors, Brandon Bogner

Theses

Bulk carrier collection in GaAs solar cells is limited by the GaAs bandgap of 1.42eV, leaving low-energy photons below 1.42eV uncollected. The addition of low bandgap materials allows for the collection of these ‘unreachable’ photons in a GaAs solar cell.In_(x)Ga_(1-x)As can have bandgaps between 0.354-1.42eV based on indium composition, allowing for tunable collection at longer wavelengths. Including thin 9.2nm In_(x)Ga_(1-x)As quantum wells in the i-region of a GaAs n-i-p structure enhances photon collection past the 870nm GaAs band edge, increasing current production and potentially leading to higher efficiencies. Increased current production in GaAs solar cells is especially valuable since GaAs …