Digital Commons Network^™

Family Planning Methods Among Couples Of A Selected Barangay In Tacloban City: Basis For Healthcare Program Enhancement, Ric-An Artemio S. Gadin

Theses

The increase of population affects many aspects of society, including living conditions, basic needs, employment status and most importantly the health system. It is thus imperative to adequately plan family size in order to build a stable society. But despite of the availability of family planning programs where most methods of contraception are available both in the rural and urban health centers, literatures shows that population growth is still at rise. Thus the researcher became curious of the knowledge, attitude and practices of couples in family planning. The study tried to assess the level of awareness and practices of family …

Transcriptomic Analysis Of The Glycophytic Crop Ipomoea Aquatica Under Salinity Conditions Compared To Its Wild Halophyte Relative Ipomoea Pes-Caprae, Ruwan Saeed Aljneibi Husam Saeed Aljneibi

Theses

This study focuses on the glycophytic crop Ipomoea Aquatica (commonly known as water spinach) and its wild halophytic relative Ipomoea pes-caprae. I. Aquatica is a crop with economic value; however, it is unable to tolerate high levels of salinity. Whereas its relative Ipomoea pes-caprae is able to grow and thrive in the harsh environment of the UAE. The main aim of this study is to analyze the genetic differences underlying the variation in the two plants’ response to salinity and determine the genetic components that can be used to enhance I. Aquatica's tolerance to salinity. Accordingly, the plants were subjected …

The Impact Of Digital Games Based Learning (Abacus) On Students’ Performance In Fraction For Fifth Grade Students In Al-Ain, Haneen Mazen Almassri

Theses

ABACUS active learn is an inclusive online site for teachers and students to illustrate and learn Mathematics in the primary level. ABACUS is considered as an online innovation that enables the students to have the ownership of their learning through interactive activities that can be done independently in the classroom or spend their rewards in online learning games. The main objective of this study is to examine the effect of using ABACUS on students’ performance of 5^th grade while studying Fractions. This study designed to be tested in Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates. A quasi-experimental design was used to collect …

Production And Characterization Of Natural Date Fruit Powder (Pheonix Dactylifera L.), Fayeza Hasan

Theses

The aim of this thesis was to study the possibilities for production and the characterization of powder from ripened date fruits (Phoenix dactylifera L.). Various techniques including tray drying, freeze-drying, vacuum drying, microwave drying, convection drying were tested for their ability to dry the dates sufficiently to produce a dated powder. Six varieties of dates namely Barhi and Khalas (soft varieties), Sagi and Sukari (semi-dry varieties), and Barakawi and Gundeila (dry varieties) were evaluated for their drying characteristics. The drying parameters and the physicochemical characteristics were compared and a storage study for the date powder was conducted. It …

Levels Of Testosterone Esters In Camel Hair, Aysha Khalid Alraeesi

Theses

Doping and steroid use represent a serious threat to animal health and can even lead to their untimely and painful death. However, doping is an acute problem in today's animal racing world, particularly in camel racing. Testosterone and its ten esters (benzoate, valerate, isocaproate, hexahydrobenzoate, decanoate, undecanoate, laurate, enanthate, cypionate, and caproate) are of utmost importance because when they are administered to animals it is difficult to measure them efficiently. The levels of testosterone and its esters in camels and other animals are typically determined using urine and blood tests. The aim of this study was to develop and validate …

Effect Of High-Pressure Processing On Quality And Shelf Life Of Green Fresh Juice Produced From A Blend Of Fruit And Vegetable, Ahlam Abdulla Al Hammadi

Theses

Background: The technology of high hydrostatic pressure (HPP) in food processing started to take a huge attention in food industries due to its ability to increase the shelf life of processed products by inactivating food-borne microorganisms and undesired enzymes that cause changes not acceptable by the consumers. Because of the treatments take place at low temperature and because no chemical preservatives are added, advantageous and gives more value to the product and matches consumer demand for healthy products.

Aims: The aim of this thesis was to study the effect of HPP on certain quality parameters of green fruit juice compared …

Characterization And Bioactive Properties Of Young And Mature Soybean And Their Protein Hydrolysates, Amna Khalifa Alnuaimi

Theses

Soybeans are known for their high protein content that could be substituted for animal proteins. The potential bioactive properties of mature soybean (MS) proteins and their hydrolysates have been widely explored. The aim of this study was to investigate and compare various in-vitro bioactive properties (antioxidant, anti-diabetic, anti-obesity, and anti-inflammatory) of young soybean (YS) and MS flour and their protein hydrolysates when subjected to in-vitro simulated gastrointestinal digestion (SGID) and enzymatic hydrolysis, respectively. In the first phase, SGID of YS and MS flour was carried out to mimic the human digestion, while in the second phase, enzymatic hydrolysis of the …

Effectiveness Of Food Safety Training On Knowledge, Atitude, And Practices (Kap) Of Homebased Food Business (Hfb) In Al Ain, Uae, Mariam Mohammed Al Kaabi

Theses

This research aimed at evaluating the levels of knowledge, relevant attitudes, and food safety practices (KAP) of food handlers that have home food businesses (HFB) in Al Ain city, UAE. It examined the effectiveness of the Essential Food Safety Training Program (EFST) in providing food safety Knowledge, attitude, and practices. A quantitative research method was conducted using a sample of 68 participants who responded to the questionnaires. Three research questions were used to guide the study and explore the differences of the level of Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practice (KAP) before and after training program by using a paired-samples t-test. This …

Guavanet: A Deep Neural Network Architecture For Automatic Sensory Evaluation To Predict Degree Of Acceptability For Guava By A Consumer, Vipul Mehra

Theses

This thesis is divided into two parts:Part I: Analysis of Fruits, Vegetables, Cheese and Fish based on Image Processing using Computer Vision and Deep Learning: A Review. It consists of a comprehensive review of image processing, computer vision and deep learning techniques applied to carry out analysis of fruits, vegetables, cheese and fish.This part also serves as a literature review for Part II.Part II: GuavaNet: A deep neural network architecture for automatic sensory evaluation to predict degree of acceptability for Guava by a consumer. This part introduces to an end-to-end deep neural network architecture that can predict the degree of …

Diet Of An Important Wetland Resident, The California Killifish, Fundulus Parvipinnis, In A Natural And Created Marsh Habitat In Mission Bay, California, Katie Robinson-Filipp

Theses

The California killifish, Fundulus parvipinnis Girard, is an ecologically important marsh resident. Fundulus parvipinnis is a low-level carnivore, displaying high-site fidelity and occurring in high densities across a range of environmental conditions. Despite the importance of F. parvipinnis to the ecosystem functions of the threatened coastal wetlands of southern California and the Baja California Peninsula, there are critical gaps in our knowledge of this species. In particular, information on their diet and food habits is lacking.

Understanding wetland food web linkages, interactions, and trophic transfer is essential for informing effective habitat management and contributes to our ability to evaluate the …

Predicting, Monitoring And Controlling The Growth Of Listeria In Complex Food Matrices, Laura Mary Nyhan

Theses

Listeria monocytogenes is a foodborne pathogen which is a significant challenge in food production, particularly for ready-to-eat (RTE) products. Incidence of Listeria in RTE foods can be reduced by the application of intelligent combinations of preservative factors or hurdles, while data quantifying the efficacy of hurdle combinations can be exploited and used in the area of predictive microbiology. Traditional culture-based techniques, such as viable plate counts, are commonly used to monitor the growth/survival of microorganisms in foods, however these methods are tedious, time-consuming and due to their destructive nature, are associated with low reproducibility and high variability. Therefore, rapid, non-invasive …

Predicting Carcass Cut Yields In Cattle From Digitalimages Using Artificial Intelligence, Darragh Matthews

Theses

Beef carcass classification in Europe is predicated on the EUROP grid for both fatness and conformation. Although this system performs well for grouping visually similar carcasses, it cannot be used to accurately predict meat yields from these groups, especially when considered on an individual cut level. Deep Learning (DL) has proven to be a successful tool for many image classification problems but has yet to be fully proven in a regression scenario using carcass images. Here we have trained DL models to predict carcass cut yields and compared predictions to more standard machine learning (ML) methods. Three approaches were undertaken …

Investigating The Antioxidant, Immunomodulatory And Anti-Obesogenic Propertiesof Novel Bsg-Derived Extracts And Their Potential As Ingredients In Functional Foods For Older Adults, Suzanne O Brien

Theses

Brewer’s Spent Grain (BSG) represents a substantial waste product of the brewing industry, with 39 million tonnes generated globally every year. To date the primary use of BSG is as animal feed but there is significant interest in identifying alternative uses for this agro-industry by-product. BSG is rich in protein and fibre and is known to contain health-promoting bioactive compounds, thus one application would be in the area of functional foods. People are living longer and as the older adult population continues to increase globally so too is the prevalence of age-related chronic conditions. Diet plays an essential role in …

Crop Salinity Tolerance Induction Using Novel Biostimulants (Saltibio), Elomofe Ikuyinminu

Theses

Salinity is one of the major abiotic stresses affecting crop production, especially in arid and semi-arid areas. Most of the vegetable crops are salt sensitive, growing inadequately in salinised soils due to the accumulation of toxic ions from prolonged, inadequate irrigation programs. A meaningful approach to counteract salinity stress and increase crop yield is the use of protein hydrolysate biostimulants (PHBs). The main objectives of this study were to generate legume-derived PHBs by enzymatic hydrolysis, evaluate their ability to induce salinity stress tolerance in plants, and understand their mode of action. A full compositional and structural analysis of the generated …

Proactive Management Of Acute Oedema Following Hand And Minor Burn Injury, Dale O. Edwick

Theses

Burn injury is a unique trauma. The inflammatory process initiated with burn injury adversely influences all of the Starling equation variables, resulting in increased transvascular fluid filtration, so that oedema as a product of burn injury is more readily formed than in other forms of trauma. Localised wound oedema forms due to minor burn injury, with increasing systemic oedema associated with increased size of burn. It is now recognised that a marked inflammatory and immune response is created with non-severe burn injury, indicating a systemic component with all burns. The effect of oedema formation on the course of the burn …

Elucidation Of Multi-Origin Inula Helenium L. For Antimicrobial Activity And Heavy Metal Profiling As An Exemplar For The Use And Regulation Of Plants As Antibiotics., Ciara Ruth Kenny

Theses

An impending post-antibiotic era looms, thus new sources of therapeutic chemical entities are crucial to sustain effective antimicrobial chemotherapy worldwide. Plant natural products are a source of accessible, structurally diverse compounds that provide therapeutic potential. The pharmacological applications of plants in medicine can be guided by the attestation of traditional use or the application of this knowledge to uncover new leads in the drug discovery process. The range of modified in vitro methods commonly used to investigate preclinical antimicrobial efficacy of plant-derived natural products, and the associated limitations and challenges in the provision of new antimicrobial drugs from plants is …

Evaluation Of A ‘Well-Elderly’ Physical Activity Programme, Robert Purcell

Theses

Both in Ireland and internationally people are living longer and there is an increasing proportion of older adults in the population (Clark 2020). As such, the maintenance of health and physical function for older adults is of critical importance. Physical activity is widely acknowledged as being crucial for the maintenance of positive health, particularly for older adults (Spartano et al., 2019). Research has suggested that physical activity programmes are an effective means of engaging older adults in physical activity for the promotion of positive health (Sherrington et al., 2017). The central aim of this research project was to explore the …

Algal Wrack Community Composition And Succession On A Sandy Beach In San Diego, Ca, Marisol Palomares

Theses

Sandy beaches are high-energy impact zones that produce little to no organic material. Much of the organic matter on beaches is washed up on shore in the form of algal wrack, providing a vital source of nutrients, food, and habitat for a variety of organisms on the sandy beach. Over time wrack will decay and decompose, releasing nutrients including nitrogen and phosphorus, which are consumed by benthic microalgae and bacteria. The type of wrack and geomorphology of the beach environments affect decomposition, which in turn supports a variety of different wrack associated macrofaunal communities. Different species of algal wrack will …

An Examination Of Meat Consumption As A Pro-Environmental Behavior And Its Weak Correlation To Delay Discounting, Sarah Parkinson

Theses

This study presented meat consumption as an environmentally relevant behavior (ERB) and examined how the delay to an environmental loss might affect peoples’ decisions to eat meat. Participants completed a delay discounting survey where they selected what percentage of meat they would eliminate from their diet based on varying delays to rising sea levels flooding of their neighborhood. After watching a brief educational video, participants completed the survey a second time to examine whether the video had any influence on discounting rates in the post-survey. Participants also completed the 27-Item Monetary Choice Questionnaire (MCQ; Kirby & Marakovic, 1996) in order …

The Effect Of Nutritional Programming On Gut Microbiota In Broodstock And Progeny Fish, Samuel Patula

Theses

Aquaculture is currently the fastest growing animal production sector. Because the aquaculture sector is growing at rapid rates, certain materials for feed, specifically marine protein sources, are becoming increasingly expensive and unsustainable. To counteract the reliance on fishmeal (FM) and other marine protein sources in the industry plant protein (PP), specifically soybean meal (SBM), has been investigated to replace FM as a protein source. Unfortunately, SBM when given in high quantities (greater than 30%) has been shown to negatively affect fish performance including retarded growth, intestinal inflammation, reduction of spawn quality, as well as dysbiosis in the gut microbiome, most …

Wait., Kayla Cantu

Theses

Wait explores concepts of discomfort and acceptance through the use of the human body, glass, and honey. The artwork and this thesis both use personal experience of physical insecurities and scholarly investigations into psychology related to unruly bodies. The work and research allude to the material qualities of glass such as its malleability, susceptibility, and softness to draw a parallel between the materials and the human identity. Parallels between glass and body create conversations investigating acceptance of identity and questions ideas about resistance of unruly bodies.

Green Synthesis, Characterization, Antioxidant And Anticancer Activities Of Silver Nanoparticle Using Moringa Peregrina Leaf Extract, Khaled Saeed Al Baloushi

Theses

The sustainable green synthesis process for the development of environment-friendly, toxicant-free and biocompatible nanoparticles establishes important aspects in nanotechnology research. Even though; nanoparticles can be produced by either conventional physical and chemical or green synthesis, synthesizing nanoparticles using plant extracts as reducing and capping agents is acceptable. The benefits of plant extract mediated synthesis of silver nanoparticles comprise economic viability, quick synthesis, toxicity free, cost-effectiveness and large scale synthesis. In that way, the aqueous extract of Moringa peregrina leaves was used to synthesizes silver nanoparticles. The silver nanoparticles were characterized by various spectral studies including FT-IR, SEM, HR-TEM and XRD. …

Hyperspectral Properties Of Date Palm Trees (Phoenix Dactylifera L.), Mohamed Ali Saeed Ahmed Al Abdouli

Theses

The goal of this study is to classify the Date Palm varieties based on hyperspectral signature technology since it is difficult to identify the Date Palm cultivars without fruits. It will also help to obtain the hyperspectral signature for different types of date palm trees. Moreover, it also assists to determine the wavelength fingerprint of each cultivar and to recommend the best classification protocol differentiating among different cultivars based on spectral signature. Utilizing the Hyperspectral imaging technology precisely on the leaves of different Date Palm cultivars, thus facilitating identification of date palm cultivars without the fruits and make the spatial …

Prevalence Of Brca1 And Brca2 Mutations Among Breast And Ovarian Cancer Patients In Northern Emirates, Zahra Ahmed Mohammed Saeed

Theses

Breast Cancer (BC) is the most common cancer and the second most cause of death among women. Mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes confer high susceptibility to both breast and ovarian cancer. However, data on the prevalence of the BRCA1/2 mutations among breast and ovarian cancer patients is limited. The genetic component of breast cancer in the UAE is largely unknown and no study has evaluated the BRCA mutations status in breast and ovarian cancer patients in the UAE population. This retrospective study aimed to establish mutation frequencies of the BRCA genes in breast and ovarian cancer patients from the …

Mass Spectrometric Determination Of Retinol In Emirati Population, Israa Samir Mohamed Shawky El-Konaissi

Theses

This thesis is concerned with analyzing vitamin A deficiency. Vitamin A is crucial for several functions, including vision, growth, and cell differentiation. the main aim is to develop and validate an LC-MS/MS method for the determination of vitamin A in plasma matrix and use the new method for the determination of vitamin A levels in the obese Emirati population. Methods: A positive ion electrospray ionisation (ESI) LC-MS/MS method was used in the Multiple Reaction Monitoring (MRM) mode for quantification. It involved i) LC-MS/MS, ii) a guard column together with C18 Ascentis Express F5 column iii) Internal standard, 25-Hydroxyvitamin D3 (6, …

Nurse Staffing And Quality Care In Long-Term Care Nursing Facilities: Differences In Rural And Urban Settings, Dorcas E. Kunkel

Theses

Public and congressional concern induced the Institute of Medicine (1996) to recommend increasing registered nurse (RN) staffing levels in nursing homes (NHs) to improve quality of care. The purpose of this study was to answer the question, does the relationship between nurse staffing in long term care nursing facilities and bladder and bowel incontinence for low risk nursing home residents differ by nursing facilities located in rural and urban settings? This study used a secondary database that included aggregate data of all 615 NHs in Minnesota, South and North Dakota including nurse staffing levels, facility descriptives, and the quality measure …

The Effect Of Phytoplankton Properties On The Ingestion Of Marine Snow By Calanus Pacificus, Grace Cawley

Theses

The aggregation of phytoplankton into marine snow provides a mechanism by which smaller particles can coagulate to form larger particles, which can be consumed at various depths or readily transported to the deep ocean and sequestered from the atmosphere on time scales of a thousand years or more. Zooplankton interacting with these large carbon-rich aggregates can obtain nutrition in environments where the phytoplankton size spectrum is small and not directly available, enhancing the possibility of obtaining adequate nutrition in environments dominated by small cells. In addition, interactions between zooplankton and marine snow can result in fragmentation, thus affecting the particle …

Impact Of Celebrity Endorsement In Advertising Of High-Risk Products, Victoria Olaosebikan

Theses

Celebrity endorsement is one of the most popular and effective strategies in advertising. Celebrities are perceived as attractive and having both likable qualities and influential power. Marketers have become more aware of the influence celebrities have on individuals and have harnessed this into advertising products and services. Empirical studies have shown that celebrities have been very effective in advertising low-risk products and services. But how effective is this strategy in advertising high-risk products and services? This study employed the elaboration likelihood model to investigate the impact of a celebrity endorser compared to a non-celebrity endorser on consumer behavior in advertising …

Domestic Food Waste Reduction System In The U.A.E., Eman Alsuwaidi, Nawar Al Sammarraie, Vilas Vijaykumar, Zaid Nayaz Syed

Theses

The emerging need for a domestic food waste management system in UAE has opened the door for innovations in managing food activities to minimizing waste. At present, there are no specific strategies or solutions effective enough to considerably reduce domestic food waste. This project mainly covers objective, methodology, waste identification tools and techniques, and strategy creation for system improvement. The results obtained from several surveys conducted to study the food habits of the people were used in this project to develop a strategy to reduce food waste. Smart systems are gaining high demand in various fields of the markets as …

Domestic Food Waste Reduction System In The U.A.E., Eman Alsuwaidi, Nawar Al Sammarraie, Vilas Vijaykumar, Zaid Nayaz Syed

Theses

The emerging need for a domestic food waste management system in UAE has opened the door for innovations in managing food activities to minimizing waste. At present, there are no specific strategies or solutions effective enough to considerably reduce domestic food waste. This project mainly covers objective, methodology, waste identification tools and techniques, and strategy creation for system improvement. The results obtained from several surveys conducted to study the food habits of the people were used in this project to develop a strategy to reduce food waste. Smart systems are gaining high demand in various fields of the markets as …