Digital Commons Network^™

2d Audio Magnetotelluric (Amt) Data Inversion Of Al-Jaww Plain Area (Al-Ain, Uae) For Groundwater Aquifer Investigations, Ahmad Esam Saeed Alfashti Alaran

Theses

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is considered within the arid climate zone having low rates of annual rainfall. The freshwater is mainly located in shallow groundwater aquifers. Understanding the depth and extent of such aquifers is an important issue for UAE local governments and environmental agencies. Hydrogeological conditions in the UAE are strongly related to the topographic features and are dominated by a mountain range in Oman at the eastern margin of the Arabian Platform. The alluvial plains such as Al-Jaww plain (eastern Al-Ain city) is considered as an important potential source of groundwater for the Al-Ain region. Al-Jaww plain …

Calcium Phosphate/Ionic Liquid Ptfe Composite Membrane For Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Applications, Ahmad Ibrahim Hasan Ka’Ki

Theses

The dependence on fossil fuels can be possibly reduced by the utilization of renewable energy sources. Fuel cells offer a promising alternative for renewable power generation. Among the various types of fuel cells, Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) is recently attracting attention due to its several advantages of high-power density, all solid structure, and silent operation. The diverse types of materials used in this type of fuel cell raised drawbacks related to fuel cell cost and durability. By far, Nafion of DuPont is still the current state-of-the-art membrane for PEMFCs. It is known for its high ionic conductivity and …

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 …

Estimation Of The Removal Of Chiral Pharmaceutical Drugs From Domestic Wastewater Using Uplc-Ms/Ms, Mohammed Khaled Al Tabaji

Theses

This thesis is concerned with the estimation of the removal of chiral pharmaceutical compounds (PCs) from domestic wastewater in Al Ain using UPLC-MS/MS. PCs are classified into many classes such as hormones, antibiotics, analgesics, cosmetic products, ꞵ blockers, and anti-inflammatory drugs. PCs do not have a guideline to describe their concentrations in treated domestic wastewater. Additionally, there is a very high demand for using PCs around the world, which results in their discharge to wastewater at relatively high masses, which could be harmful to the environment. Furthermore, very limited work has been done to estimate the removal of chiral PCs. …

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, …

A New Green Composite Based On Polylactic Acid Mixed With Biomass From Uae Date Palm Waste For Cutlery And Food Packaging Applications, Noran Hussein Awad Elsayed Mousa

Theses

Petroleum-based plastic cutlery is widely used and due to its non-biodegradable properties, they cause serious threats to the environment. Therefore, there is a need to fabricate such products from biodegradable material. Date Palm Rachis (DPR) waste was used as a filler in three levels of 30 wt%, 40 wt% and 50 wt% for cost-performance optimization balance and to improve the thermal behaviours of the biodegradable Polylactic Acid (PLA). The preparation of biodegradable PLA/date palm waste composites was done using a melt mixing extruder at 180°C by varying parameters such as mixing time, the composition of date palm waste biomass, biomass …

Development Of Supramolecular Multicomponent Chromophores Towards Photoluminescence Switches, Rukayat Shola Bojesomo

Theses

A new fluorescent dye (4PBZC) comprises of coumarin (C), piperazine (P), and benzimidazole (BZ) was designed, prepared, and complexed to cucurbit[7]uril (CB7) to detect carnosol (CAR), an anti-breast cancer drug, in sub-nanomolar concentrations utilizing the supramolecular indicator displacement assay (IDA) strategy, the CB7-assisted pK_a shift and the CB7-retarded photoinduced electron transfer (PET) process. The host−guest complexation was confirmed by UV−visible absorption, fluorescence, and proton NMR spectroscopy, which confirm binding to 4PBZC via the BZ moiety. Also, CB7 preferentially binds the indicator dye via the protonated BZ residue compared to the neutral BZ one, demonstrated by a higher binding …

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. …

Analyzing The Impact Of Negative Sampling On Fact-Prediction Algorithms, Iti Bansal

Theses

Knowledge graphs are useful for many applications like product recommendations and web search query engines. However, knowledge graphs are marked by incompleteness. Fact-prediction algorithms aim to expand knowledge graphs by predicting missing facts. Fact-prediction algorithms train models using positive facts present and creating negative facts not present in the knowledge graph at hand. Negative facts are obtained by corrupting information in the positive facts present in the knowledge graph at hand. Although it is generally assumed that negative facts drive the accuracy of fact-prediction algorithms, this concept has not been thoroughly examined yet. In this work, we investigate whether negative …

Determination Of Vitamin D Metabolites And Their Epimers In Obese Emirati Population, Bashar Hiatham Alzohily

Theses

Vitamin D deficiency is a global issue, and despite all-year-round sunshine, it is a big problem in the UAE. Obesity or overweight refers to an accumulation of excessive fat that may harm health so, it is considered a worldwide health concern. The accurate measurement of vitamin D active forms is a problematic issue. This study aimed to develop and validate a UHPLC-MS/MS method for the new method for determining vitamin D levels in the obese Emirati population. The vitamin D epimers and other metabolites were determined by UHPLC-MS/MS system, model 8060. The methods include the collection of blood samples from …

Developing Circular Economy Through Implementing Advanced Technologies In Dubai, Hana Alsuwaidi

Theses

The UAE and Dubai have made several strides towards sustainability and in recent years Circular Economy started to be recognised in the region. It is crucial to understand that Circular Economy is not only connected to recycling municipal waste. Circular Economy is a strategy that intends to be implemented as a business model across all industries through technological advancements. First, a conceptual and theoretical framework is developed through data analytics to indicates what are the barriers that slows any economy form implementing Circular Economy, how can Circular Economy strategy be developed in Dubai through implementing technological advancements. Secondly, a wide …

A Process Modeling Approach To Evaluating Worker Requirements For Sexual Assault Evidence Testing, Arden Bonzo

Theses

In recent years, over 100,000 untested sexual assault kits (SAKs) have been discovered in the custody of law enforcement and awaiting testing at publicly funded facilities. The backlog has been attributed to law enforcement discretion and a lack of resources at testing facilities. In response to the backlog, states have adopted various policies for testing SAKs. 11 states have adopted comprehensive policies, mandating testing of all backlogged and incoming kits, in addition to annual inventories, updated tracking systems, and increased funding for testing programs. 30 states have adopted “limited” policies and 4 states have proposed policy reforms. This research attempts …

New Approaches For Isolation And Characterization Of Extracellular Vesicles, Mehdi Dehghani

Theses

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are membrane vesicles secreted by cells and distributed widely in all biofluids. Extracellular vesicles can modulate the biological activities of the recipient cells. Due to their role in intercellular communication, they are receiving attention for therapeutic and diagnostic applications. The first step to better understand EVs and to utilize them as therapeutic and diagnostic tools is to purify them from a variety of biofluids. Membranes have been extensively used for purification of different biological species from biological fluids. As the first aim, a novel microfluidic system, termed as tangential flow for analyte capture (TFAC) was developed to …

Energy Efficient Neocortex-Inspired Systems With On-Device Learning, Abdullah M. Zyarah

Theses

Shifting the compute workloads from cloud toward edge devices can significantly improve the overall latency for inference and learning. On the contrary this paradigm shift exacerbates the resource constraints on the edge devices. Neuromorphic computing architectures, inspired by the neural processes, are natural substrates for edge devices. They offer co-located memory, in-situ training, energy efficiency, high memory density, and compute capacity in a small form factor. Owing to these features, in the recent past, there has been a rapid proliferation of hybrid CMOS/Memristor neuromorphic computing systems. However, most of these systems offer limited plasticity, target either spatial or temporal input …

Contributions Of Optical Remote Sensing To Permafrost Mapping In Donnelly Training Area, Alaska, Kiran Thapa

Theses

AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OFKiran Thapa, for the Master of Science degree in Geography and Environmental Resources, presented on April 8, 2020, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.TITLE: CONTRIBUTIONS OF OPTICAL REMOTE SENSING TO PERMAFROST MAPPING IN DONNELLY TRAINING AREA, ALASKA MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Guangxing Wang Permafrost occupies about a quarter of the northern hemisphere land with 25.5 million ha. Global warming and anthropogenic activities affect the dynamics of permafrost. Snow and permafrost, in turn, serve as an indicator of climate change and human activity disturbance. The dynamics of permafrost are often estimated using interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) methods. …

Phylogenomic Analysis Of Evolutionary Relationships In Ranitomeya Poison Frogs (Amphibia: Dendrobatidae) Using Ultraconserved Elements, Morgan Renee Muell

Theses

Knowledge of phylogenetic relationships among organisms is essential for anchoring evolutionary studies. Phylogenomic studies use large amounts of genetic data in analyses, which is particularly important for highly phenotypically variable taxa that are difficult to distinguish from one another without the use of genetic data, due to the abundance of homoplasy in morphological characters typically used in morphological classification. Use of genome-scale molecular data has thus become the gold standard for identifying these phylogenetic relationships, specifically in comparison to past studies based on fewer genes. Greater quantities of genetic data, in addition to finer taxon sampling, may lead to different …

Comparison Of Longitudinal Changes In Resting State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Between Alzheimer’S And Healthy Controls, Berk Can Yilmaz

Theses

Resting State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (rs-fMRI) is a technique that is widely used for analyzing brain function using different approaches and methods. This study involves rs-fMRI analysis of Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent (BOLD) signals acquired from Alzheimer’s disease (AD) Patients and Healthy Controls (HC). Each subject in the study had both functional and anatomical images with at least one rs-fMRI scan with their Anatomical (T1) scans. Previous rs-fMRI studies have demonstrated that AD shows differences in Amplitude of Low Frequency (<0.1 Hz) Fluctuations (ALFF), and Regional Homogeneity (ReHo) measures according to HCs.

The aim of the study is to investigate individual and group level differences using ReHo and mALFF related …

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 …

The Role Of Activation In The Relationship Between Power Posing And Task Performance, Jeremy Walter Marshall

Theses

This research analyzed the psychophysiological effects that expansive and contractive body poses have on the human body. Participants were asked to hold either an expansive or contractive body pose for two minutes prior to participating in a Color-Word Interference Test (CWT, which induced stress) and a gambling task (which measured risk tolerance). Heart rate variability (HRV) and electrodermal activity (EDA) for each participant was measured to gauge stress throughout the experiment. Positive and negative affect scales were used to measure mood before and after posing. Results of this research did not support our hypotheses, which were: 1. Expansive, dominant poses …

Murine Flexor Tendon Repair Model With Noninvasive Assessment Of Healing With Ultrasound, Fei Rost

Theses

Flexor tendon injuries in the hands are relatively common, significantly disabling more than 100,000 people in the United States per year (Nichols 2019). The majority of flexor tendon injuries require surgical repair, but despite the advancement of technology and medicine, current treatments still yield poor outcomes. Even with prevailing treatments to improve or restore function to the affected digit(s), patients often suffer psychologically and financially in the long-term. A recent study gave a conservative estimate that flexor tendon lacerations cost the American healthcare system and taxpayers between US $240.8-409.1 million per year and emphasized the need to “focus our efforts …

Interactions Of Photosensitizers With Model Membranes And Their Applications In Photodynamic Therapy, Poornima Kalyanram

Theses

Cancer is caused by the uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormal cells resulting in 1 in 6 deaths every day. The most common treatment methods include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. These techniques are invasive, aggressive, and non-specific to cancer cells. Therefore, alternative therapies which are both potent and does not interfere with the quality of living are on a rise. Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) is an approved alternative remedy in the treatment of cancer. The efficacy of PDT depends on the penetration power of the photosensitizer (PS) when injected into to the site of tumor. However, due to complexity involved in …

Exploring The Influence Of Energy Constraints On Liquid State Machines, Andrew Fountain

Theses

Biological organisms operate under severe energy constraints but are still the most powerful computational systems that we know of. In contrast, modern AI algorithms are generally implemented on power-hungry hardware resources such as GPUs, limiting their use at the edge. This work explores the application of biologically-inspired energy constraints to spiking neural networks to better understand their effects on network dynamics and learning and to gain insight into the creation of more energy-efficient AI. Energy constraints are modeled by abstracting the role of astrocytes in metabolizing glucose and regulating the activity-driven distribution of ATP molecules to “pools” of neurons and …

Evaluation Of The Premarket Tobacco Product Application For Electronic Cigarettes, Maya Lara

Theses

Use of tobacco has remained one of the most lethal pastimes within the United States. With the creation of new products, like electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), more and more individuals have begun to engage in this activity. In 2019, an epidemic surrounding the use of e-cigarettes emerged causing a multitude of users to suffer harmful respiratory illnesses. These events triggered the need for further investigation not only into the research used to analyze e-cigarettes, but also the regulation process used to validate them. E-cigarettes, like their predecessor traditional cigarettes, are regulated by the Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) within the United …

Parametric Study Of Infrared Imaging Based Breast Cancer Detection Program, Carlos B. Gutierrez

Theses

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers among women and is responsible for over 41,000 lives every year in the US according to The American Cancer Society. Current screening and imaging methods such as mammography, breast magnetic resonance imaging, and breast ultrasound imaging have helped in improving survival rate when the cancer is detected at an early stage. The problems with these techniques include: low sensitivity, patient discomfort, invasiveness, and cost. Due to current advancements in infrared and computational technologies, infrared thermography has been utilized as a noninvasive adjunctive screening modality. A computerized approach using infrared imaging (IRI) …

Application Of Thermal And Ultraviolet Sensors In Remote Sensing Of Upland Ducks, Matthew W. Helvey

Theses

Detection, mapping, and monitoring of wildlife populations can provide significant insight into the health and trajectory of the ecosystems they rely on. In fact, it was not until recently that the benefits of wetland ecosystems were fully understood. Unfortunately, by that point, the United States had removed more than 50% of its native wetlands. The Prairie Pothole Region in North America is the premier breeding location for ducks; responsible for producing more than 50% of the North American ducks annually. The current survey methods for obtaining duck population counts are accomplished primarily using manned flights with observers manually identifying and …

Reading Emotion Words In Sentences: Exploring Interactions Between Valence And Arousal, Abby Williams

Theses

Emotional information is treated differently than any other type of information and has a powerful impact on many cognitive processes, particularly attention. As there are currently two opposing theories about how emotion influences attention, the aim of this study was to test both categorical negativity theory and the arousal hypothesis simultaneously. Categorical negativity theory suggests that the valence of a word (how positive or negative it is) is what truly influences how emotional information receives attention, while the arousal hypothesis posits that the arousal level of a word (how stimulating or salient it is) determines the amount of attention it …

Self-Awareness: A Dynamic Poster Design About Self-Awareness Child Development, Shuaiqi Xiong

Theses

Self-awareness is a psychological state in which we see ourselves truthfully and objectively through introspection and reflection. As 90s generation, we are the newest generation of “Chinese-style” individualism, but most of us do not have knowledge of self-awareness. We probably do not acknowledge our strengths and weaknesses, do not accept ourselves, and have no sense of what we do and others think of us. According to our research” says organizational psychologist and researcher Tasha Eurich, “with thousands of people from all around the world, 95 percent of people believe that they’re self-aware, but only about 10 to 15 percent really …

Connecting Meaningful Moments: Exploring Empathy Through Storytelling, Samantha Maida

Theses

As individuals transition through life, it is growing more and more difficult for everyone to live in the same world when perceptions of situations are skewed. Each individuals’ perception is colored by their life’s experiences which give rise to a distorted view of the world, creating biases, and affirming that our perception is a product of our past that is pushing forward into our future. The more technology promotes isolation and damages in-person communication, the more individuals are growing less aware of those around them, and how their experiences, and life events affect the way they view and respond to …

Environmental Sustainability: Kosovo’S Waste Management And Its Road To Circular Economy, Diella Lulaj

Theses

The aim of this project is to evaluate environmental degradation in Kosovo, by concentrating on waste management, and to give recommendations on how to improve waste management in Kosovo, through implementing circular economy concepts. More specifically, the focus of the project will be circular economy in the cycle of waste management, the possibilities and obstacles to implement it in Kosovo. Case studies are used to explain the waste management in UK and India and their process of switching from a traditional economy to a circular economy; as well as an analysis of Western Balkans’ experiences with waste management to understand …

Nanoscale Carbon-Based Electrochemical And Temperature Sensors, Olivia Viola Scheibel

Theses

Nanoscale sensors are required to study the interesting and complex physical, chemical, and biological phenomenon which occurs in microdomains. Carbon-based nanostructures (CNS) have been utilized in nanosensors with applications in many fields due to their versatility and unique properties. Several manufacturing processes can be used to produce CNSs though they often are expensive and require time-consuming purification and micro-assembly processes to integrate them into larger structures.

Here, novel silica-based structures are explored as unique templates on which to form CNSs that are easily integrated into sensors which can directly interface with standard laboratory equipment. The high electrical conductivity of CNSs …