Digital Commons Network^™

Mapping And Analyzing Urban Growth In The Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Using Geospatial Technologies Integrated With Machine Learning, Hamsa Mohamed Yusuf

Theses

Urbanization is happening at a rate twice the increase in population on a worldwide scale. This has great environmental and social impacts, along with large impacts on regional climate and one of the reasons for this is the ever-continuous change of land use and land cover. The availability of high-resolution satellite imagery in addition to the advancements in geospatial technology allow mapping of LULC changes to be done accurately, efficiently and covering wide areas. This thesis studies the urban Land Use and Land Cover Change (LULCC) that happened in Abu Dhabi city for the last 3 decades by utilizing geospatial …

Satellite-Based Spatial And Temporal Characterization Of Rainfall Over The Uae, Yassin Ibrahim Ahmad

Theses

Studies on rainfall characteristics have been of particular interest in the arid and semi-arid regions, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), due to its impact on the built and natural environment. Rainfall represents a vital water source and a potential threat to the built environment, particularly during flash rainfall. This thesis evaluates spatial and temporal variation of rainfall in the UAE. The UAE is classified into four ecosystems with a distinct distribution of precipitation (East Coast, Mountains, the Gravel Plains, and Desert Foreland). Satellite data on daily rainfall for the years starting from 2001 up to 2020 was obtained from …

Prevalence And Risk Factors Of Hikikomori In Young Adults In The Middle East, Harshil Paresh Shah

Theses

Hikikomori, a form of severe social withdrawal that can occur without the presence of any other psychological disorder, was once thought to be a Japanese culture-bound phenomena. However, studies have emerged from several parts of the world showing that this may be a global issue. Extant literature suggests associations between hikikomori and behavioral addictions such as gaming addiction and Problematic Social Media Use (PSMU). Since there is a relative paucity of research examining this phenomenon in the Middle Eastern context, this study aimed to determine the prevalence and risk factors of hikikomori in young adults of the Middle East. It …

Expression Of Human Arginine Vasopressin In Arabidopsis Thaliana And Assessment Of Abiotic Stress Tolerance, Maitha Salem Aldarmaki

Theses

Human Arginine Vasopressin (HsAVP) is a nona-peptide that acts as an antidiuretic hormone. In human AVP regulates water permeability through the regulation of the water channel, aquaporin 2. The process begins with the binding of vasopressin to V2 receptor which activates cAMP-dependent protein kinase A (PKA). PKA phosphorylates aquaporin-2 at Ser256 and allows the aquaporin-2-containing vesicle to fuse with the apical membrane which increases water permeability. The present study describes the functional analysis of the codon-optimized HsAVP overexpressed in Arabidopsis thaliana. The main objective of the study is to assess if HsAVP affects drought and salinity stress …

Integrating Artificial Intelligence For Automated Storytelling In Turn-Based Strategy Games, Timothy Ripper

Theses

This project is inspired by turn-based strategy games, Final Fantasy Tactics, X-Com 2, and modern turn-based strategy games. This project is structured around the use of artificial intelligence for storytelling within strategy games. The focus of this project utilizes artificial intelligence in creating a quest generation system for storytelling. The resulting quest system creates new quests dynamically after communicating with an artificial intelligence allowing players to potentially experience an ever-expanding story from quests

Optimization Of In-Vitro Regeneration And Agrobacterium-Mediated Transformation Of Lactuca Sativa, Mohamed Omer Elsiddig

Theses

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) is a leafy vegetable consumed worldwide, mainly as a green salad. It is an herbaceous, self-pollinated annual plant of the family Asteraceae. Lettuce is low in calories, fat, and sodium. It is a good source of fiber, iron, folate, and vitamin C. Improving existing lettuce varieties for water use efficiency, photosynthesis efficiency, salt tolerance, increased nutritional content, etc., is the need of the hour, considering that lettuce is a crop ideal for vertical farming in the UAE.

This study aimed to develop a highly efficient in vitro regeneration and Agrobacterium- mediated transformation protocol for a popular …

Utilizing Hyperspectral Remote Sensing For Saline Soil Assessment In The Emirate Of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Alya Hassan Aldhaheri

Theses

This study presents the application of hyperspectral remote sensing techniques to measure soil salinity. Soil salinity is a major concern in many arid and semi-arid regions, affecting crop productivity and ecosystem health. In most arid and semi-arid areas various levels of salinity can be encountered including sabkhas. Sabkha (salt flat) is a geological feature composed of saline and salt marshes that typically occur in shallow or coastal environments within arid and semi-arid climates. Traditional methods of measuring soil salinity are time-consuming and labor-intensive, making remote sensing techniques an attractive alternative. This study employed a hyperspectral sensor specifically the SVC-XHR-1024i to …

Advanced Nanostructured Materials For Water Harvesting And Energy Storage, Ahmed Elsir Ali

Theses

This thesis presents the work done developing nanotechnology-based compositions contributing to the advancement of two main sectors: Water and Energy. For they present vital impact and correspondence for sustainability and development worldwide. Composites constituted following the most recent trends in material science and nanotechnology while revolving around Manganese Oxide as the material of investigation. Water security is one of the most important challenges in our current times. Moreover, reports warn of the predicted restricted access to clean water by 2050, which is expected to impact more than half the population. Thus, many scientists and societies are exerting efforts to develop …

Future-Proofing The Past: Artificial Intelligence In The Restoration Of Andalusian Architectural Heritage: A Case Study Of The Alhambra Palace, Granada, Spain, Kholoud Bader Hasan Ghaith

Theses

This thesis explains the contribution of artificial intelligence in heritage restoration as an icon of Andalusian architecture by using the Alhambra as an example. The task of sustaining heritage is increasing dramatically due to the accumulation of heritage assets and the need for modern and innovative operations to cope with preservation tasks. Therefore, this thesis reviews the role of artificial intelligence in improving the restoration operation to improve accuracy and efficiency. I applied the case study as a scientific methodology to explain this work to overcome scientific and subjective obstacles, such as scarce data and software integration while explaining the …

On The Use Of Gauge Functions To Obtain Convergent Power Series Solutions To Nonlinear Odes, Nastaran Naghshineh

Theses

This dissertation examines the power series solutions---and their analytic continuation via gauge transformations---of three classical nonlinear ordinary differential equations arising in fluid mechanics that are mathematically related by their large-distance asymptotic behaviors in semi-infinite domains. The first problem examines the influence of surface tension and gravitational forces to form a static air--liquid interface that intersects a flat wall at a given contact angle and limits to a flat pool away from the wall. The second problem considers the related configuration of an axisymmetric air--liquid interface formed when the flat wall is replaced with a right circular cylinder. In both problems, …

Bitcoin Short-Term Price Prediction Using Time Series Analysis, Alanood Alkamali

Theses

This thesis explores the application of Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model to predict Bitcoin prices, a prominent and volatile cryptocurrency. The research falls within the context of financial forecasting, focusing specifically on the cryptocurrency markets. The primary research question is: “Can time series analysis be used to predict the future price of Bitcoin?” To answer this question, historical Bitcoin daily price data from 17/09/2014 to 17/09/2023 was obtained from Kaggle and analyzed. The study employs ARIMA modeling techniques to capture the autocorrelation, seasonality, and trend present in Bitcoin price time series. As a prerequisite for ARIMA modeling, the data …

Frequency Multiplication Of Microwave Signals Via The Photonic Domain, Mohamed R. Maafa

Theses

Microwave signals play key roles in modern communication systems and frequency multiplication provide a way to create higher microwave-signal frequencies. Using the photonics domain to perform frequency multiplication can, in principle, take advantage of the low loss and high bandwidth features of the photonic domain. However, most research to date is limited by photonic system having too many active components, complicated means of frequency selectibility, and reliance on filters. I explore, model, and experimentally demonstrate new techniques of microwave signal multiplication, leveraging the notions of polarization diversity and multiplexing in the photonic domain. For doubling and quadrupling techniques, I demonstrate …

Cfd Analysis Of Multi-Stage Phase Change Material For Latent Thermal Energy Storage In Solar Power Plants, Ahmad Wahbi Omari

Theses

The integration of latent thermal energy storage into concentrated solar power plants represents a promising solution for efficiently harnessing excessive solar energy during daylight hours and subsequently utilizing it during the nighttime when solar energy generation is limited or non-existent, all while catering to consistent energy demands. The core objective of enhancing latent thermal energy storage revolves around elevating its thermal capacity and minimizing the melting time, thus making it a more effective energy storage solution. This is achieved by employing three distinct organic phase change materials: Octadecanoic (PCM1), RT58 (PCM2) and Dodecanoic (PCM3), each characterized by variations in their …

Mid-Infrared Dust Reverberation Mapping Of Active Galactic Nuclei, Ashley Frank

Theses

One of the main components of the unified model of AGN (active galactic nuclei) is the circumnuclear dusty torus. The torus often obscures our view of the ''central engine" of the AGN, therefore it is important to understand its size and structure. Reverberation mapping can be used to constrain the size of the torus, and relies on the response of the torus dust emission to the variations in the driving optical/UV emission of the accretion disk. The time lag between the optical emission and the infrared response can be used to constrain the distance between the inner region of the …

Advancing Cell Segmentation Methods Through An Innovative Technique And Systematic Evaluation, Yuxing Wang

Theses

In the biomedical field, downstream cell-level analysis is a crucial step for comprehensively characterizing cells' location, function, morphology, and phenotype, relying on the accurate identification of individual cells. Consequently, there is increasing interest in the high quality of identified cell boundaries for biologists or researchers. Currently, cell segmentation methods are categorized into two types: Image-based and RNA-based cell segmentation. However, these methods face significant challenges. For example, most image-based methods tend to identify cell nuclear boundaries rather than entire cell boundaries when only nuclear staining images are available, and their performance is affected by noise in images and training labels. …

An Integrated Framework For Video-Based Deepfake Forensic Analysis, Bashaer Mohamed Alsalami

Theses

Deepfakes are AI-generated synthetic media that use AI algorithms to mimic human faces, voices, and actions with high levels of realism. They utilize advanced machine learning and deep learning techniques to generate realistic synthetic media, making the distinction between real and fake content increasingly difficult. Deepfakes were initially developed for entertainment and creative applications. However, they are currently being misused in various domains, posing significant security and ethical challenges. These risks necessitate effective deepfake detection systems to mitigate potential harm and preserve the integrity of digital communication. Nonetheless, the existing detection methods are inadequate and lack a holistic detection mechanism, …

Methodology, Deployment, And Performance Of Pico Balloons In Antarctica, Todd Mckinney

Theses

During the 2022/2023 Antarctic summer, eight pico balloon flights from Neumayer Station III unveiled insights into Antarctic troposphere/stratospheric winds (9 - 15 km AMSL). The most impressive flight lasted an astounding 98 days, completing eight circumnavigations of the Southern Hemisphere. Flight data indicated zonal velocities from -50 to 250 km/hr and meridional velocities of ±100 km/hr, with total wind speeds from 2.0 to 270 km/hr. Pico balloons can ascend due to convection, altering their float density. They also drift further south than larger stratospheric balloons, reaching latitudes close to the south pole. This study showcases the transformation of budget-friendly party …

Characterisation Of Asymptomatic Bacteriuria (Abu) Isolates And Their Antimicrobial Activity Against Uropathogenic Escherichia Coli (Upec), Ciara Kenneally

Theses

Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) is the most common aetiological agent of community and hospital-acquired urinary tract infections (UTIs). UTIs caused by E. coli result in considerable morbidity, mortality, and economic loss worldwide due to increasing resistance to antibiotics. Substantial efforts are being made to develop novel alternatives to conventional antibiotic therapies. One approach is the principle of bacterial interference; using low-virulence, or commensal, bacteria to prevent colonisation of pathogens by competing for nutrients, or producing antimicrobial compounds such as bacteriocins. E. coli isolates inducing asymptomatic bacteriuria (ABU) have been proposed as a therapeutic alternative for UPEC infection. ABU is a …

A Blockchain-Based Platform For Open Science: A Framework For Transparent And Trustworthy Scientific Research, Rajesh Pandey

Theses

Open science promotes transparency in scientific processes, including open access, incentivization, provenance, open-source tools, metrics, and resource sharing. However, effective management of these processes remains a challenge. This research explores the application of blockchain technology to address key aspects of open science, offering a decentralized and secure platform for secure tracking and independent verification of scientific data across various domains. Additionally, it allows researchers to preregister information, track every step in the research lifecycle, accrue incentives based on downloads and citations, and verify dataset authenticity through blockchain, providing immutable proof of existence at specific time points. We also analyzed the …

Query Augmentation For Information Retrieval (Ir) Using Large Language Model (Llm), Anish Bhusal

Theses

In the context of exponential data growth, the efficient retrieval of information remains a known challenge. One key problem lies in bridging the gap between the search query and the information available. This thesis introduces a framework for information retrieval with the help of large language models (LLMs) along with query augmentation. Given a query, its sub-queries are created, using a fine tuned Seq2Seq (sequence to sequence) model through a technique called knowledge distillation. Different prompting methods are applied to produce an efficient query graph. The graph generated is then fed through a retrieval augmented generation (RAG) pipeline to respond …

A Novel Dual-Band Outline Elliptical Dipole Antenna For Passive Energy Harvesting, Jonathan Marquardt

Theses

In this thesis, a new dual-band antenna is presented for use in space-based passive energy harvesting. This antenna is based on elliptical dipole antennas, which are often used for their ultra-wideband (UWB) properties. The inner metallization is removed, leaving an outline antenna and room for a second set of antenna arms. This will in turn result in an interleaved structure to tune each set of dipole arms to two different frequencies. Due to the close proximity of the dipole arms there exists strong mutual coupling, which is lessened by adding decoupling elements to the design. The proposed antenna is supported …

Adaptive Sliding Mode Control For Plants With Unknown Parameters With Adaptive Boundary Layer Thickness For Chatter Attenuation, Josiah Schlabach

Theses

This thesis presents the development of an adaptive boundary layer sliding mode control (SMC) methodology tailored for plants with unknown parameters. The primary challenge addressed is the mitigation of chattering while ensuring robust performance in systems subject to high disturbances and parameter uncertainties. The research introduces a control law that combines existing work that dynamically adjusts the boundary layer thickness with existing work that uses adaptive laws to estimate unknown plant parameters. The stability of the proposed controller is validated with Lyapunov analysis. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the adaptive boundary layer SMC in producing good tracking control in …

Characterizing A Web Server Deployed In A Lightweight Kubernetes Cluster In An Iot Computing Environment, Jackson Lawrence

Theses

As the world’s reliance on the internet continues to grow, so does the need for cloud-based computing solutions. These solutions offer a degree of flexibility, scalability, and reliability that traditional computing methods cannot provide. This thesis focuses on characterizing a web server deployed in a lightweight Kubernetes cluster hosted across three Raspberry Pi 4 minicomputers. Characterization metrics include the transfer rate of data from the web server as well as the CPU utilization and power consumption of the Raspberry Pi devices when under load. The background on cloud-based technology is introduced and the tools used in the thesis research are …

Gpu Acceleration Of Kinetic Simulations Of Dust Particles In Rf Plasmas, Aaron A. Applegate

Theses

Dusty plasmas are characterized by micro to nanometer sized particles interacting with ions and electrons in a plasma. Dust grains interact with each other via Coulomb forces as they acquire electric charge through the collection of electrons and ions. This interaction can generate crystalline structures because of mutual repulsion and produce collective behaviors. Under the influence of gravity, dust crystals are squeezed into a two-dimensional monolayer. In microgravity, three-dimensional crystal structures and a broad range of collective behavior are possible as dust grain interaction forces and plasma effects become dominant. In this study, dusty plasmas were modeled via a continuum …

Development Of A Simulation Tool For Assessing Electrical Short Risks From Metallic Whiskers On Printed Circuit Boards Using Unity, Joseph Eric Black

Theses

Tin whiskers are metal strands that spontaneously form on tin surfaces and can grow up to a centimeter long. These whiskers can cause electrical shorts by breaking off and landing on circuit boards, yet there is limited simulation and analysis data regarding their shorting probability. This thesis presents a software tool developed using Unity, Blender, and FreeCAD to simulate the behavior of tin whiskers on PCBs. The tool accurately represents PCBs and whiskers, applying various forces to predict whisker landing positions and the impacted metal faces. By importing STEP files of PCBs, the software automatically sets up the simulation in …

Enhanced Suppression Of Stimulated Brillouin Scattering In High Energy Fiber Lasers Through Novel Chaotic Phase Modulation, Zachary Helton

Theses

Stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) poses a significant challenge in the development of high-power, single-mode continuous-wave fiber lasers. SBS occurs when the laser intensity is sufficient to generate acoustic vibrations in the fiber, leading to the reflection of light and limiting the maximum achievable power. Spectral broadening of the laser linewidth is a common SBS suppression technique. This thesis presents a novel approach using sine waves phase-modulated by chaotically generated noise to achieve improved SBS suppression. Experimental results demonstrate that this method achieves flatter and broader optical linewidths compared to traditional white noise modulation, even at lower power levels. This approach …

A Study Of The Quantum Edge Extraction Technique Using Bitplane-Based Quantum Boolean Image Processing Algorithm, Sowmik Kanti Deb

Theses

Quantum image processing (QIMP) uses quantum information processing to create and work with quantum images. Due to the inherent properties of quantum computation, QIMP technologies have the potential to surpass their classical computing equivalents in terms of computing speed and storage requirements. In this thesis, we investigated quantum image edge detection, which is a fundamental tool used in image processing for feature detection and extraction. Quantum edge detection can exploit quantum mechanics' superposition and entanglement properties to perform operations simultaneously on all pixels and accelerate the process. To this end, we adopted the bitplane based framework of Quantum Boolean Image …

3d Co-Culture Of Human B Lymphocytes With Cd40l-Expressing Fibroblasts Using An Ultra-Hydrophilic Surface For In-Vitro Mimicry Of Secondary Lymphoid Organs, Ananta Kumar

Theses

B cells are critical components of the adaptive immune system that proliferate and differentiate within the secondary lymphoid organs. Traditional two-dimensional (2D) cell cultures fall short of replicating the intricate structures and dynamic evolution of 3D tissue environments, prompting more physiologically pertinent in vitro models. Our approach employs ultra-hydrophilic surfaces engineered from methacrylated N-hexanoyl glycol chitosan to cultivate a three-dimensional (3D) co-culture of CD40L-expressing MS5 stromal cells and naive B cells derived from the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of healthy human donors. This novel system aims to mirror the structural and cellular intricacies of germinal centers within the secondary …

Impact Of The Substrate Stiffness On Macrophage Function, Aaron Newchurch

Theses

This study explores macrophage cell function in healthy and diseased tissue that alters the synovial membrane housing fibroblasts and macrophages by examining how substrate stiffness impacts macrophage function. Current research suggests macrophages adapt, becoming more inflammatory in this environment. Divalent ions (CaCl2 or SrCl2) are used to adjust alginate hydrogel stiffness. The monocyte cell line THP-1 is transformed into macrophages through PMA, LPS, and IFNγ treatment within hydrogels, then cultured for 12 days. Divalent ions affect macrophage functionality; Sr2+ crosslinked hydrogels show higher viability, as well as an increased expression of M1 markers CD197 and IL1β, while M2 marker expression …

Application Of A Scale Resolving Turbulence Model To A Jet In Supersonic Crossflow, Noah Schwalb

Theses

The Partially-Averaged Navier-Stokes (PANS) methodology is applied to variable-density flow to derive the Blended PANS (BPANS) model. A supersonic jet-in-crossflow problem is numerically simulated using the BPANS model to show its capabilities in a variable-density flow with complex physics. The shock systems and vortex structures of this problem observed during experiments are numerically reproduced. The time-averaged Mach number and streamwise velocity contours show good agreement compared to LES and experimental data. The streamwise and wall-normal velocity profiles, wall pressure distribution along the flat plate, and trajectory of the jet are compared to LES and experimental data to show that BPANS …