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Governance and Short Sales
No full textThis paper investigates the relationship between short sales and governance. We argue that short sales are reversely linked to the overall level of corporate governance of a firm and that sellers react contemporaneously to changes in such governance. Our results show that short traders may also be able to forecast or influence changes in corporate governance and adjust their portfolios accordingly prior to the said changes. This reaction is asymmetric, with a pronounced increase in short positions for actual and anticipated negative changes in governance and a more subdued repurchase of shorted stock for positive expectations. We provide empirical evidence consistent with the notion that short sellers are informed investors and can generate a profit from corporate events by using analytical prowess or manipulative practices such as the record-date capture technique
Learning-Based Automatic Modulation Classification
No full textA Master of Science thesis in Electrical Engineering by Ameen Elsiddig Abdelmutalab entitled, "Learning-Based Automatic Modulation Classification," submitted in May 2015. Thesis advisors are Dr. Khaled Assaleh and Dr. Mohamed El-Tarhuni. Soft and hard copy available.Automatic Modulation Classification (AMC) is a new technology implemented into communication receivers to automatically determine the modulation type of a received signal. One of the main applications of AMC is in adaptive modulation systems, where the modulation scheme is changed dynamically according to the changes in the wireless channel. However, this requires the receiver to be continuously informed about the modulation type, resulting in a loss of bandwidth efficiency. The existence of smart receivers that can automatically recognize the modulation type improves the utilization of available bandwidth. In this thesis, a new AMC algorithm based on a Hierarchical Polynomial Classifier structure is introduced. The proposed system is tested for classifying BPSK, QPSK, 8-PSK, 16-QAM, 64-QAM and 256-QAM modulation types in Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN) and flat fading environments. Moreover, the system uses High Order Cumulants (HOCs) of the received signal as discriminant features to distinguish between the different digital modulation types. The proposed system divides the overall modulation classification problem into hierarchical binary sub-classification tasks. In each binary sub-classification, the HOC inputs are expanded into a higher dimensional space in which the two classes are linearly separable. Furthermore, the signal-to-noise ratio of the received signal is estimated and fed to the proposed classifier to improve the classification accuracy. Another modification is added to the proposed system by using stepwise regression optimization for feature selection. Hence, the input features to the classifier are chosen to give the highest classification accuracy while maintaining a minimum number of possible features. Extensive simulations showed that a significant improvement in classification accuracy and reduction in the system complexity is obtained compared to the previously suggested systems in the literature.College of EngineeringDepartment of Electrical EngineeringMaster of Science in Electrical Engineering (MSEE
A regression-based framework for estimating the objective quality of HEVC coding units and video frames
No full textA no-reference objective quality estimation framework is proposed. The framework is suitable for any block-based video codec. In the proposed solution, features are extracted from coding units and summarized to form features at frame levels. Stepwise regression is used to select the important feature variables and reduce the dimensionality of feature vectors. Thereafter, a polynomial regression-based approach is used to model the nonlinear relationship between the feature vectors and the true objective quality values. Such values are estimated for coding units and video frames. The proposed framework is implemented using MPEG-2 and HEVC. The objective quality estimation results are compared against an existing state-of-the-art solution and quantified using the Pearson correlation factor and the root mean square error measure
Synergistic Nanomedicine: Passive, Active, and Ultrasound-Triggered Drug Delivery in Cancer Treatment
No full textNanocarriers are heavily researched as drug delivery vehicles capable of sequestering antineoplastic agents and then releasing their contents at the desired location. The feasibility of using such carriers stems from their ability to produce a multimodel delivery system whereby passive, ligand and triggered targeting can be applied in the fight against cancer. Passive targeting capitalizes on the leaky nature of tumor tissue which allows for the extravasation of particles with a size smaller than 0.5 m into the tumors. Ligand targeting utilizes the concept of receptor-mediated endocytosis and involves the conjugation of ligands onto the surface of nanoparticles, while triggered targeting involves the use of external and internal stimuli to release the carriers contents upon reaching the diseased location. In this review, micelles and liposomes have been considered due to the promising results they have shown in vivo and in vitro and their potential for advancements into clinical trials. Thus, this review focuses on the most recent advancements in the field of micellar and liposomal drug delivery and considers the synergistic effect of passive- and ligand-targeting strategies, and the use of ultrasound in triggering drug release at the tumor site
Role of Internet of Things in the Smart Grid Technology
No full textInternet of Things (I.o.T) is a recently emerged as enabling technology for the smart gird, smart health, smart transportation and smart environment .The smart grid applications such smart home automations, Intelligent Electronic Device (IED) and Distributed Energy Resources (DER) are major I.o.T objects that can be addressable using the IPV6. These objects are called the smart grid internet of things (SG-I.o.T). The SG-I.o.T generates big data that requires high speed computing infrastructure, widespread computer networks, big data storage, software, and platforms services. Utility companies’ control and data centers cannot handle such a large number of devices, high speed processing and massive data storage. Building large data center’s infrastructure takes a long time, requires widespread communication networks and huge capital investment. In addition, the center must have tailored operation and maintenance software packages such as distribution management system (DMS), geographic information systems (GIS), outage management systems (OMS), customer information systems (CIS) and supervisory control and data acquisition system (SCADA). Maintaining and upgrading control and data centers’ infrastructure and communication networks as well as updating and renewing software package licenses requires additional cost. An emerging computing paradigms such as cloud computing can be used as a smart grid enabler to replace the legacy utilities data centers. As best described by the NIST, “Cloud computing is a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.” The talk will highlight the role of I.o.T and cloud computing services and development models in the smart grid. Mapping the smart grid NIST existing seven domain conceptual models with the cloud computing NIST service models will also be explored
Modeling of Chlorophyll-a and Eutrophication Indicators in the Dubai Creek Area using Remote Sensing
No full textA Master of Science thesis in Civil Engineering by Abdallah Raafat Bachir entitled, "Modeling of Chlorophyll-a and Eutrophication Indicators in the Dubai Creek Area using Remote Sensing," submitted in January 2015. Thesis advisor is Dr. Md. Maruf Mortula and thesis co-advisor is Dr. Tarig Ali. Available in both soft and hard copy.The last few decades have witnessed an increase in the frequency and magnitude of the occurrences of algal blooms in coastal regions. A high increase in the levels of nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen) in the water column leads to excessive algal growth, known as eutrophication. The presence of a large amount of algae normally turns water green or red in the case of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs). Chlorophyll-a is the main indicator of algal blooms and its concentrations are used as indicators of the scale of an algal bloom. Nutrients have a major impact over algal blooms. Dubai Creek is a salt water body located in Dubai, UAE which divides the city into Bur Dubai and Deira. Due to high levels of human activities surrounding the creek, there have always been eutrophication concerns given the levels of nutrients in the creek. In the last few years, remote sensing algorithms have been developed to monitor algae in water bodies by mapping chlorophyll-a concentrations. The aim of this study was to map chlorophyll-a in the Dubai Creek from WorldView-2 imagery (high resolution satellite images) and to explore the relationship between chlorophyll-a and other eutrophication indicators. A geometrically and atmospherically corrected Worldview-2 image and in-situ data have been utilized to map chlorophyll-a in the creek. A spectral model was developed to retrieve chlorophyll-a concentrations from the WorldView-2 multispectral image. The model showed an R-squared value of 0.82 with in-situ chlorophyll-a data. Another model was developed for the relationship between the levels of spectral chlorophyll-a and total nitrogen and phosphates, which showed an R-squared value of 0.97. The developed models are to be used in the mapping of chlorophyll-a, total nitrogen, and phosphates without the need for expensive in-situ monitoring efforts since they will provide values of these parameters everywhere in the creek.College of EngineeringDepartment of Civil EngineeringMaster of Science in Civil Engineering (MSCE
Microbial Desalination Cells Technology: A Review and a Case Study
No full textThe microbial desalination cell (MDC) is a newly-developed technology which integrates the microbial fuel cell (MFC) process and electrodialysis for wastewater treatment, water desalination and production of renewable energy. Due to free energy requirements and environmentally friendly technologies, MDC recently received considerable attention for desalination and wastewater treatment. The technology can either be used as a stand-alone process, or can be combined with other desalination processes, such as reverse osmosis (RO) or electrodialysis. Recently, several different modifications of MDCs have been developed including stacked MDCs, biocathode MDCs and recirculation MDCs.
This paper provides a general review of the MDC technology. The working principle of the conventional MDC system is discussed, followed by a brief introduction to biofilms and biofilm formation. The different modifications of MDCs and the various advantages and disadvantages associated with each, including the desalination performance and electricity generation are also considered. The issues of scale-up and practical availability of the MDC technology are discussed, followed by a detailed discussion and evaluation of a proposed design for a wastewater treatment plant integrating the MDC technology. A case study of a wastewater treatment plant integrated with MDC technology to simultaneously treat wastewater and desalinate seawater is also considered
The Pragmatics of Language Variation: Harry Potter in Translation
No full textA Master of Arts thesis in Translation and Interpreting MATI (English/Arabic/English) by Ahmed O. Abu Saad entitled, "The Pragmatics of Language Variation: Harry Potter in Translation," submitted in January 2015. Thesis advisor is Dr. Basil Hatim. Soft and hard copy available.Language variation has been talked about in many linguistics and translation books. Language variation has often been treated in a superficial manner and sometimes ignored, but when it is pragmatically driven, conveying the language variation should not be ignored. The data for this paper is selected from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling, published in 1997 by Bloomsbury. This paper analyzes language variation in both the source text and target text, English and Arabic, in this case, to find virtues and spot shortcomings in terms of conveying the pragmatic message. The findings indicate that more focus should be put on language variation that is pragmatically driven.College of Arts and SciencesDepartment of Arabic and Translation StudiesMaster of Arts in English/Arabic/English Translation and Interpreting (MATI
Developing a Framework for Evaluating Accessibility Density and Coverage
No full textA Master of Urban Planning (MUP) thesis by Eyad B. Trabulsi entitled, "Developing a Framework for Evaluating Accessibility Density and Coverage," submitted June 2015. Thesis Advisor is Dr. Akmal Abdelfatah. Soft and hard copy available.The rapid changes in modern life style, technology and globalization are significantly impacting the development of major cities. A number of metropolitan cities in different parts of the world shifted their growth trend towards the development of mega-scale projects. Such projects usually encounter several challenges whether from social, urban or transportation perspectives. One of the significant challenges is the Accessibility which is defined by Litman (2012) as people's ability to reach goods, services and activities. The term "Accessibility Density" (AxeDe) proposed in this thesis is a single metric that captures the accessibility level from one entrance to the numerous destinations, activities, and functions that exist within a development, with reference to a certain threshold of units (i.e. time). Also, Accessibility Coverage (AxeCo) is usefully-derived from AxeDe concept to address the overall accessibility at the project level. In this thesis, the theory and application of the proposed AxeDe/AxeCo concepts address mega-scale developments. The city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has a number of mega-scale projects. An example of this is Mall of the Emirates (MoE) that is selected as a case study for this research. This thesis represents a potential shift in the planning process by addressing a transportation challenge relevant to access to/from mega-scale developments where walking is the common mode of transportation. It aims at knowing how Accessibility can be evaluated/ measured within mega-scale pedestrian-dominated developments. In order to achieve the aim of this study, a framework has been developed for evaluating AxeDe and AxeCo and then applied to a mega-scale project, MoE. The recommended framework measured the levels of accessibility from the different entrances of MoE, then identified the common features of highest three accessible entrances (i.e. within two tentative thresholds; 120s and 300s). The results showed the impact of design on accessibility. For examples, central location of entrance and connectivity to other levels impact accessibility positively within higher thresholds, whereas entrance proximity to junctions and major shops increases accessibility at lower thresholds. The study also suggests further demonstration of the observed results, and recommendations for further research in order to develop the concepts.School of Architecture and DesignMaster of Urban Planning (MUP