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Characterization of Contusive Spinal Cord Injury by Monitoring Motor-Evoked Potential
No full textThis study involves longitudinal neuro-electrophysiological analysis using motor-evoked potentials (MEP) and the Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan behavioral examinations (BBB) to evaluate moderate mid-thoracic contusive spinal cord injury (SCI) in a rat model. Objectives/Background: The objective of the study is to characterize the onset and progression of contusive SCI over an eight-week period using a clinically applicable tool in an in vivo model. The background highlights the importance of a reliable and reproducible injury model and assessment tools for SCI. Methods: The methods section describes the experimental setup, including randomly assigned rats in three groups: Sham, Control, and Injury (undergoing a moderate contusive SCI using the NYU-Impactor). MEP monitoring and BBB examinations are conducted at baseline and weekly for eight weeks post-injury. Results: The results indicate that the relative MEP power spectral decreased to 11% and 22% in the left and right hindlimbs, respectively, during the first week post-SCI. In the second week, a slight spontaneous recovery was observed, reaching 17% in the left and 31% in the right hindlimbs. Over the following four weeks post-SCI, continuing deterioration of MEP signal power was observed with no detectable recovery. Conclusions: SCI attenuates hindlimb MEP power spectral and reduces locomotion, though the changes in MEP and locomotion exhibit distinct temporal patterns. The MEP monitoring provides valuable insights into the functional integrity of motor pathways following SCI and offer a sensitive and reliable assessment. By implementing MEP monitoring, researchers can track the progression of SCI and evaluate the efficacy of therapeutic interventions quantitatively.Hong Kong Baptist UniversityGeneral Research Fund of Hong Kon
Systems and Methods for Targeted Breast Cancer Therapies
No full textSystems and methods for producing liposomes, including control liposomes and immunoliposomes targeting breast cancer are provided. Systems and methods for treating breast cancer, using targeted immunoliposomes produced according to various methods are also disclosed herein. For example, trastuzumab-conjugated immunoliposomes may be used to deliver chemotherapeutic agents to breast cancer tissues for the treatment of breast cancer. Systems and methods for actuating liposomes using ultrasound are also disclosed, such as systems and methods for actuating trastuzumab-conjugated liposomes accumulated in breast cancer tissues for the treatment of breast cancer
The Impact of Singing on the Development of Voicing Contrast in L2 English
No full textA Master of Arts thesis in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) by Laila Adnan Sherif entitled, “The Impact of Singing on the Development of Voicing Contrast in L2 English”, submitted in April 2024. Thesis advisor is Dr. Ozgur Parlak. Soft copy is available (Thesis, Completion Certificate, Approval Signatures, and AUS Archives Consent Form).The incorporation of music training for pronunciation improvement, particularly listening and singing to songs, has become a researchable topic in L2 research (Patel, 2011; Zhang et al., 2023). Nonetheless, many of the studies on this topic have not investigated the benefits of singing and listening to songs on an online platform. Similarly, few compared the benefits of singing and listening to songs on pronunciation improvement (Baills et al., 2021). As such, the current research aims to investigate the benefits of listening and singing to songs on Zoom application. Additionally, it seeks to investigate the differences between singing and listening to songs in terms of pronunciation improvement of the voiceless bilabial stop /p/, and the voiced dental fricative /v/ that Arab learners of English struggle with. Following an experimental design with a pretest and posttest, 34 participants were recruited from an Arabic private school in UAE and were divided into listening and singing groups. Two songs were used to train the learners on the /p/ phoneme, and another two songs were used to train learners on the /v/ phoneme. The recordings of the pretest and posttest were uploaded on Gorilla program for eight evaluators who rated the productions of the participants. A Wilcoxon test for non-parametric data was used to analyze the differences between the two groups based on the ratings of the evaluators. Results showed no significant difference between the listening and singing groups on their /p/ production on the pretest and posttest. However, posttest results of the /v/ phoneme production showed that the singing group outperformed the listening group. The findings are discussed in relation to future recommendations for the use of singing and listening to music in improving L2 pronunciation.College of Arts and SciencesDepartment of EnglishMaster of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (MA TESOL
Damage Identification and Application of Prestressed Concrete Beams Based on Hilbert-Huang Transform
No full textIn this paper, through the analysis of numerical and experimental studies with and without noise, the vibration characteristics of the prestressed concrete beam during failure process were studied. Runge-Kutta method was used to solve the partial differential equations of controlling vibration to obtain dynamic response under hammer excitation. The vibration characteristics of the test beam under different damage conditions were researched by Hilbert-Huang Transformation (HHT) time-frequency analysis method. Concrete strain, deflection and crack development, etc. were recorded during failure process, and dynamic testing of five key working conditions was made. The acceleration signals were obtained from each key condition and HHT was used to get instantaneous frequency-acceleration amplitude curve during each damage stage. The results showed that instantaneous frequency-acceleration amplitude curve obtained by the HHT can clearly reflect the degree of damage, the change of damage characteristic frequency display the extent of damage in the failure process
Optimizing Field Programmable Gate Array Resources in The Cloud Computing Infrastructure: Partitioning and Resource Allocation
No full textA Master of Science thesis in Computer Engineering by Nada Mohamed Abdalgawad entitled, “Optimizing Field Programmable Gate Array Resources in The Cloud Computing Infrastructure: Partitioning and Resource Allocation”, submitted in June 2024. Thesis advisor is Dr. Raafat Aburukba and thesis co-advisor is Dr. Assim Sagahyroon. Soft copy is available (Thesis, Completion Certificate, Approval Signatures, and AUS Archives Consent Form).College of EngineeringDepartment of Computer Science and EngineeringMaster of Science in Computer Engineering (MSCoE
The Linguistic Landscape of UAE Schools
No full textA Master of Arts thesis in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) by Noor Hassan Sherazi entitled, “The Linguistic Landscape of UAE Schools”, submitted in May 2024. Thesis advisor is Dr. Neslihan Bilikozen and thesis co-advisor is Dr. Ozgur Parlak. Soft copy is available (Thesis, Completion Certificate, Approval Signatures, and AUS Archives Consent Form).College of Arts and SciencesDepartment of EnglishMaster of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (MA TESOL
An Integrated Asset Management Framework for Critical Public Utilities in UAE
No full textA Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation in Engineering Systems Management by Alya Omran Alquraidi Alshamsi entitled, “An Integrated Asset Management Framework for Critical Public Utilities in UAE”, submitted in March 2024. Dissertation advisor is Dr. Mahmoud Awad. Soft copy is available (Dissertation, Completion Certificate, Approval Signatures, and AUS Archives Consent Form).Asset management (AM) plays a significant role in ensuring systems’ availability and sustainability of utilities. It is essential due to the ever-demanding pressure to provide high quality services at minimum cost in a sustainable manner. An efficient AM is the linchpin that safeguards a resilient service to the community through system availability maximization and service disruption avoidance. This requires an integrated AM framework to ensure complete value realization of assets. Despite the importance of public utilities, there is a wide variety of practices on how providers manage their assets. These practices are governed by general asset management standards such as ISO 55000 which does not meet all specific needs of public utilities. The lack of integrated and comprehensive asset management approach may lead to inefficiencies in cost and availability of the assets. The aim of this dissertation is to assess the current status of the AM governance of critical fixed assets in critical public utilities in the UAE and develop a tailored framework to satisfy its specific needs. A comparative analysis was conducted to analyse the benefits and challenges of AM standard deployment and its impact on AM performance. Based on subject matter experts’ interviews followed by a survey, it was observed that the available standards lack some important elements of utilities AM such as resilience, digital transformation, and circular economy. Structural equation modelling was done to identify the relationship between the asset management life cycle stages and the performance in public utilities. The results showed that all stages have a positive impact on the AM performance and highlighted the importance of proper planning on all subsequent stages. Consequently, a tailored framework supported by a maturity model was developed to address gaps in current standards and frameworks and provide assessment tool to assess the utilities performance and provide decision makers with a set of recommendation actions for performance improvement. The maturity model was validated using five case studies for utility organizations in several UAE emirates. The proposed utility framework along with the maturity model aid decision makers to assess and enhance current performance which as an important impact on public wellbeing.College of EngineeringDepartment of Industrial EngineeringPhD in Engineering - Engineering Systems Management (PhD-ESM
A Robust Approach for Enhanced Autonomous Robot Navigation
No full textA Master of Science thesis in Mechatronics Engineering by Sherif Khaled Mohamed Issa Ismail entitled, “A Robust Approach for Enhanced Autonomous Robot Navigation”, submitted in March 2024. Thesis advisor is Dr. Mamoun Abdel-Hafez. Soft copy is available (Thesis, Completion Certificate, Approval Signatures, and AUS Archives Consent Form).The demand for robust and precise autonomous navigation systems for mobile robots has become increasingly imperative. These systems find applications across a spectrum of industries, from logistics and transportation to agriculture and defense. Autonomous navigation offers the promise of enhanced efficiency, reduced operational costs, and a safer work environment, making it a vital component in the ever-evolving landscape of modern automation. This research aims to enhance the localization accuracy of Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) with cost-effective Global Positioning System (GPS) and Inertial Navigation System (INS) sensors by proposing a variation of the Kalman Filter (KF) for sensor fusion. This algorithm is used in this work for a low-cost loosely coupled GPS/INS integration. To achieve this objective, we propose the utilization of the Variational Bayesian-based Maximum Correntropy Cubature Kalman filter (VBMCCKF). This filtering technique demonstrates exceptional adaptability and resilience, making it particularly well-suited for the dynamic and often unpredictable environments that autonomous vehicles must navigate. The research strategy encompasses a dual-phase approach. Initially, a comprehensive evaluation of the performance of EKF, CKF, VBCKF, and VBMCCKF algorithms is conducted in a distinct application, namely Li-ion battery estimation. This preliminary phase is aimed at establishing the efficacy of these algorithms. Subsequently, in the core application, an offline estimation will be carried out using experimentally derived vehicle trajectories to ensure meticulous accuracy verification. It is noteworthy that the VBCKF as well as the VBMCCKF are being applied in this particular application for the first time. Following this, a transition was made towards real-time deployment for the localization of the autonomous navigation of a UGV. Throughout this phase, a thorough assessment of practicality and resilience are undertaken in dependable operational scenarios.College of EngineeringMultidisciplinary ProgramsMaster of Science in Mechatronics Engineering (MSMTR
Threshold Functions for Modeling Gene Regulatory Networks
No full textA Master of Science thesis in Mathematics by Hadeel Ali Kittaneh entitled, “Threshold Functions for Modeling Gene Regulatory Networks”, submitted in June 2024. Thesis advisor is Dr. Abdul Salam Jarrah. Soft copy is available (Thesis, Completion Certificate, Approval Signatures, and AUS Archives Consent Form).In this thesis, we explore the properties of threshold functions with a unique updating rule and their relevance to gene regulatory models. We conduct a comparative analysis between Threshold Boolean Networks (TBNs) and Random Boolean Networks, focusing on variations in the number of inputs per gene. This analysis helps us understand how input connectivity influences network stability and phase transitions. We also investigate the dynamics and robustness of TBNs, emphasizing fixed interaction rules characteristic of genetic systems, unlike previous studies that use annealed approximations. Furthermore, we propose a new approach to assess the robustness of these networks, addressing the issue of multiple attractors in threshold Boolean networks. Our findings enhance the understanding of threshold Boolean functions and their applications in modeling gene regulatory networks.College of Arts and SciencesDepartment of Mathematics and StatisticsMaster of Science in Mathematics (MSMTH
Ti-MIL-125: A luminescent Metal Organic Framework for the Sensing of Glucose
No full textA Master of Science thesis in Biomedical Engineering by Fatoumata Nancy Cisse entitled, “Ti-MIL-125: A luminescent Metal Organic Framework for the Sensing of Glucose”, submitted in June 2024. Thesis advisor is Dr. Rana Sabouni. Soft copy is available (Thesis, Completion Certificate, Approval Signatures, and AUS Archives Consent Form).In 2021, approximately 537 million adults globally were reported to have diabetes. This chronic metabolic disease has reached global epidemic level, posing significant health concerns, leading to a rise of interest in the development of glucose-sensing devices. Previously developed glucose sensing systems were unreliable due constant fluctuations caused by their dependence on oxygen and/or the presence of easily degradable enzymes. This has resulted in the creation of enzyme free sensing devices nondependent on oxygen and using nanomaterials. Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) have attracted significant attention for glucose sensing due to their high surface area, low limit of detection, structural diversity, and high sensitivity. While glucose detection by MOFs can be either electrochemical or optical, this thesis specifically focuses on the optical nonenzymatic detection of glucose, where NH₂-MIL-125(Ti) is used as a fluorophore, in the label free detection of glucose, and the intensity of the fluorescence depend on glucose concentration. The sensing capabilities of NH₂-MIL-125(Ti) were assessed through a series of designed experiments aiming to investigate the effect of MOFs dosage, time, pH, and glucose concentration, on the detection performance. The optimal parameters for the experiment were found to be at pH 3.0, 25°C and with a 40 minute wait time. The experimental setup included the determination of the limit of detection. The structural characteristics of MOF were also studied using different characterization tests which confirmed NH₂-MIL-125(Ti) crystallinity, high temperature resistance and ability to trap glucose in its pores. The results also confirmed the stability of Ti-MIL-125 over time making it advantageous in the detection of glucose for diabetic patients. The limit of detection was found to be respectively 43.5 μM for glucose at pH 3.0, 79.8μM at pH 6.0, and 69.2μM for H₂O₂, a by-product in the conversion of glucose to gluconic acid, indicating NH₂-MIL-125(Ti) high sensitivity toward glucose and H₂O₂ and its potential as a glucose sensor in diabetic treatments. Finally, NH₂-MIL-125(Ti) mechanism of detection was found to be a turn on enhancement mechanism with a positive correlation between the fluorescence intensity and glucose concentration.College of EngineeringMultidisciplinary ProgramsMaster of Science in Biomedical Engineering (MSBME