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Data Embedding in Scrambled Video by Rotating Motion Vectors
No full textData embedding in videos has several important applications including Digital Rights Management, preserving confidentiality of content, authentication and tampering detection. This paper proposes a novel data embedding solution in scrambled videos by rotating motion vectors of predicted macroblocks. The rotation of motion vectors and the propagation of motion compensation error serve another purpose, which is video scrambling. A compliant decoder uses machine learning to counter-rotate the motion vectors and extract embedded message bits. To achieve this, the decoder uses a sequence-dependent approach to train a classifier to distinguish between macroblocks reconstructed using rotated and un-rotated motion vectors. In the testing phase, motion vectors belonging to a classified macroblock are compared against the reviewed rotated motion vectors and the message bits are extracted. Furthermore, to guarantee accurate classification at the decoder, a constrained encoding approach is proposed in which data embedding is restricted to motion vectors that can be correctly counter-rotated at the decoder. The proposed solution is referred to as Classifying Rotated Vectors or CRVs for short. Experimental results revealed that scrambled videos can be reconstructed correctly without quality loss with a bitrate increase at the encoder of around 6% and an average data embedding rate of 1.68 bits per MB.American University of Sharja
What causes energy and transport poverty in Ireland? Analysing demographic, economic, and social dynamics, and policy implications
No full textEnergy and transport poverty have been postulated as conditions linked by overlapping causal factors such as structural economic inequality or housing stock and affecting overlapping demographics such as family size or income. The strength of the overlap of these conditions and their causal mechanisms has not been assessed across Ireland prior to this study. We apply and analyse existing and novel energy and transport poverty metrics in a survey of 1564 participants across Ireland and consider results from expenditure and consensual data examining causal mechanisms and correlations. We find that energy and transport poverty rates are broadly similar across Ireland at approximately 14% for energy poverty and 18% for transport poverty using the half-median metric, while participant knowledge of causal factors, such as lack of domestic energy efficiency and perceived desirability of potential poverty solutions, such as increased public transport provision, are low. Furthermore, we find that self-reported data concerning energy and transport expenditures and preferences do not correspond to expected outcomes. We thus conclude that ever refined targeting of individuals and households for support measures is not optimal for either decarbonisation or alleviation of energy and transport poverty conditions and suggest some salient policy implications.Department for the Economy (DfE), Northern IrelandUK Research and Innovation (UKRI)e Centre for Research into Energy Demand SolutionsKhalifa University of Science and Technolog
The Iraqi Folkloric Tradition of Mājīnā: The 'Trick-or-Treat' of Mesopotamia
No full textThe term 'trick-or-treat' conjures up the image of Halloween’s festive celebrations. However, similar traditions are also witnessed and practised in some Middle Eastern cultures. The Gulf region in general and Iraq more specifically have a long history of folkloric practices that involve children wandering the streets and asking for treats during the months of Shaban and Ramadan of the lunar calendar. In Iraq it is called mājīnā and in the United Arab Emirates ḥagg el-lēla, plus a variety of other names across the Arabian Gulf. This article examines the Iraqi mājīnā tradition. Scholarly sources on mājīnā are scarce; hence, this article is based mainly on information gathered from Iraqi informants and online magazine articles. The objective is to discuss, record, and preserve the Iraqi mājīnā, which has been thus far largely neglected.American University of Sharja
Finite Element Simulation of FRP-Strengthened Thin RC Slabs
No full textThis study aims to investigate the flexural behavior of high-strength thin slabs externally strengthened with fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) laminates through a numerical simulation. A three-dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) model is created to simulate the response of strengthened reinforced concrete (RC) slabs under a four-point bending test. The numerical model results in terms of load-deflection behavior, and ultimate loads are verified using previously published experimental data in the literature. The numerical results show a good agreement with the experimental results. The FE model is then employed in a parametric study to inspect the effect of concrete compressive strength on the performance of RC thin slabs strengthened with different FRP types, namely carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRP), polyethylene terephthalate fiber-reinforced polymers (PET-FRP), basalt fiber-reinforced polymers (BFRP) and glass fiber-reinforced polymers (GFRP). The results showed that the highest strength enhancement was obtained by the slab that was strengthened by CFRP sheets. Slabs that were strengthened with other types of FRP sheets showed an almost similar flexural capacity. The effect of concrete compressive strength on the flexural behavior of the strengthened slabs was moderate, with the highest effect being a 15% increase in the ultimate load between two consecutive values of compressive strength, occurring in the CFRP-strengthened slabs. It can thus be concluded that the developed FE model could be used as a platform to predict the behavior of reinforced concrete slabs when strengthened with different types of FRP composites. It can also be concluded that the modulus of elasticity of the composite plays a major role in determining the flexural capacity of the strengthened slabs
An IoT Machine Learning-Based Mobile Sensors Unit for Visually Impaired People
No full textVisually impaired people face many challenges that limit their ability to perform daily tasks and interact with the surrounding world. Navigating around places is one of the biggest challenges that face visually impaired people, especially those with complete loss of vision. As the Internet of Things (IoT) concept starts to play a major role in smart cities applications, visually impaired people can be one of the benefitted clients. In this paper, we propose a smart IoT-based mobile sensors unit that can be attached to an off-the-shelf cane, hereafter a smart cane, to facilitate independent movement for visually impaired people. The proposed mobile sensors unit consists of a six-axis accelerometer/gyro, ultrasonic sensors, GPS sensor, cameras, a digital motion processor and a single credit-card-sized single-board microcomputer. The unit is used to collect information about the cane user and the surrounding obstacles while on the move. An embedded machine learning algorithm is developed and stored in the microcomputer memory to identify the detected obstacles and alarm the user about their nature. In addition, in case of emergencies such as a cane fall, the unit alerts the cane user and their guardian. Moreover, a mobile application is developed to be used by the guardian to track the cane user via Google Maps using a mobile handset to ensure safety. To validate the system, a prototype was developed and tested.American University of Sharja
Regression Analysis between the Different Breast Dose Quantities Reported in Digital Mammography and Patient Age, Breast Thickness, and Acquisition Parameters
No full textBreast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among women worldwide. Screening mammography is considered the primary imaging modality for the early detection of breast cancer. The radiation dose from mammography increases the patients’ risk of radiation-induced cancer. The mean glandular dose (MGD), or the average glandular dose (AGD), provides an estimate of the absorbed dose of radiation by the glandular tissues of a breast. In this paper, MGD is estimated for the craniocaudal (CC) and mediolateral–oblique (MLO) views using entrance skin dose (ESD), X-ray spectrum information, patient age, breast glandularity, and breast thickness. Moreover, a regression analysis is performed to evaluate the impact of mammography acquisition parameters, age, and breast thickness on the estimated MGD and other machine-produced dose quantities, namely, ESD and organ dose (OD). Furthermore, a correlation study is conducted to evaluate the correlation between the ESD and OD, and the estimated MGD per image view. This retrospective study was applied to a dataset of 2035 mammograms corresponding to a cohort of 486 subjects with an age range of 28–86 years who underwent screening mammography examinations. Linear regression metrics were calculated to evaluate the strength of the correlations. The mean (and range) MGD for the CC view was 0.832 (0.110–3.491) mGy and for the MLO view was 0.995 (0.256–2.949) mGy. All the mammography dose quantities strongly correlated with tube exposure (mAs): ESD (R2 = 0.938 for the CC view and R2 = 0.945 for the MLO view), OD (R2 = 0.969 for the CC view and R2 = 0.983 for the MLO view), and MGD (R2 = 0.980 for the CC view and R2 = 0.972 for the MLO view). Breast thickness showed a better correlation with all the mammography dose quantities than patient age, which showed a poor correlation. Moreover, a strong correlation was found between the calculated MGD and both the ESD (R2 = 0.929 for the CC view and R2 = 0.914 for the MLO view) and OD (R2 = 0.971 for the CC view and R2 = 0.972 for the MLO view). Furthermore, it was found that the MLO scan views yield a slightly higher dose compared to CC scan views. It was also found that the glandular absorbed dose is more dependent on glandularity than size. Despite being more reflective of the dose absorbed by the glandular tissue than OD and ESD, MGD is considered labor-intensive and time-consuming to estimate.American University of Sharja
Geopolymer concrete incorporating recycled aggregates: A comprehensive review
No full textSeveral industrial by-products are extensively used again as a supplementary cementitious material or aggregates in the interest to reduce environmental footprints in terms of energy depletion, pollution, waste disposition, resource depletion, and global warming related with conventional cement. A remarkable quantity of industrial scrap materials, primarily designated as construction and demolition waste from the construction industry, has transformed into crucial apprehension of governments. In the recent past, substantial explorations have been accomplished to appreciate the distinct characteristics of concrete, employing recycled aggregates from construction and demolition waste. Geopolymer composite is a new cementitious material, and it appears to be a potential replacement for conventional cement concrete. This paper summarises the previous research concerning the utilisation of recycled aggregate as a partial or complete supplants for conventional aggregates in geopolymer concrete. The influence of recycled aggregate addition on the fresh and hardened properties of geopolymer concrete is comprehensively reviewed in this paper. The studies suggest significant improvement in the workability on addition of recycled aggregates to geopolymer concrete. However, the addition results in increased water absorption and sorptivity
INScription: Department of International Studies (INS) Issue #10 (November 30, 2022, Issue 3)
No full textCollege of Arts and SciencesDepartment of International Studie
Investigating the impact of calcium presence in dairy wastewater on struvite precipitation
No full textA Master of Science thesis in Civil Engineering by Sarah Samir Sinno entitled, “Investigating the impact of calcium presence in dairy wastewater on struvite precipitation”, submitted in December 2022. Thesis advisor is Dr. Kazi Parvez Fattah. Soft copy is available (Thesis, Completion Certificate, Approval Signatures, and AUS Archives Consent Form).The rapid increase in global population, and consequently, demand for crops and agricultural products, is putting a strain on the production of phosphorus (P) needed in the production of fertilizer. Phosphorus is a non-renewable and non-rechargeable finite resource that is expected to be exhausted within this century. Along with population, increase in the demand for dairy product has escalated the production of nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) rich wastewater that is associated with pollution of soil and water bodies. A sustainable approach for nutrients removal and recovery from waste and wastewater is through precipitation of magnesium ammonium phosphate (struvite, MAP) which is an effective slow-release fertilizer. This study investigated the impact of calcium presence in dairy wastewater on struvite precipitation, in addition to the need and effectiveness of two calcium (Ca) removal methods - seeded aeration and electrodialysis. The impact of calcium molar ratios and pH on struvite formation was modelled using VMINTEQ and then validated through a set of experimental runs. The chemical speciation model indicated that the optimal conditions for struvite precipitation is a pH of 9 and a Magnesium/Phosphorus (Mg/P) molar ratio of 1 in the absence of Ca. Calcium presence in a Ca/Mg molar ratio as low as 0.2 reduces the struvite precipitation by 30%, whereas a Ca/P molar ratio higher than 1.5 completely inhibits the struvite formation regardless of the concentration of Mg. Substrate prepared by anaerobically digesting cow manure in the laboratory for phosphorus and nitrogen release was treated by seeded aeration for calcium removal as calcium carbonate precipitate was found to be inefficient for reaching the desired Ca/P molar ratio, as high phosphate removal rates were achieved. The electrodialysis process showed promising results with a Ca removal rate of 50%, however, the removal was not enough to reach the desired Ca/P molar ratio.College of EngineeringDepartment of Civil EngineeringMaster of Science in Civil Engineering (MSCE
Bootstrap-based Aggregations and their Stability in Feature Selection
No full textA Master of Science thesis in Mathematics by Reem Elfatih Salman entitled, “Bootstrap-based Aggregations and their Stability in Feature Selection”, submitted in June 2022. Thesis advisor is Dr. Ayman Alzaatreh and thesis co-advisor is Dr. Hana Sulieman. Soft copy is available (Thesis, Approval Signatures, Completion Certificate, and AUS Archives Consent Form).With the rapid development of technology and the Internet, datasets have grown increasingly larger in size and dimensionality. As a result, feature selection has become a critical reprocessing tool in machine learning applications, as well as the subject of a plethora of research in a variety of fields. However, a common concern in feature selection is that different approaches can give very different results when applied to similar datasets. Aggregating the results of feature selection methods can help resolve this concern and control the diversity of selected feature subsets. In this work, we develop a general framework for the ensemble of different feature selection methods. Based on diversified datasets generated from the original set of observations, we aggregate within and between the importance scores generated by different feature selection techniques. The thesis goes into detail about the framework and its validation on prominent real-world datasets, using experimental analysis to show how aggregating multiple feature selection methods affects the learning algorithm’s performance while identifying the optimal and most appropriate feature subset for a given dataset. In further contribution to this field, this thesis also examines the stability of the aggregation process that influences the stability of the feature selection algorithm. Correspondingly, different aggregation approaches are evaluated and compared using datasets from a variety of application fields, in terms of both the classification performance and the stability. The results are meant to emphasize the variations in aggregation approaches and highlight the role of the aggregation procedure in affecting feature selection robustness.College of Arts and SciencesDepartment of Mathematics and StatisticsMaster of Science in Mathematics (MSMTH