United Arab Emirates University
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مبدأ الاقتناع القضائي في ضوء أحكام المحكمة الاتحادیة العلیا
Get PDFThe Principle of Judicial Conviction in View of the Rulings of the Federal Supreme
The principle of judicial conviction is the main pillar of the theory of criminal evidence, it is not imagined that the criminal judge issues his judgment without basing this judgment on a firm conviction that has no doubt or guess, as it is known that criminal judgments of conviction are based on certainty and certainty, and the principle of judicial conviction represents a major guarantee of reassurance of the validity and integrity of penal judgments and access to justice, and this study dealt with rooting and analyzing what the principle of judicial conviction is in the jurisprudence of positive law, UAE legislation and the rulings of the Federal Supreme Court, and what are the restrictions The principle and its controls are based on the historical principles of the principle and the penal evidence system in the United Arab Emirates and the scope of its application in the rulings of the Federal Supreme Court in the crimes of retribution, blood money and ta\u27zir crimes.
It should be noted the importance of the philosophical and legal rooting of the concept of judicial conviction and knowledge of the controls and restrictions contained therein, and the outcome of the judicial experience in the Federal Supreme Court in its rulings and the extent of its approach and difference with the philosophical foundations, especially since the court represents the pinnacle of the UAE judiciary, as the first article of Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2022 regarding the establishment of the Federal Supreme Court stipulates that the Federal Supreme Court is an independent judicial body, which is the supreme judicial body in the Federation, based in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. It may hold its sessions as an exception when necessary in any of the emirates of the State .
The researcher reached several results, including the adoption of the UAE legislator system of free criminal evidence, known in accordance with the principle of judicial conviction, and his adoption of the legal procedural system in certain matters decided in the crimes of retribution and blood money, and subjecting them to the rules of evidence emanating from the provisions of Islamic Sharia in accordance with the analysis of the jurisprudence of the Federal Supreme Court, and this is a restriction on the principle of judicial conviction that governs the process of proving crimes in general in the UAE criminal evidence system, and not taking into account the legal evidence system, The researcher recommended the need to enact a federal law on the legal procedures for the crimes of retribution and blood money before the courts in the country, because of the absorption of legislative developments in the legislative arena in the United Arab Emirates, while examining the possibility of consolidating new principles of the Federal Supreme Court by adding some restrictions to the principle of judicial conviction with regard to the issue of evaluating evidence
A COMPUTATIONAL INVESTIGATION INTO THERMO-KINETIC PARAMETERS GOVERNING THE DECOMPOSITION OF BIO-OIL MODEL COMPOUNDS
Get PDFAmong notable products from thermal degradation of biomass are simple oxygen-containing aromatics. These compounds typically appear in high loads in collected bio-oil derived from biomass. As such, it is important to comprehend the decomposition chemistry of this category of compounds. This thesis takes on board a general approach to report thermo-kinetic parameters that govern decomposition of a selected set of bio-oil model compounds in two distinct systems: firstly radical-derived pathways in the gas phase and secondly thermal degradation in their condensed media. The first is attained through accurate density functional calculations while the second is accomplished through the use of Model-free and model-fitting approaches to analyse mass loss curves attained in thermogravimetric analysis (TGA).
In the first part of thesis, we explored reactions of the hydroperoxyl (HO2) radicals’ anisole, cresol, guaiacol, and vanillin with the underlying aim to assess the accuracy of existing kinetic models in the literature in predicting their ignition delay time; an important combustion character of a fuel. Using updated kinetic parameters for initial H abstraction reactions by HO2 from these bio-oil model compounds has only slightly altered ignition delay times while considering various operating pressures. Along the same line of enquiry, we found that radical-derived decomposition of cresol and guaiacol to take place predominantly through abstraction of the hydroxyl’H with a noticeable contribution for abstraction from the methyl site. In case of vanillin, abstraction from the aldehyde’s and hydroxyl’H assume comparable importance. We calculated bond dissociation enthalpies in these compounds as to locate the preferable abstractable sites. Arrhenius parameters were provided for a large set of reactions. Such findings are expected to enhance the accuracy and predictability of kinetics models that account for oxidative and pyrolytic decomposition of biomass surrogate compounds. In attaining the second objective of the thesis and based on the obtained TGA and DTG profiles, model-free methods, specifically the KAS model, FWO model, and Starink model were used to derive thermo-kinetic parameters for oxidative and pyrolytic decomposition of for catechol and maltol. Decomposition mechanisms were then determined using the Coats and Redfern method for fitting kinetics. It is hoped that outcomes of this work to advance our comprehensions of the complex chemical reactions that prevail during decay of bio-oil model compounds
اﻻﺧﺘﺼﺎص اﻟﻨﻮﻋﻲ ﻟﻤﺤﻜﻤﺘﻲ اﻟﺠﻨﺎﯾﺎت اﻟﻜﺒﺮى واﻟﺼﻐﺮى طﺒﻘﺎ ﻟﻘﺎﻧﻮن اﻹﺟﺮاءات اﻟﺠﺰاﺋﯿﺔ اﻻﺗﺤﺎدي
Get PDFThe Specific Jurisdiction of the Major and Minor Criminal Courts in Accordance with the Federal Criminal Procedure Law
This study deals with the rules of specific jurisdiction for the major and minor criminal courts in accordance with the Federal Code of Criminal Procedure, where specific jurisdiction is one of the most important jurisdictions stipulated by the federal legislator, by allocating specific courts to specific types of crimes. In light of this, the federal legislator in the United Arab Emirates has singled out a new system with regard to specific jurisdiction, distinguishing between the major and minor criminal courts in terms of their jurisdiction and in terms of the number of judges in forming the two courts.
The most important results the crime punishable by death or life imprisonment is within the jurisdiction of the Major Criminal Court, which is composed of three judges, and the crime punishable by temporary imprisonment is within the jurisdiction of the Minor Criminal Court, which is composed of one judge.
Among the most important recommendations contained at the conclusion of the letter: We propose to the legislator to amend Articles “121, 122, and 123 of the Code of Criminal Procedure” regarding referring the incident to court, that is, it was not stated whether the referral would be to the major or minor criminal court, the legislator was satisfied with the criminal court .
The proposed amendment to Article 122 of the Federal Criminal Procedure Code: “If the Director of Public Prosecution or his representative sees that the incident is a felony punishable by retaliation, death, or life imprisonment, and that the evidence against the accused is sufficient, he decides to refer him to the High Criminal Court, and if the incident is a felony punishable by imprisonment.
ADAPTIVE INTER-VEHICULAR COLLABORATION FOR LEVEL 5 AUTONOMOUS DRIVING
Get PDFThe evolution of sensor technologies, mobile networks, and artificial intelligence has significantly expanded the horizons of various sectors, notably in autonomous driving. According to the World Health Organization, over 1.3 million people succumb to traffic accidents annually, predominantly due to human negligence. Complex urban environments, characterized by mixed traffic flow involving Human Driven Vehicles and Connected and Autonomous Vehicles, intricate traffic patterns, frequent lane changes, and slow speeds, face escalating challenges related to traffic accidents and congestion. These challenges lead to wasted time, increased fuel consumption, and heightened pollution emission levels. Hence, the development of a safe and robust version of collaborative autonomous driving, known as convoy driving, is anticipated to greatly enhance road safety, traffic efficiency, and overall mobility by transitioning driving control from humans to autonomous systems. While collaborative autonomous driving solutions have existed for some time, the focus has predominantly been on classical problem domains of lower automation levels and vehicular networks on highways. Although substantial research has been dedicated to convoy driving for heavy-duty trucks, demonstrating its benefits on highways, challenges arise when extending collaborative driving functions to smaller lightweight vehicles in urban settings. Having highlighted such challenges, this work justifies the need for an evolved version of collaborative autonomous driving. The primary focus of this thesis is to investigate and overcome existing limitations and challenges associated with urban convoy driving by proposing novel theoretical frameworks. It introduces integrated solution components tailored to enable urban convoys, envisioning a future where convoy driving becomes a win-win solution—beneficial for the environment, the collective transportation system, and individual vehicle owners, contributing to the goals of achieving Level 5 autonomous driving. This means that it is investigated how convoy driving adds to road safety and efficiency, which is translated into a number of local objective functions. It is believed that this work is among the pioneers that study the aspects of collaborative autonomous driving, addressing not only collaboration for short time quanta but its benefits at societal and individual vehicle levels. This claim is supported by extensive literature surveys conducted to highlight gaps and differentiate the standing of this work, which is published in reputable venues. This thesis covers the following three main dimensions: I) Defining, modeling, and simulating the environment that captures the dynamics of a complex urban setting—The environment is modeled using a probabilistic graphical model (PGM), and an extension of the Car Learning to Act (CARLA) simulator, termed CARLA+, is developed by integrating the PGM framework. This proposed approach provides a unified framework to automate the behavior of dynamic environments using PGMs. II) Modeling Convoy Driving—Convoy driving is modeled by leveraging coalitional game theory in urban settings. Novel utility functions capturing relevant parameters and various benefits for convoy driving are designed and developed. The proposed theoretical framework can decide which traveling mode—coalition-driven or traveling alone—is beneficial for a vehicle in a given setting. This also forms the basis of the next contribution. III) Modeling Societal and Individual Vehicle Level Benefits of Convoy Driving—A theoretical incentivizing framework is proposed to investigate how the adoption of convoy driving can be incentivized to promote convoy driving in a mixed-traffic environment. The fundamental diagram model, VT-Micro model, and coalitional game theory framework are employed to model benefits at both the societal and individual vehicle levels. Experimental results demonstrate the pronounced advantages of convoy travel over solo travel. It is concluded that convoy travel is advantageous for a convoy size of two-six vehicles with an inter-vehicle spacing of less than four meters, considering the stability of the traffic flow and the urban environment limitations. Traveling in a convoy allows vehicles to save fuel, reduce travel time, and enhance safety and comfort. Notably, the research findings underscore that realizing the substantial benefits of coalition-driven driving necessitates finding the right equilibrium between vehicle speed, inter-vehicle distance, and coalition size
THE IMPACT OF OUTDOOR THERMAL COMFORT ON USERS’ WALKABILITY: CASE STUDY IN AL AIN SQUARE, AL AIN CITY, UAE
Get PDFLiving in a hot dry arid climate limits the walkability of its inhabitants. The excessive heat and dryness of the weather undoubtedly make walking a less tempting, encouraging, and pleasant choice for getting around the city. For that reason, this master thesis analyzes the various strategies used to enhance outdoor thermal comfort. Outdoor thermal comfort is controlled by numerous factors, including street and building orientation, vegetation, shading devices, and water bodies. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between walkability and UTCI values (universal thermal comfort index) in the context of Al Ain Square, a neighborhood in Al Ain City, UAE. The study employed a mixed-methods approach to investigate the relationship between outdoor thermal comfort and walkability in Al Ain City. Firstly, ENVI-met simulations were conducted to model various scenarios, including the base case scenario, the addition of vegetation, the addition of water bodies, and a combination of both. These simulations helped assess the impact of different environmental factors on thermal comfort. Additionally, field measurements were conducted using HOBO sensors placed strategically across the neighborhood to gather real-time data on temperature and humidity levels. The collected data from both simulations and field measurements were then analyzed to draw correlations between outdoor thermal comfort and walkability. The results of the study indicate that integrating vegetation and water bodies in urban environments can significantly improve outdoor thermal comfort, thus promoting walkability. This research aims to identify effective strategies for enhancing outdoor thermal comfort in urban environments, specifically focusing on the role of vegetation and water bodies. Also, the study offers insights into the relationship between outdoor thermal comfort, pedestrian walkability, and urban design elements. This research will provide recommendations for architects, urban planners, and policymakers on integrating climate-sensitive design strategies into urban development projects, which will lead to a contribution to the promotion of sustainable transportation modes by creating more walkable and comfortable urban spaces, and enhance the overall well-being of city residents through improved outdoor environments that support physical activity and social interaction
DESIGN WITH, NOT FOR, LOCAL COMMUNITY: UTILIZING E-PARTICIPATION TOOLS IN THE DESIGN OF SOCIALLY SUSTAINABLE VERTICAL EMIRATI PUBLIC HOUSING
Get PDFFew years ago, local and federal governments in the UAE started to design and develop vertical public housing for Emirati residents as a new public housing typology that is believed to be more environmentally sustainable. Dibba Al-Hisn Housing Scheme in Sharjah and Al-Ghurfa Project in Al-Fujairah, are two recently developed vertical Emirati public housing projects developed by Sharjah Housing Directorate and Sheikh Zayed Housing Program (SZHP) respectively. Both projects, have been professionally designed, however, the residents’ opinions were not considered in the design process. Therefore, the main objective of this research is to explore the potentials of utilizing the advanced e-Participation tools of Virtual Reality (VR), to genuinely involve Emirati citizens in the design process of the vertical public housing in the UAE. A Qualitative Case Study research method was adopted to achieve this goal. The research steps of this thesis started with, first, initiating a conceptual framework from relevant literature review and global case studies in developed and developing countries, as well as in-depth interviews with Emirati residents about the anticipated design measures of the social sustainability principles in vertical housing. Next, the conceptual framework was utilized to examine the ‘professional’ design of Al-Ghurfa vertical housing project, as a case study, through three investigation tools: pre-e-Participation interviews, e-Participation interviews through the advanced Meta Quest Pro VR tool, and post-e-Participation interviews. A sample of 32 Emirati young citizens were interviewed after developing Al-Ghurfa project design into BIM and VR-ready model through Revit and Prospect Iris VR software packages. This advanced e-Participatory tool managed to successfully explore the opinions of the interviewees regarding the professional top-down design of Al-Ghurfa vertical housing project, as almost all of them have found this immersive tool to be beneficial for understanding and visualizing apartment designs. The obtained detailed opinions revealed the social sustainability-related shortcomings of the current vertical public housing design, and hence, new design guidelines for achieving social sustainability principles have been recommended when designing vertical public housing for Emirate residents in the future
TOPOLOGICAL INDICES AND THEIR APPLICATIONS IN DESIGNING DRUGS
Get PDFThis research delves into the use of indices, in the field of drug design with a specific focus on anticancer medications. Topological indices, values derived from representations of chemical structures provide meaningful connections to the physical and chemical characteristics of molecules. These indices act as tools for predicting behavior playing a vital role in crafting therapeutic drugs. The study primarily delves into topological indices like the Sombor index, Randić index, and Atom Bond Connectivity (ABC) index. These indices are calculated for structures and their relationships with physical properties such as molar volume, refractive index, and flash point are explored using statistical methods like linear regression and correlation analysis. Noteworthy discoveries from this investigation reveal that topological indices can accurately forecast the properties of anticancer medications assisting in optimizing their structures for improved therapeutic effectiveness. The thesis not emphasizes the aspects of these indices but also showcases their practical utility in pharmaceutical sciences by offering fresh insights into drug molecule design and analysis. In summary, this research adds to the realm of chemistry by presenting an indepth examination of how topological indices can be leveraged to predict and control the physicochemical attributes of chemical compounds, for targeted drug development
SALIVARY MICROBIOME SIGNATURE IN PEDIATRIC INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE
No full textInflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a complex disorder characterized by chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). IBD mainly includes two distinct diseases, namely Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). To date, the precise etiology of these conditions is not fully elucidated, although a strong relationship between microbial dysbiosis in the GIT and IBD has been proposed. In general, limited data is available on the oral microbiome of IBD patients, despite its recognizable role in impacting gut health. There is a paucity of research on IBD in the pediatric population, although this disease is becoming more prevalent than in the past.
This study aims to investigate the alteration in the salivary microbial communities in pediatric IBD patients (CD vs UC) from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and to identify different factors affecting these communities. Moreover, this study aims to compare IBD patients and healthy controls (HC) in terms of salivary microbiome composition and diversity, and to identify microbiota community shifts in IBD patients in response to treatment by repeated sampling over time. In this study, a total of 78 participants were recruited. All participants with IBD were recruited from the Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC) in Abu Dhabi over one year period. Salivary samples were collected from all the participants including CD, UC, and HC (n=26 in each). DNA was extracted from the saliva followed by 16S rRNA sequencing using Oxford Nanopore technology. In addition, 20 patients were followed for 3-6 months to check the changes in their oral microbiota during treatment.
The results of our study confirmed dysbiosis in IBD patients compared to HC. There were significant differences in the salivary microbiome and these differences were influenced by different factors contributing to dysbiosis. Different microbiota biomarkers were identified in both CD and UC at the genus level like Veillonella, Prevotella, Brucella, Pelosinus and Trepenoma. At the species level, different microbial biomarkers were abundant in CD and UC like Veillonella parvula, Veillonella dispar, Prevotella denticola, Aerococcus urinae and Haemophilus haemolycticus. Most of these bacteria can be pathogenic and cause systemic inflammation to human and many studies confirmed their abundance in different bacterial infection-related diseases, including IBD. Our results showed a significant reduction in alpha diversity in IBD patients compared to HC, and the most significant reduction was obvious in CD group. Furthermore, beta diversity differed significantly between the groups. Three types of factors were studied to explore their effects on the oral microbiome, including early life factors, general health factors and IBD related factors. Alpha diversity was significantly different when compared based on multiple factors like mode of delivery, early feeding mode, age, BMI, intake of high fat diet, disease relapse, and IBD complications. Moreover, beta diversity was affected by factors like BMI, recent use of antibiotics, IBD diet, disease duration, early feeding mode and probiotic use. Longitudinal analysis following treatment revealed dynamic shifts in microbiota biomarkers and diversity. While the disappearance or reduction of certain bacterial species from genus Streptococcus (e.g., Streptococcus pyogenes, and Streptococcus agalactiae in CD and Streptococcus pyogenes, and Streptococcus intermedius in UC) may signify a positive response to treatment, the emergence of novel microbial taxa (e.g., Veillonella dispar in CD and Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Prevotella jejuni in UC) raises intriguing questions regarding their roles in oral health and disease. This highlights the need for further longitudinal studies and functional analyses to comprehensively elucidate the response of the oral microbiome to IBD treatment and its broader implications on oral health and disease progression. Since no previous research has been done in the UAE that particularly looks at the oral microbiota in connection to IBD in the pediatric population, this study is highly relevant. Utilizing long-read sequencing technique with high resolution helped in identifying IBD microbiome signature with revealing unique microbiota down to the species level. We have laid a strong platform for future research efforts targeted at converting our discoveries into practical applications for the benefit of IBD patients by identifying new biomarkers and illuminating disease-associated dysbiosis. In light of the future, our results highlight the necessity of ongoing interdisciplinary research targeted at deciphering the relationship between the oral microbiota and pediatric IBD. Future research should focus on longitudinal studies with bigger and more varied cohorts to corroborate our findings and capture the complex dynamics of the oral microbiome over time, in order to expand our present understanding. We recommend avoiding factors that predispose to or exacerbate the condition since we have identified the factors impacting the oral microbiota, such as improper feeding habits, high-fat diets, obesity, and early use of antibiotics. This may help halt the disease development or prevent it altogether. In fact, future research focusing on the microbiome and disease state can examine the impact of dietary interventions and lifestyle changes on the disease progress and response to treatment, in addition to their impact on restoring the oral and gut microbiome. Microbiota modulation to repress gut inflammation can be also applied to restore the healthy microbiome, disturbed due to IBD and its associated factors and complications
ANALYSIS, DESIGN, AND EXPERIMENTAL VALIDATION OF THE THERMAL SUBSYSTEM OF ALAINSAT-1 CUBESAT
Get PDFThis thesis investigates the thermal management techniques of AlAinSat-1 during extremely harsh space conditions. It presents a comprehensive analysis of its thermal behavior using numerical techniques and validates the CubeSat\u27s survivability in space via experimental testing. AlAinSat-1 is a nanocube-shaped satellite carrying Earth observation payloads, including RITA (Remote Sensing and Interference Detector with Radiometry and Vegetation Analysis) and Locana. Understanding how the CubeSat behaves in harsh space conditions and maintains thermal stability during its mission is critical to its success. The main aim of this study is to employ finite element analysis (FEA) techniques to simulate the thermal behavior of AlAinSat-1 and then validate the simulated results via experimental testing. However, the validation of simulated results against experimental ones was not achieved due to unexpected circumstances that prevented us from conducting a thermal balance test. Therefore, a different approach to validation is followed. The thermal analysis is conducted using Siemens NX’s software. The CubeSat is modeled and analyzed following a series of stages, including idealization, meshing, assigning thermal properties, assembly, and setting up boundary conditions to examine the satellite\u27s temperature response to environmental conditions. The worst hot and cold scenarios are simulated to ensure the mission\u27s success and CubeSat\u27s functionality. Initial results show that AlAinSat-1 can survive in space. Still, the RITA payload is prone to overheating as the calculated temperature range exceeded the maximum operating temperature limitation, which might cause a failure in the mission. However, after multiple trials, including covering the RITA payload with brackets that serve as shields to protect the payload from overheating, the final results show that AlAinSat-1 can survive extremely harsh space conditions because all of its components operate within the operational temperature range. The calculated simulated temperature for the worst hot case of the RITA payload, which should operate from 0°C to 50°C, decreases from 53.304°C to 34.11°C. Bakeout and thermal cycling tests are conducted on AlAinSat-1 using a small Thermal Vacuum Chamber (TVAC) to validate its survivability in space, ensuring it operates within the designated operational temperature limits. The bakeout test lasts 5 hours at 50°C to remove any volatile contaminants from the CubeSat’s sensitive components, avoiding outgassing materials. Results of the bakeout test showed a 0.1% total mass loss, which indicates the test\u27s success. On the other hand, the thermal cycling test is conducted for four cycles at the range of -20°C and +50°C for a dwell time of 1 hour for each cycle. The thermal cycling test results are used to check if the components of AlAinsat-1 are operating within the operational range as the simulated results are suggesting. The results of the experimental testing agreed with the simulated results; both show that the components of AlAinSat-1 operate within their operational temperature limits
Vibration Analysis and Condition Monitoring for Cement Mill (Case of Hamma Bouziane-Constantine Cement Plant)
Get PDFMonitoring and diagnosing damage in dynamic machinery is a growing area of interest in the cement industry. Indeed, industrial equipment is disrupted throughout its operation by malfunctions; especially in old age; which reduces their operating costs and availability. Therefore, the detection and identification of faults in industrial systems - diagnosis - is of capital importance for their operation and a major challenge for modern industry. Among the most used diagnostic techniques, we find spectral analysis, a condition-based maintenance tool, which is used to study the vibration signals of dynamic machines.
In this context, the objective of this work is the early detection of malfunctions by frequency spectral analysis, which is based on an analysis of the vibration signal in order to search for the presence of vibration images of all the defects likely to affect the installation considered. As a case study we took the ball mill of the Hamma Bouziane-Constantine cement plant, given its importance in the production process. To gain knowledge of the kinematic characteristics of the different constituent organs, and their excitation frequencies is required. Our choice is justified by its use in the development of the choice of condition-based maintenance strategy for industrial applications