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Strategic Pathways in Nuclear Energy: Developing a Universal Framework from UAE Insights
Get PDFThis thesis, " Strategic Pathways in Nuclear Energy: Developing a Universal Framework from UAE Insights," represents a noble and pioneering effort in addressing the multifaceted dimensions required for the successful implementation of a nuclear energy programme in the UAE. In an era where sustainable and reliable energy sources are paramount, this research stands as a testament to the forward-thinking and innovative approaches needed to navigate the complexities of modern energy challenges.
At its core, the study rigorously examines the critical social, political, and economic factors that are integral to realizing the UAE's ambition to diversify its energy portfolio and ensure a stable energy supply amidst rapid economic growth. The research introduces a ground-breaking conceptual framework, meticulously crafted to cater to the unique regional context of the UAE. This framework synthesizes learnings from previous nuclear programmes globally, while ingeniously integrating factors specific to the UAE’s socio-political and economic landscape.
The methodology employed in this study is both comprehensive and robust, utilizing a mixed-methods approach that includes extensive literature review, empirical data collection from key stakeholders, and a pioneering use of modern communication technologies to gauge public acceptance. The research not only confirms critical success factors identified in earlier studies but also innovatively adapts and extends these factors to fit the UAE's distinct context.
The findings of this research are profound. They not only offer a strategic pathway for the UAE to achieve a sustainable and diversified energy future but also address larger global concerns such as environmental sustainability and public acceptance of nuclear energy. This thesis is a significant contribution to the field, providing a strategic framework that can guide not only the UAE but also other nations seeking to embark on a similar journey towards a sustainable nuclear energy future. In its essence, this study is a beacon of innovation and a testament to the power of dedicated research in solving complex, real-world problems
Exploring Gaming Technologies, Digital Twins, and VR to Visualise Wireless Propagation Simulations
Get PDFOver the years, the wireless communication industry and the research community investigated methods of creating accurate and efficient models for signal propagation. The recent advancements in wireless communications and its exponential usage through high mobility of numerous connected devices introduced challenges in simulating dynamic radio propagation. To address these challenges, specialized software have been developed, offering high-fidelity simulations. However, these solutions have expensive cost requirements and are largely dependent on offline computations, lacking flexibility and scalability. As a result, their wider use in scientific and industrial sectors is limited. In response to these limitations, this paper proposes an alternative solution leveraging the latest developments in Gaming technologies, GPU technology, and Virtual Reality through the concept of Digital Twins to develop a prototype for a deterministic channel simulator. The prototype utilise a game development engine, high-performance GPU, and commercial VR headsets to achieve a low cost, accessible and scalable method for visualizing wireless signal propagation in real time. This paper presents the work in progress, describing the system architecture, current state of development and intended functionalities
The Effect of Value-Added Tax on Cash Flow in the UAE Small Business
Get PDFPurpose: The decision to implement Value-added tax (VAT) was issued as part of a set of necessary measures taken to protect the United Arab Emirates (UAE) economy and overcome the unprecedented financial and economic repercussions in the best possible way. However, the imposition of VAT for government revenues without any change in the nature of government spending was not sufficient to sustain the financial flows of UAE small companies. Based on that, this research aims to investigate the effect of VAT on the cash flow in the UAE small business.
Design/Methodology/Approach: The financial ratios that can be derived from the statement of cash flows can be classified in terms of purposes for revenue growth, operating margin, and capital efficiency. To achieve these objectives, a quantitative approach was adopted by distributing questionnaires to 1215 financial managers and accountants in small enterprises listed on the UAE economic department within five main sectors that are manufacturing, tourism, banking, real estate, and renewable energy. AS Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyze the data extracted from the questionnaire, where means standard deviation, and t-test were conducted.
Findings: The results found that there is a significant impact of VAT on small companies in the UAE. As a result of the 5% VAT charge, there is a negative impact on the cash flow of the small businesses in the country. Moreover, the results of this study found both positive and negative impacts of the VAT on the business interests of smaller companies and the revenue collection of the UAE government. In addition, the results of the research showed that there is a statistically significant impact of VAT on revenue growth, there is a statistically significant impact of VAT on operating margin, as well as there is a statistically significant impact of VAT on capital efficiency.
Originality/value: The present research helps in listing out the benefits of implementing an appropriate VAT system in the UAE small business. In addition, the findings of the present research convey the potential for driving suitable changes in behavioral taxation and its opportunities and challenges, which helps in enhancing and positively shaping prevailing small business behavior. The theoretical value is summarized by the impact on the theories used in this research namely the social contract theory, the theory of tax harmonization, and the, social solidarity theory.
Contribution and Recommendations: Research contribution can thus be found in its capacity to provide light on how VAT affects small businesses' net operating cash flows and profitability in the UAE. Preparing a statement of cash flows serves the main purpose of giving relevant information on cash flow during the financial period, which helps lenders, investors, and other stakeholders assess and analyze the company's liquidity. Based on that, the researcher recommends making appropriate amendments to the procedures for applying the VAT to help reduce the complexity surrounding it and bring it to a state of clarity and simplicity for small companies in the UAE. This in addition to paying more attention to the elements of the cash flow statement because of their informational content is useful in identifying the financial situation of small companies in the UAE
Mechanisms Underlying Memory Retrieval and the Effect of Amyloid Precursor Protein in a Transgenic Mouse Model
Get PDFIntroduction
Research into Alzheimer’s disease (AD) would greatly benefit from a deeper understanding of the mechanisms underlying memory retrieval. Previous studies have found impairments in memory retrieval present in very young amyloid precursor transgenic (APPtg) mice, at a stage which would be considered preclinical in humans, however, the molecular and cellular mechanisms behind this impairment are unknown. Dysfunctional amyloid precursor protein (APP) processing is thought to be central to AD pathogenesis and mutations in the APP gene are one of the leading causes of familial Alzheimer’s disease (FAD).
Objective
This thesis aims to contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying memory loss in a genetically modified preclinical mouse model resembling aspects of AD. These mechanisms will be elucidated via the quantitative analysis of certain mitochondrial protein levels, identification of biochemical and cellular pathways involved in memory retrieval via proteomics analysis, analysis of the activity of various enzymes in the mouse brain in the context of memory retrieval and the quantification of key mitochondrial metabolites in the mouse brain tissue samples.
Methods
Brain tissue from a mouse model overexpressing APP with two mutations linked to FAD (APPtg), was used in this project. Four groups consisting of APPtg and wild-type (WT) mice at basal levels (with no behavioural task) and during memory retrieval (sacrificed 20 seconds after 7-day probe trial, following Morris Water Maze behavioural task) were used in this study. Purified synaptosome samples were used for western blotting, enzymatic activity assays, and proteomic analysis.
Results
Western blotting against several synaptic and mitochondrial markers revealed increased expression of VDAC1 and the mitochondrial fission and fusion proteins Drp1 and Mfn1 in the APPtg mice at both the basal level and during memory retrieval. Several complexes of the electron transport chain also showed synapse specific expression increases in the APPtg mice at both the basal levels and during the attempted retrieval of a memory.
Using a combination of tools including gene-ontology (GO), protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks and functional dependency analysis, proteomic analysis revealed that the insertion of the APP transgene causes upregulation of proteins implicated in mitochondrial dysfunction and disease pathology in both basal and memory retrieval groups . Based on the proteomics findings, failure to upregulate proteins involved in ATP production (Ndufa7, Ndufa6, Ndufb6, Ndufb4, Ndufb2) structural support (Nefl, Ina, Gfap), proteasome complex (Psma3, Psmb2, Psma7, Psmc1, Psmd4) response to oxidative stress (Prdx3, Prdx2, Gsr, Park7, Snca), and the negative regulation of apoptotic processes (Slc25a27, Nefl, Prdx3, Prdx2, Park7, Snca) are suggested to contribute to the memory deficits in this APPtg mouse model.
Whilst these methodologies have been previously used in Alzheimer’s research, performing them in the context of memory retrieval (specifically, mice sacrificed at the point of attempted memory retrieval) is novel and provides new insights into the mechanisms underlying memory loss in preclinical APPtg mice.
Future work
Further work investigating the metabolic changes in WT mice during memory retrieval, when compared to basal levels, and how these changes differ in the preclinical model of FAD, can help to identify metabolites involved in healthy memory retrieval and how they differ in FAD. Alongside this, further assessment of the activity of enzymes involved in the various stages of aerobic respiration will provide insight into the disease process, offering opportunities for testing of enzymatic response to targeted therapies which, if delivered at a preclinical stage, could provide a means to prevent of delay memory loss in AD
Social Work with Young People in Care: Looking After Children in Theory and Practice [2nd Edition]
No full textThis introduction to social work with children and young people who are looked after (in care or accommodated) by statutory or voluntary agencies is the only textbook on the subject which addresses this area of work across all four nations of the UK.
Providing a clear theoretical and ethical basis, it introduces and develops a set of core themes, reflective of contemporary developments including:
• the influence of, and tensions between, dominant discourses that shape the social work service (relationship-based practice, early intervention and prevention, social innovation, evidence-based practice and outcomes);
• the use and abuse of concepts of ‘children’s needs’ and ‘best interests’;
• ideas of parenting and parental responsibility, and the relationships between children, families, communities and the state;
• the importance of recognising that children and young people have rights and considering their views;
• trauma, trauma-informed practice, transitions and resilience.
With chapters addressing a sequence of topics – assessment and planning, residential and foster care, leaving care, and permanence – there is a specific focus on working with disabled children, children from minority ethnic communities, and marginalised groups of children and young people, including refugees and asylum seekers, LGBTQIA+ children and those who have been trafficked.
Packed full of useful pedagogical features, including material on the legal and policy context, summaries of research evidence, notes for good practice, group teaching exercises, references to legislation and guidance, and guides to further reading, it will be core reading on any child and family care modules, general preparation for practice courses, Frontline, Step Up, as well as for all social work practitioners
Resolving Effects of the Commensurate to Incommensurate Crossover on the Magnetism in Charge-Stripe Ordered La2-xSrxNiO4
No full textThe La-based cuprates are the original high high-temperature superconductors, and are some of most highly researched cuprates in terms of the magnetic excitations. Unlike other holed doped cuprates, superconductivity in La-based cuprates only results in a partial gapping of the magnetic excitation spectrum[1,2]. With magnetic excitations extending to lower energies in La-based cuprates, their low energy excitations bare a close similarity to those of charge-stripe ordered materials such as insulating La2-xSrxNiO4+d, such that the magnetism of the two materials are often compared and contrasted[3]. Our understanding of the magnetism of charge-stripe ordered La2-xSrxNiO4+d is limited to detailed studies of the magnetic order[4-6], complemented by studies of the magnetic excitations on a small number of doping levels primarily at base temperatures, see for example: [7-9]. We have undertook combined neutron diffraction and inelastic scattering studies of doping levels around the commensurate third doping level. We will show how our combined systematic high resolution cold neutron scattering, and thermal neutron scattering mapping of the magnetic excitations to temperatures beyond the magnetic ordering, illuminates new understanding of the magnetic interactions of charge-stripe ordered La2-xSrxNiO4+d. We will discuss the role of magnetism in the ordering process, beyond the role played by charge interactions [10]. Furthermore, we will discuss the role of the crossover between commensurate charge-stripe order and incommensurate charge-stripe order on the magnetic interactions of La2-xSrxNiO4+d, with competing models proposed [11,12]
Clinical Neuroscience Research in Saudi Arabia: A Comparative Evaluation of Performance at Country and Worldwide Levels Based on the Relative Specialization Index
Get PDFThis review is an appraisal of the performance of clinical neuroscience research in Saudi Arabia based on the measurement of the Relative Specialization Index (RSI). The latter is an established quantitative performance indicator that determines whether a country has a relatively higher or lower share in world publications in a specialty than its overall part in the world total publications. The study aimed to assess the trends in the specialty’s RSI, comparing it to other medical specialties in Saudi Arabia and to that of the top 50 countries worldwide in clinical neuroscience. SCImago Journal and Country Rank were used to determine the total articles and total citations for 46 medical specialties in Saudi Arabia and clinical neuroscience in the worldwide top 50 countries during 1996‑ 2023. The RSI was calculated for each medical specialty and each country. A positive or negative RSI implied that the specialty’s share in the country’s total documents or total citations was higher or lower than the average for the specialty worldwide. A steady increase in Saudi Arabia’s total articles and total citations in clinical neuroscience was observed over the last 28 years. The RSI values, however, remained negative throughout except for limited periods (2003-2006 for total articles) and (1996 and 1998 for total citations). Compared to other medical specialties in Saudi Arabia, the specialization performance for clinical neuroscience was within the mid-range in total articles (ranking 30th out of 46 specialties) and the low range in total citations (ranking 39th out of 46 specialties). Saudi Arabia’s worldwide ranking in clinical neuroscience based on total citations was 39; however, the country’s ranking dropped to 45 when the RSI values were applied. Furthermore, clinical neuroscience was considered to have had a strong relative contribution (RSI ≥ 0.1) to the total articles in five countries (Italy, Austria, Germany, Japan, and Canada) and total citations in six countries (Luxembourg, Austria, Germany, Canada, Italy, and Finland). In conclusion, despite an increase in Saudi Arabia’s total articles and total citations in clinical neuroscience over the years, the specialty’s relative share of the total productivity in the country remains lower than the overall for the specialty worldwide. The performance of the specialty was within the mid-to-low range compared to the other 45 medical specialties in Saudi Arabia. In addition, the country's worldwide ranking based on total citations in the specialty dropped when the RSI was used. Clinical neuroscience researchers in Saudi Arabia are encouraged to improve the quality and quantity of their research productivity to be one of the leading medical specialties in Saudi Arabia
Academic Buoyancy: First-Year A-Level Students’ and Tutors’ Experiences and Perceptions
Get PDFAn extensive body of literature considers the concept of academic achievement/ underachievement, high-stakes testing, and a variety of subject-domain-specific research into GCE A-Level qualifications. Less prominent in the literature is a focus on studying A-Levels from the viewpoint of A-Level students themselves, their ‘everyday’ experiences of studying the qualifications, the influences that shape their perspectives of achievement and success during A-Level study, or the factors that they perceive to affect or improve it. This focus on the ‘everyday’ ups and downs that form an inevitable part of academic life and how students successfully handle them is also a growing area of research, termed academic buoyancy (Martin & Marsh, 2009), and identified as a concept that is related to, but distinct from, other areas of research including academic achievement, ‘high-stakes’ qualifications, academic self-concept, character education, and resilience.
This thesis presents an exploratory study into the concept of academic buoyancy in an A-Level context, focusing in particular on the perspectives and experiences of students who have transitioned from school and GCSE into their first year of A-Level studies at an FE college, along with the perspectives and experiences of A-Level tutors who teach or have taught first-year A-Level students.
This explorative qualitative study, heavily influenced by phenomenology, takes an inductive approach with the assistance of 10 first-year A-Level students and 8 A-Level tutors involved in 4 focus groups. The data has been analysed using reflexive thematic analysis, underpinned by aspects of narrative analysis, with emergent themes exploring participant perspectives and attempting to capture the authentic voice of the participants.
The main findings to emerge from the data was a sense of ‘external’ and ‘internal’ factors shaping participants’ academic buoyancy: societal and external expectations and perceptions; the high stakes A-Level environment and the first year as a time of transition; participants’ own actions, expectations and perceptions; and the dialogue/interactions they have with themselves and others.
Whilst these factors possessed distinct components, how participants communicated their experiences presented these components as intrinsically and inextricably linked.
Their experiences tended to be conveyed in an ‘overarching’ narrative - conceptualised in this research as a ‘quest’ (Booker, 2004), in which A-Level students’ academic buoyancy is simultaneously both a quantitative, publicly high-profile experience, and also a less tangible, intensely individual, emotional and reflective developmental journey
Developing a numerical framework to study the cavitation and non-cavitation behaviour of a centrifugal pump inducer
Get PDFAxial inducers are a type of turbo-machinery, which are put in the interior of centrifugal pumps to decrease the impact of pressure reductions, corrosion, and the unsteady of the system. The level of improvement depends on the geometrical and operational parameters of the inducers. Despite its importance, very few studies have been carried out to address the above challenges. The present work explores the impact of tip clearance on the mean blade height ratio, inlet tip blade angle, and surface roughness of the inducer. The main object of this work is to find an optimized inducer to limit the secondary flows over the blades, which in turn improves the pump efficiency and reduces the life cycle costs. In the current study, a model framework is achieved to investigate efficient operational and geometrical parameters on an inducer's non-cavitation and cavitation presentations. The catalyser functioning is simulated by applying a 3D Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model, and the results are assessed against empirical data. The results show a reliable agreement with the empirical data and suggest that the increment of tip clearance in the mean blade height ratio causes the hydraulic performance and the analytical cavitation number to decline in cavitation and non-cavitation conditions. Moreover, the optimum value of 85o is found for the inlet tip blade angle, which improves the non-cavitation performance. <br/
Advances in Risk Assessment of Nano-Pesticides
No full textThe implementation of nanotechnology has been rapidly expanding into various industries over the years, including medicine, food, energy generation, agriculture, etc. It deals with particles that are usually engineered within the size range of 1–100 nm. Nanoparticles can be found in multiple formulations such as nanocapsules, nanoemulsions, nanodispersions, etc. made to enhance the efficacy and durability of the active ingredients added to the formulation as well as decrease the number of active ingredients required (1). The implementation of such recent technologies has been recently directed toward improving food quality and agricultural productivity. The aim is to protect the crops from insects, weeds, and other pests that would destroy them or, at the very least, compromise their productivity (2). This has been usually achieved by administering pesticides, which are substances or a mixture of substances that prevent, destroy, mitigate, and repel pests (3). However, the continued use of pesticides on crops comes with adverse effects such as the development of resistance against such pesticides and causing environmental imbalance (4)