This thesis investigates the failed state label on Lebanon. The thesis explores how Lebanon falls under the paradigm and how Lebanon contradicts, at times, the failed state model with the inclusion of Hizbullah.

Wheat grain quality is defined by several parameters, of which insect and fungal damage and sprouting are considered important degrading factors. At present, Canadian wheat is inspected and graded manually by Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) inspectors at grain handling facilities or in the CGC laboratories. Visual inspection methods are time consuming, less efficient, subjective, and require experienced personnel. Therefore, an alternative, rapid, objective, accurate, and cost effective technique is needed for grain quality monitoring in real-time which can potentially assist or replace the manual inspection process. Insect-damaged wheat samples by the species of rice weevil (Sitophilus oryzae), lesser grain borer (Rhyzopertha dominica), rusty grain beetle (Cryptolestes ferrugineus), and red flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum); fungal-damaged wheat samples by the species of storage fungi namely Penicillium spp., Aspergillus glaucus, and Aspergillus niger; and artificially sprouted wheat kernels were obtained from the Cereal Research Centre (CRC), Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Winnipeg, Canada. Field damaged sprouted (midge-damaged) wheat kernels were procured from five growing locations across western Canada. Healthy and damaged wheat kernels were imaged using a long-wave near-infrared (LWNIR) and a short-wave near-infrared (SWNIR) hypersprctral imaging systems and an area scan color camera. The acquired images were stored for processing, feature extraction, and algorithm development. The LWNIR classified 85-100% healthy and insect-damaged, 95-100% healthy and fungal-infected, and 85-100% healthy and sprouted/midge-damaged kernels. The SWNIR classified 92.7-100%, 96-100% and 93.3-98.7% insect, fungal, and midge-damaged kernels, respectively (up to 28% false positive error). Color imaging correctly classified 93.7-99.3%, 98-100% and 94-99.7% insect, fungal, and midge-damaged kernels, respectively (up to 26% false positive error). Combined the SWNIR features with top color image features correctly classified 91-100%, 99-100% and 95-99.3% insect, fungal, and midge- damaged kernels, respectively with only less than 4% false positive error.

The use of near ambient air drying for the preservation of wheat stored in granaries is common in Western Canada. Guidelines have been developed to assist farmers in selecting appropriate drying methods. During this process the top layer of wheat can remain at moisture contents (m.c.) greater than the safe storage limit, 14.5% wet bulb (wb), for up to 12 weeks. This study tested the effects of this drying procedure on the development of ochratoxin A (OTA) using 1 m3 bulks of durum wheat at 18% m.c. (wb) contained within steel bins inside a Weather Simulation Lab. In a second study using 20 L volumes of wheat at a m.c. of 20% (wb) within an environmental growth chamber potential development of OTA was also evaluated. The wheat was exposed to two treatments, airflow and no airflow, for a period of 12 weeks under conditions of high relative humidity (greater than 80%) and typical Manitoba fall temperatures. The storage quality parameters of germination, fat acidity value, and presence of OTA were measured weekly. It was found that high moisture wheat stored under all treatment conditions showed a rapid decrease in germination and increase in fat acidity value over time, with no significant difference between the treatments. Under the tested conditions the development of ochratoxin A was not detected in significant quantities in the 1 m3 bulks of grain but was detected in the smaller 20 L bulks.

This thesis represents a tolerance near set approach to detect similarity between digital images. Two images are considered as sets of perceptual objects and a tolerance relation defines the nearness between objects. Two perceptual objects resemble each other if the difference between their descriptions is smaller than a tolerable level of error. Existing tolerance near set approaches to image similarity consider both images in a single tolerance space and compare the size of tolerance classes. This approach is shown to be sensitive to noise and distortions. In this thesis, a new tolerance-based method is proposed that considers each image in a separate tolerance space and defines the similarity based on differences between histograms of the size of tolerance classes. The main advantage of the proposed method is its lower sensitivity to distortions such as adding noise, darkening or brightening. This advantage has been shown here through a set of experiments.

The agriculture industry experiences severe economic losses each year when wheat crops become infected with Fusarium and the mycotoxin Deoxynivalenol (DON). This research investigated the feasibility of using near infrared hyperspectral imaging to detect Fusarium damage and DON in Canadian Western Red Spring wheat. Four samples were selected from each grain grade resulting in 16 samples and 240 hyperspectral data cubes. The data cubes were calibrated to the system, the consistent spectra was found and then a 1- nearest neighbour classifier was generated. Grade percentages were computed and used to generate two 3- nearest neighbour classifiers, one for identifying Fusarium damage and the other for identifying DON content. The Fusarium damage classifier had an accuracy of 85% and the DON content classifier had an accuracy of 80%. While a single sample image classification will not replace manual testing, the use of multiple samples from one harvest could reduce manual inspections.

Ligand design plays an important role in the development and control of new coordination compounds. A new ligand architecture, Nindigo, has previously been reported and this study represents an expansion of that research to gain better insights into the attributes of this multifunctional ligand family. Mono- and bis-palladium chelates of Nindigo have been synthesized with resulting electrochemical measurements allowing for the reversible redox-active nature of the ligand set to be identified. The electronic absorption properties of these complexes were also studied. The presence of the palladium centre was found to drastically perturb the ligand centered π-π* transition resulting in significant red shifts in the absorption spectra with respect to free Nindigo. The main group coordination chemistry of Nindigo was explored by generating mono- and bis-BF2 Nindigo chelates. The electrochemical and spectral properties of these compounds were investigated with both families displaying weak emission in the NIR region. The bis-BF2 chelates were found to be sensitive in nature and decompose to the mono-BF2 chelates. In addition, heteroleptic complexes of mono-BF2 Nindigo chelates with palladium were also synthesized. The redox chemistry as well as the electronic absorption characteristics of these compounds provides a conceptual bridge between the two homologues. Homoleptic zinc and copper complexes of mono-BF2 Nindigo chelates have been synthesized. The zinc derivative serves as an “innocent” system where all redox and spectral properties are ligand centered and the oxidation states of both the metal and surrounding ligands can be assigned. The copper complexes exhibit more diverse chemistry with the redox and electronic absorption properties differing dramatically from the zinc system. A combination of EPR, XPS and computational analysis suggests the copper systems to be non-innocent in nature. In addition to the bis-bidentate anionic Nindigo ligand system, the fully oxidized neutral analogue has also been synthesized. DehydroNindigo exhibits significantly different chemical behaviour from Nindigo. Bridged ruthenium dimers have been synthesized that are obtained as two isomers, cis and trans (with respect to the bridging ligand). Both isomers exhibit rich electrochemical behaviour. The mixed valence states of both species are found, electrochemically, to be extremely stable with respect to disproportionation. / Graduate / 0485 / 0488 / gnawn@uvic.ca

The application of hyperspectral imaging technique in the wavelength range of 400-1000 nm to estimate some of the maturity parameters of mangoes was investigated. Mangoes with different quality levels were grouped using principle component analysis (PCA). Feature wavelengths were identified to predict total soluble solids content, water content and firmness using simple correlation, first derivative, partial least square (PLS) regression analysis and measured values. Calibration models were developed using the selected wavelengths from correlation coefficients, first derivative, partial least square (PLS) regression analysis and corresponding maturity parameters employing artificial neural network model to predict total soluble solids content, water content and firmness of the fruit. Performance of the models was compared using the correlation coefficient (r) values. Fruit firmness was predicted with high correlation coefficient (r=0.88) followed by water content (r=0.81) and total soluble solids (r=0.78) using wavelengths selected from simple correlation of first derivative data with the parameters and ANN model. The results of the study demonstrated the scope for further research on maturity and quality evaluation of fruits using hyperspectral imaging technique.

Brain-computer interface (BCI) technologies allow users to control external devices through brain activity alone, circumventing the somatic nervous system and the need for overt physical movement. BCIs may potentially benefit individuals with severe neuromuscular disorders who experience significant, and often total, loss of voluntary muscle control (e.g. amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, brainstem stroke). Though a majority of BCI research to date has focused on electroencephalography (EEG) for brain signal acquisition, recently researchers have noted the potential of an optical imaging technology called near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) for BCI applications. This thesis investigates the feasibility of a practical, online optical BCI based on conscious modulation of prefrontal cortex activity through the performance of different cognitive tasks, specifically mental arithmetic (MA) and mental singing (MS). The thesis comprises five studies, each representing a step toward the realization of a practical optical BCI. The first study demonstrates the feasibility of a two-choice synchronized optical BCI based on intentional control states corresponding to MA and MS. The second study explores a more user-friendly alternative - a two-choice system-paced BCI supporting a single intentional control state (either MA or MS) and a natural baseline, or "no-control (NC)", state. The third study investigates the feasibility of a three-choice system-paced BCI supporting both MA and MS, as well as the NC state. The fourth study examines the consistency with which the relevant mental states can be differentiated over multiple sessions. The first four studies involve healthy adult participants; in the final study, the feasibility of optical BCI use by a user with Duchenne muscular dystrophy is explored. In the first study, MA and MS were classified with an average accuracy of 77.2% (n=10), while in the second, MA and MS were differentiated individually from the NC state with average accuracies of 71.2% and 62.7%, respectively (n=7). In the third study, an average accuracy of 62.5% was obtained for the MA vs. MS vs. NC problem (n=4). The fourth study demonstrated that the ability to classify mental states (specifically MA vs. NC) remains consistent across multiple sessions (p=0.67), but that there is intersession variability in the spatiotemporal characteristics that best discriminate the states. In the final study, a two-session average accuracy of 71.1% was achieved in the MA vs. NC classification problem for the participant with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Apertureless near-field scanning infrared microscopy is a technique in which an impinging infrared beam is scattered by a sharp atomic force microscopy (AFM) tip oscillating at the resonant frequency of the cantilever in close proximity to a sample. Several advantages offered by near-field imaging include nanoscale imaging with high spatial resolution (near-field imaging is not restricted by the diffraction limit of light) and the ability to differentiate between chemical properties of distinct compounds present in the sample under study due to differences in the scattered field. An overview of the assembly, tuning, and implementation of the near-field instrumentation is provided, as well as detailed descriptions about the samples probed and other instrumentation used. A description of the near-field phenomena, a comparison between aperture and apertureless-type near-field microscopy, and the coupled dipoles model explaining the origin of the chemical contrast present in near-field infrared imaging was discussed. Simultaneous topographic and chemical contrast images were collected at different wavelengths for the block copolymer thin film, polystyrene-b-poly(methyl ethacrylate) (PS-b-PMMA) and for amyloid fibrils synthesized from the #21-31 peptide of β2-microglobulin. In both cases it was observed that the experimental scattered field spectrum correlates strongly with that calculated using the far-field absorption spectrum, and using near-field microscopy, nanoscale structural and/or compositional variations were observed, which would not have been possible using ensemble FTIR measurements. Lastly, tip-enhanced Raman spectra of the #21-31 and #16-22 peptide fragments from the β2-microglobulin and Aβ(1-40) peptide were collected, examined, and an outline of the optimization conditions described.

The widely available charge coupled device (CCD) and lately CMOS imaging devices have created many applications on a mass scale. However these devices are limited to wavelengths shorter than about 1 μm. Hybrid photon upconversion devices have been developed recently. The end goal is to achieve an alternative technology for imaging in the 1.5-μm region. The hybrid upconversion idea relies on the integration of a photodetector and an organic light emitting diode (OLED). Under a forward bias for the OLED, the detected signal in the Photodetector is sent to the OLED, resulting in an increase in emission at a shorter wavelength and therefore achieving optical up conversion. An OLED device can simply consists of a stack of anode, a hole transport layer (HTL), a light-emitting layer, an electron transport layer (ETL), a cathode layer, and it typically emits visible light. As each organic molecule is a topologically perfect structure, the growth of each organic layer does not require “lattice matching”, which has been the fundamental limit for inorganic semiconductor monolithic devices. Thus, integration of an OLED with a III–V compound semiconductor is a highly feasible and desirable approach for making low-cost, large-area, potentially high efficiency devices. This thesis addresses the physics, fabrication and characterization of hybrid near infrared optical upconverters and their imaging application. Firstly, one novel hybrid optical upconverter structure is presented, which substantially improves the upconversion efficiency by embedding a metal mirror. Efficient carrier injection from the inorganic photodetector to the OLED is achieved by the insertion of a thin Au metal embedded mirror at the inorganic-organic interface. The upconversion efficiency was improved by more than 100%. Secondly, the overall upconversion efficiency can be increased significantly, by introducing a gain mechanism into the Photodetector section of the upconverter. A promising option to implement gain is a heterojunction phototransistor (HPT). An InGaAs-InP HPT was integrated with an OLED, which converts 1.5-μm Infrared light to visible light with a built-in electrical gain (~94). The overall upconversion efficiency was improved to be 1.55 W/W. Thirdly, this upconversion approach can also be used to realize a pixelless imaging device. A pixelless hybrid upconversion device consists of a large-area single-mesa device, where the OLED output is spatially correlated with the input 1.5-µm scene. Only the parts receiving incoming photons will emit output photons. To achieve this functionality, photon-generated carriers must flow mainly along the layer-growth direction when injected from the InGaAs light absorption layer into OLED light emission layer. A prototype of pixelless imaging device based on an i-In0.53Ga0.47As/C60 heterojunction was demonstrated, which minimized lateral current spreading. This thesis presents experimental results of the first organic/inorganic hybrid optical amplifer and the first hybrid near infrared imaging device.