NUMERICAL MODELING OF SOLUTE TRANSPORT PATTERNS IN THE DAMMAM AQUIFER1

ABSTRACT: During the past two decades, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has witnessed rapid development in its agricultural and urban areas, which has resulted in greater reliance being placed on its ground water aquifers. The intensive development, particularly along the coastline and in the absence of adequate replenishment sources, has led to major deterioration in the quality and quantity of ground water resources. A numerical model of the Dammam aquifer in the Eastern Province is developed and used to predict the extent of the saline intrusion in the aquifer. The types of stresses effecting the solute transport were identified and remedial measures were suggested. (KEY TERMS: numerical modeling; Saudi Arabia; aquifer; modeling/statistics.)     

THE EFFECTS OF RISK AND RELIABILITY ON OPTIMAL RESERVOIR DESIGN1

A chance-constrained linear programming model, which utilizes multiple linear decision rules and is useful for river basin planning, is used to evaluate the effects of risk and reliability on optimal reservoir design. Streamflow forecasts or predictions can be explicitly included in the linear program. The risk associated with the predictions is included in the model through the use of cumulative distribution functions (CDF) of streamflows which are conditioned on the predictions. A multiple-purpose reservoir on the Gunpowder River in Maryland is used to illustrate the effectiveness of the model. In order to provide the decision makers with complete and useful information, trade-off curves relating minimum reservoir capacity (a surrogate for dam costs), water supply and flood control targets, and the reliability of achieving the targets are developed. The trade-off curves may enhance the decision maker's ability to select the best dam capacity, considering technological and financial constraints as well as the trade-offs between targets, risks, and costs.     

Upflow column reactor design for dechlorination of chlorinated pulping wastes by Penicillium camemberti

A Penicillium camemberti strain isolated in our laboratory has been studied for its ability to degrade chlorinated pulping wastes, presumably containing a variety of chlorinated polyphenols. In batch tests, the highest removals (76% AOX, 61% color and 65% TOC) were obtained with 0.2 g/l feed acetate concentration. The tendency of the fungus to dechlorinate bleachery effluents better under non-shaking conditions and to attach onto surfaces suggested the use of immobilized cells rather than freely suspended ones in further exploitation of the process. An upflow glass wool packed column reactor established with this fungus could be operated for nearly two years in the laboratory. At best around 70% AOX could be removed from chlorinated pulping wastes in 7.3 h of contact with no aeration and with a minimal amount of carbon supplement (0.2 g/l). Finally, an asymptotic mathematical formula for determining Michaelis-Menten kinetic rates has been derived. The kinetic rates K(m) (the Michaelis constant or saturation constant for the substrate) and V(m) (the product of maximum rate for the enzymatic reaction and biomass concentration) were then calculated as 126.386 mg/l and 2.83017 mg/lh, respectively.     

Behavior of bromide in the photoelectrocatalytic process and bromine generation using nanoporous titanium dioxide thin-film electrodes

In this study, the photoelectrocatalytic behavior of bromide and generation of bromine using TiO2 was investigated in the separate anode and cathode reaction chambers. Our results show that the generation of bromine begins around a flatband potential of -0.34 V vs. standard calomel electrode (SCE) at pH 3.0 under UV illumination and increases with an increase in positive potential, finally reaching a steady-state concentration at 1.0 V vs. SCE. Maximum bromine formation occurs over the range of pH 4-6, decreasing sharply at conditions where the pH>7.     

Effects of floods on the use and condition of pit latrines in rural bangladesh

The severe floods of 1987 in Bangladesh had devastating effects on many development activities. Here, the use and condition of improved sanitation facilities (double pit water sealed latrines) during the 1987 peak flood period are presented. Two surveys on the use and condition of the latrines were carried out in May (pre-flood) and September (post-flood) 1987 in a rural area 60 km north of Dhaka, with a population of about 4500. General usage of the latrines by the population aged five years or more decreased from 88% to 78% ( p < 0.001) after the flood. Only 40% of the 343 latrines which were in use and had no damaged component at the time of the pre-flood survey still had no damaged components after the floods. Fencing was the component which suffered the most damage. It was the only component which was installed and maintained by the users, project staff being responsible for all other components. The estimated post-flood repair cost was approximately US $4.0 per latrine. Development of an affordable and durable fencing is recommended.     

Two novel sets of UiO-66@ metal oxide/graphene oxide Z-scheme heterojunction: Insight into tetracycline and malathion photodegradation

Nowadays,widespread researches have been focused on the development of effective photocatalysts to remove pollutants of the aquatic system.In accordance with the universal studies,two new sets of UiO-66@metal oxide(including ZnO and TiO_2)/graphene oxide heterojunctions were synthesized for photodegradation of aromatic(tetracycline)and nonaromatic(malathion) pollutants which are challenging cases in the environment.The dosage of the photocatalyst,pH of the solution,the type of metal oxide,and the presence of various scavengers are assayed parameters in this work.In the optimum condition,maximum photodegradation efficiency is achieved in 90 min for tetracycline(81%) and malathion(100%) by the UiO-66@ZnO/graphene oxide.The superior separation of charge carriers by Z-scheme mechanism,excellent electron mobility on layers of graphene oxide and high surface area are factors that enhanced the efficiency.Furthermore,in comparison with pure UiO-66,the band gaps belong to heterojunctions revealed a red shift in the absorption edge,which can be responsible for more expand adsorption of the solar spectrum.Total organic carbon analysis verified the decontamination of these pollutants in the solution.The produced main intermediates during the photocatalytic process were identified and the possible degradation pathway proposed.In general,the superior photocatalytic activity suggests that these designed photocatalysts can be a promising choice for having a clean future.     

Hybrid power supply solutions for off-grid green wireless networks

Increasing deployment of cellular networks across the globe is pushing the energy consumption in cellular networks at an exceptional rate. The integration of renewable energy (RE) harvesting technology into future mobile networks has the potential to positively cope with environmental contamination and ensure self-energy sustainability as a means to decrease fossil fuel consumption. Diesel generator (DG) in conjunction with on-site RE harvester has emerged as an economic and extent efficient option where commercial grid supply is not viable. This paper is focused on the cost aware energy management framework addressing to least net present cost (NPC) for the envisioned hybrid powered green cellular base stations (BSs) considering tempo-spatial traffic dynamics. In such wireless networks, solar photovoltaic modules are considered as a primary energy source, while the DG and energy storage device are kept as the standby supply in case of inadequate solar energy to ensure zero outage. A comprehensive simulation-based investigation is carried out in the context of downlink Long-Term Evolution (LTE) cellular networks for evaluating cost-efficiency and reliability performance under a wide range of network settings. Particularly, this paper examines the energy yield, greenhouse gas emissions, and cost analysis based on the optimal architecture of Remote Radio Head-enabled LTE BS. Moreover, wireless network performance in terms of throughput, energy efficiency gain, and radio efficiency is thoroughly investigated using Monte Carlo simulations. Numerical results demonstrate a substantial reduction of carbon footprints with minimum NPC while satisfying the quality of service requirements.     

Effect of supplemented soybean (Glycine max L) diet and extracts on aluminum sulfate-induced genotoxicity

Aim of this study is to evaluate the protective role of Glycine max L. (soybean) against aluminum sulfate-induced genotoxicity. A diet containing 30% soybean and extracts obtained with various organic solvents were administered orally to male white Swiss mice prior to intraperitoneal injection of Al₂(SO₄)₃. Light microscopy was used for the examination of genotoxicity involving somatic cells, germ cells, and sperms. The main secondary metabolites contained in each extract were isolated and identified by chromatographic and spectral analyses. Administration of soy diet and extracts to the examined mice induced significant anti-mutagenic activity against bone marrow aberrations and spermatocyte and sperm abnormalities. At the end of this study, maximum protection was achieved using the methanolic extract (83% and 79%) followed by those obtained with chloroform (71% and 49%) and n-hexane (51% and 39%) for bone marrow aberrations and spermatocyte abnormalities, respectively. The observed activity of soybean extracts might be related to the main constituents isolated and identified. These main constituents were the isoflavone glycosides genistin and daidzin in addition to saponins (methanol extract), lignan matairesinol (chloroform extract), and β-sitosterol, unsaturated fatty acids as well as phospholipids (n-hexane extract). The results illustrated that soy extracts can be considered as alternative anti-mutagenic nutraceuticals and promising source for developing anti-mutagenic drugs.