ModelOps for enhanced decision-making and governance in emergency control rooms

Environment Systems and Decisions - For mission critical (MC) applications such as bushfire emergency management systems (EMS), understanding the current situation as a disaster unfolds is critical...     

Aerodynamics of ancient egyptian Obelisks and their structural response to Boundary Layer wind

Environmental Fluid Mechanics - Ancient Egyptian obelisks have been carved thousands of years ago and survived many earthquakes and wind storms. This study examines the aerodynamic characteristics...     

Experimental study and theoretical prediction of mechanical properties of ultra-high-performance concrete incorporated with nanorice husk ash burning at different temperature treatments

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This research aimed to investigate the effect of nanorice husk ash (NRHA) prepared using different thermal treatment methods on ultra-high-performance...     

The ameliorative effect of kaempferol against CdCl2- mediated renal damage entails activation of Nrf2 and inhibition of NF-kB

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This study evaluated the nephroprotective effect of kaempferol against cadmium chloride (CdCl2) -induced nephropathy in rats. It also investigated if...     

WATER CONSERVATION IN CASABLANCA,MOROCCO1

ABSTRACT: This study examines water consumption characteristics in Casablanca and analyzes approaches for sustainable water demand management. Research procedures involve the development and estimation of water demand models for the residential/commercial, industrial, and institutional sectors; forecasts of water demand to 2010; and simulation of the effects of a complex of water conservation methods on the forecasted demands. The results indicate that residential/commercial water demand is weakly responsive to price changes (elasticity =?0.448) while institutional water demand is slightly more responsive (elasticity =?0.648). The conservation approaches used in the simulations included public education, plumbing code revisions to require use of water conservation devices, leak detection and repair, pricing policy, metering, and pressure reduction. The results indicate that considerable saving in water use can be attained through a comprehensive water demand management program.     

Estimating Potential Climate Change Effects on the Upper Neuse Watershed Water Balance Using the SWAT Model

Climate change poses water resource challenges for many already water stressed watersheds throughout the world. One such watershed is the Upper Neuse Watershed in North Carolina, which serves as a water source for the large and growing Research Triangle Park region. The aim of this study was to quantify possible changes in the watershed’s water balance due to climate change. To do this, we used the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model forced with different climate scenarios for baseline, mid‐century, and end‐century time periods using five different downscaled General Circulation Models. Before running these scenarios, the SWAT model was calibrated and validated using daily streamflow records within the watershed. The study results suggest that, even under a mitigation scenario, precipitation will increase by 7.7% from the baseline to mid‐century time period and by 9.8% between the baseline and end‐century time period. Over the same periods, evapotranspiration (ET) would decrease by 5.5 and 7.6%, water yield would increase by 25.1% and 33.2%, and soil water would increase by 1.4% and 1.9%. Perhaps most importantly, the model results show, under a high emission scenario, large seasonal differences with ET estimated to decrease by up to 42% and water yield to increase by up to 157% in late summer and fall. Planning for the wetter predicted future and corresponding seasonal changes will be critical for mitigating the impacts of climate change on water resources.     

Assessment of coastal ecosystems vulnerability to pollution: Algiers coast,Algeria

Coastal areas are frequently influenced by direct and/or indirect multiple anthropogenic pressures, which impacts marine life. Those perturbations may act in a heterogeneous way with a different intensity and are related to the complexity of coastal ecosystems. To visualize all these interactions at a local scale, a methodology inspired from many researches has been implemented in order to search, identify, and classify coastal ecosystems according to their sensitivity to anthropic pressure exerted by coastal cities. Thus, producing vulnerability maps will be essential tools to local coastal managers. We have applied this methodology on five coastal municipalities in Algiers. Firstly, the environmental sensitivity of coastal ecosystems was assessed by analyzing these four sub-indices: biological sensitivity, geomorphological sensitivity, hydrodynamic characteristics, and pollution intensity. Secondly, an assessment of the anthropogenic pressures presented by each municipality was carried out. Five sub-indexes have been taken into consideration when conducting this assessment: human activities, infrastructures, vectors of pollution, urbanization, and regulatory protection. Then, vulnerability maps were produced by the overlapping of sensitivity and anthropic pressure maps. The results assessed for the environmental vulnerability indicated that most areas are moderately to highly vulnerable, especially in the municipalities of Bab El Oued, Rais Hamidou, and Ain Bénian. The analysis of the obtained results shows the potential applicability of this methodology because they accurately reflect the reality. Therefore, these results can be useful to decision-makers by providing them with a relatively rational decision-making tool to prioritize future management and planning efforts.

     

Evaluation of pollution by heavy metals of an abandoned Pb-Zn mine in northern Tunisia using sequential fractionation and geostatistical mapping

This study investigates the contents of lead, zinc, and cadmium in 109 near-surface soil samples collected around the abandoned mine of Fedj Lahdoum, northern Tunisia, to assess the risk of pollution they generate. The study involved some analytical procedures such as pH measurements, X-ray diffraction techniques, sequential fractionation, and geostatistical mapping using the ordinary Kriging techniques. The sequential fractionation revealed that the bioavailability of Pb, Zn, and Cd follows the orders F5?>?F3 » F4?>?F2 » F1, F5?>?F3 » F4 » F2?>?F1 and F5?>?F2 » F4?>?F1, respectively; their associations with organic matter and residual sulfides (F4) are relatively low. However, their high cumulated contents are dominantly associated with the residual (F5) and reducible (F3) fractions. The geostatistical mapping was endeavored to predict the spatial distribution of the studied heavy metals at unsampled sites and to produce a cumulated risk map of soil pollution. The latter is discussed with emphasis of the main factors responsible for the scattering of the pollution as much as the landscape conditions, the chemical composition of the mine tailings, the surface drainage of meteoric water and the wind. This study provides insight into the delineation of the spatial spreading of Pb, Zn, and Cd around the abandoned mine Fedj Lahdoum and their surrounding urban areas. It reveals that the mine infrastructure areas encompassing both extraction and processing and tailing deposition areas are the main sources of contamination. And the landscape conditions together with the surface drainage of meteoric water and the wind are the main factors responsible for the scattering of the pollution.

     

An LC-MS/MS method for creatine and creatinine analysis in paraquat-intoxicated patients

Abstract

A sudden increase in serum creatinine after paraquat intoxication has been reported in several clinical studies. However, this dramatic change of creatinine may be possibly due to an interconversion of creatine-creatinine in relation to paraquat toxicity. In order to investigate the creatine-creatinine relationship, a liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry in combination with electrospray ionization was developed and validated for simultaneous determination of creatine and creatinine in the serum. The chromatographic separation was achieved on a Gemini® C₆-Phenyl column with a gradient elution consisting of 0.1% formic acid in ultrapure water and methanol as the mobile phase. The method yielded suitable levels of specificity and selectivity, and calibration curves of creatine and creatinine in serum were linear over the concentration range of 0.5–200?µg mL^?1. The limit of quantification of both compounds was 0.5?µg mL^?1, and the method was accurate within the recovery range of 96.23–102.75%, indicating the robustness of the method. The method was successfully applied to toxicological samples from paraquat-intoxicated patients, and the concentrations of creatine and creatinine were quantified. High creatine concentrations in serum samples were observed which may lead to high serum creatinine despite normal kidney function as creatine is converted to creatinine in proportion to its concentration.     

Protective effects of thymoquinone against acrylamide-induced liver,kidney and brain oxidative damage in rats

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Acrylamide (AA), an industrial monomer, may cause multi-organ toxicity through induction of oxidative stress and inflammation. The antioxidant...