scholarly journals Evaluation and analysis of freshwater from atmospheric moisture as byproduct of air-cooling units in Oman

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 19
Author(s):  
Iessa Sabble Moosa ◽  
Hussien A. Kazem ◽  
Humaid Al-Badi ◽  
Ahmed Said Al-Hashimi

Providing water for different uses to maintain life activities is a target for many nations. So, managing the existing water resources and finding new water sources are essential for any nation's water security. In the present article, 4 years daily meteorological data, such as relative humidity, air-temperatures, and global solar irradiation were analyzed to support the explanation of high-level humidity in the coastal plains of Oman, and the effect of that on water production from atmospheric moisture. What applies to the coast of Oman is also valid on the coasts of the Gulf Cooperation Council. It is found that the annual mean value of the RH% along the Omani coast is about 68% for 4 years (2016–2019). Also, the study of the air-temperatures data revealed very clear decreasing in the direction toward the south of Oman due to the geographical diversity. It is found that the lowest annual air- temperatures were in the far south city, Dhalkut (about Max., Mean, Min., 25, 22, 20 °C, respectively). Three years (2017–2019) of global solar irradiation data of Muscat International Airport showed a maximum value of around 7300 W/m2 in June. In addition, a part of the research work was to investigate the byproduct drain-water that comes out from big air-cooling units with a rate power of about 21.73 kW each. The result indicated that a Net Annual Rate of freshwater of about 1892 m3/year can be accumulated from one supermarket air-cooling units nearby the line coast of Oman. Also, the chemical, physical, and bacterial tests were carried out to find some parameters, such as TDS, EC, pH, and bacterial contamination. The results were encouraging towards the purity of the byproduct water, and the existing bacteria could be killed by solar energy.

Author(s):  
Dardan Klimenta ◽  
Julijana Lekic ◽  
Sanela Arsic ◽  
Dragan Tasic ◽  
Nikola Krstic ◽  
...  

It is known that meteorological variables from meteorological online services can be used for the design of photovoltaic (PV) water pumping systems for irrigation. The software LORENTZ COMPASS in such a manner uses as inputs solar irradiation, precipitation, and ambient temperature collected by the NASA Langley Research Centre over a period of more than 20 years. This paper proposes a novel procedure that uses the sunshine duration, precipitation, and ambient temperature as inputs. These inputs were collected by Weather Online UK during a period of 25 years. The effects of different data collection periods and data availabilities on the design of the PV water pumping system are also analysed and discussed. Along with the meteorological data, the proposed procedure uses as inputs datasheets from manufacturers of pumping systems and PV modules. The procedure is based on the Sivkov model that correlates the global horizontal irradiation with the sunshine duration and the elevation angle of the Sun. A case study, i.e., an existing PV water pumping system designed using LORENTZ COMPASS is used as reference for purposes of comparison and validation of the procedure. The results of the comparison showed a high level of accuracy, and a number of interesting conclusions are drawn from them.


2021 ◽  
Vol 80 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 1119.1-1119
Author(s):  
L. Nacef ◽  
Y. Besbes ◽  
Y. Mabrouk ◽  
H. Ferjani ◽  
K. Maatallah ◽  
...  

Background:The lipid paradox is termed the decreased cholesterol level in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Nevertheless, the apolipoprotein levels are usually higher than a healthy person and are predictors of cardiovascular events.Objectives:We aimed to describe lipid abnormalities in RA patients and to look for predictor factors of these changes.Methods:The prospective study was carried out on patients with RA who met the 2010 American College of Rheumatology (ACR)/European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) classification criteria. These patients were followed in the rheumatology department of the Kassab Institute.We collected the socio-demographic data, biological and immunological parameters.The lipid assessment included: a measurement of total cholesterol (TC), HDL, LDL, and triglycerides (TG). Lipoproteins APOA1 and APOB were measured. All data were collected after patient consent.Results:Of the 47 patients recruited, 78.7% were female. The mean age was 52.5 ±11.06 [32-76]. The average RA progressed from 86.25 ±63 months [5-288] and was erosive in 81.6% of cases. The rheumatoid factor (RF) was positive in 57.8% of patients, and citrullinated antipeptide antibodies (ACPA) were present in 62.2%. Eight patients had a previous CV history.Mean TC was 4.42 ±1.3 [1.2-7.58], mean HDL was 1.38 ±0.73 [0.18-4.10], mean LDL was 2.55 ±1.16 [0.24-5.54]. The mean TG value was 1.28 ±0.6 [0.24-5.54]. TC elevation was found in 9.1% of cases, HDL in 21.3% of cases, LDL in 5.5% of cases, and TG in 16.4% of cases. Mean APOB/APOA1 ratio was 0.67 ±0.18 [0,46-1,11]. LDL elevation was associated to a high DAS28 (p=0.06, r=0.512). APOA1 was associated to a low DAS28 (p=0.04, r=-0.642).The mean value of APO A1 was 1.36 ±0.21 [0.84-1.81], that of APOB was 0.90 ±0.22 [0.58-1.40]. APOA1 values were lower in patients with high-level LDL (p=0.767). The APOB value was associated with lipid disturbance without significant correlation (p=0.291).Conclusion:Lipid test abnormalities can be found in RA patients outside of any known CV risk factors. APOA1 seems to have a protective effect. Screening and treatment of these abnormalities can prevent CV risk.References:[1]Miguel Bernardes and al. Coronary artery calcium score in female rheumatoid arthritis patients: Associations with apolipoproteins and disease biomarkers. Int J Rheum Dis. 2019;00:1–16.[2]Anna So dergren and al. Biomarkers associated with cardiovascular disease in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis. PLOS ONE. August 5, 2019.Disclosure of Interests:None declared


Diagnostics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 816
Author(s):  
Kuei-Yuan Hou ◽  
Hao-Yuan Lu ◽  
Ching-Ching Yang

This study aimed to facilitate pseudo-CT synthesis from MRI by normalizing MRI intensity of the same tissue type to a similar intensity level. MRI intensity normalization was conducted through dividing MRI by a shading map, which is a smoothed ratio image between MRI and a three-intensity mask. Regarding pseudo-CT synthesis from MRI, a conversion model based on a three-layer convolutional neural network was trained and validated. Before MRI intensity normalization, the mean value ± standard deviation of fat tissue in 0.35 T chest MRI was 297 ± 73 (coefficient of variation (CV) = 24.58%), which was 533 ± 91 (CV = 17.07%) in 1.5 T abdominal MRI. The corresponding results were 149 ± 32 (CV = 21.48%) and 148 ± 28 (CV = 18.92%) after intensity normalization. With regards to pseudo-CT synthesis from MRI, the differences in mean values between pseudo-CT and real CT were 3, 15, and 12 HU for soft tissue, fat, and lung/air in 0.35 T chest imaging, respectively, while the corresponding results were 3, 14, and 15 HU in 1.5 T abdominal imaging. Overall, the proposed workflow is reliable in pseudo-CT synthesis from MRI and is more practicable in clinical routine practice compared with deep learning methods, which demand a high level of resources for building a conversion model.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. Nait Mensour ◽  
S. Bouaddi ◽  
B. Abnay ◽  
B. Hlimi ◽  
A. Ihlal

Solar radiation data play an important role in solar energy research. However, in regions where the meteorological stations providing these data are unavailable, strong mapping and estimation models are needed. For this reason, we have developed a model based on artificial neural network (ANN) with a multilayer perceptron (MLP) technique to estimate the monthly average global solar irradiation of the Souss-Massa area (located in the southwest of Morocco). In this study, we have used a large database provided by NASA geosatellite database during the period from 1996 to 2005. After testing several models, we concluded that the best model has 25 nodes in the hidden layer and results in a minimum root mean square error (RMSE) equal to 0.234. Furthermore, almost a perfect correlation coefficient R=0.988 was found between measured and estimated values. This developed model was used to map the monthly solar energy potential of the Souss-Massa area during a year as estimated by the ANN and designed with the Kriging interpolation technique. By comparing the annual average solar irradiation between three selected sites in Souss-Massa, as estimated by our model, and six European locations where large solar PV plants are deployed, it is apparent that the Souss-Massa area is blessed with higher solar potential.


2016 ◽  
Vol 256 ◽  
pp. 319-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario Rosso ◽  
Ildiko Peter ◽  
Ivano Gattelli

During the last decades under the enthusiastic and competent guidance of Mr Chiarmetta SSM processes attained in Italy at Stampal Spa (Torino) an unquestionable high level of industrial development with the production of large numbers of high performance automotive parts, like variety of suspension support, engine suspension mounts, steering knuckle, front suspension wheel, arm and rear axle. Among the most highlighted findings SSM processes demonstrated their capability to reduce the existing gap between casting and forging, moreover during such a processes there are the opportunity to better control the defect level.Purpose of this paper is to highlight the research work and the SSM industrial production attained and developed by Mr G.L. Chiarmetta, as well as to give an overview concerning some alternative methods for the production of enhanced performance light alloys components for critical industrial applications and to present an analysis of a new rheocasting process suitable for the manufacturing of high performance industrial components.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 1330-1336
Author(s):  
Siti Hadijah Che Mat Et.al

There are various factors influencing a student’s academic achievement at any level, either primary, secondary or tertiary. These factors include attitudes, learning techniques, general interest in the subject matter, factors related to teacher, family or friends, previous achievements, teaching and learning environment and facilities, infrastructure, and teaching methods. This article explores factors affecting the achievement of student of a course offered in the economic program of universitiutaramalaysia. For this article, a total of 220 students who registered for macroeconomics course at universitiutaramalaysia were randomly selected to be the study sample. of the 220 responses, only 211 were analysed because some questionnaire forms was returned with incomplete information. these students consist of second, third and fourth year students. The study found that among the items in the lecturer preparation factor which came with high mean scores is the item "lecturer shows dedication in teaching". There is no denying that teaching and learning methods incorporating the latest technology and trends are desirable but the study shows that teaching using longstanding approach like using whiteboards is still preferable among students and gives the highest mean value of 7.44, which is a high level score. In terms of learning techniques, the study found that students are not consistent between the goals to achieve excellence with the appropriate effort taken by them. although they want to achieve high excellence in this subject but their efforts and actions are not inclined to that desire


2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-62
Author(s):  
Maja Uran Maravić ◽  
Dejan Križaj ◽  
Miha Lesjak

The purpose – Slovenian tourism organisations must constantly focus on developing variety innovations for organisations. In this paper, we present a study conducted on innovation practices in Slovenian tourism organisations. Design/methodology – In a survey conducted on Slovenia tourism organisations, we obtained data and identified their innovation performance and the innovation climate in their area of business. There are three main hypothesis tested. Findings – The research sample of 41 organisations found that most innovation in tourism organisations came through the introduction of new services (90%), followed by innovation through new organisational methods (73%), and found a high-level climate for innovation. Worse was its assessment of research activity within organisations and cooperation with external institutions (eg. universities and research institutes) and investment in innovation activities within their research and development. Results obtained from the research showed a mean value for the innovation climate-instrument of 3.83 indicating a high innovation climate for the Slovenian tourism companies included in the sample survey. Mostly, (publicly known as) more innovative active organisations responded to our survey. From such results, we find that tourism organisations included in the survey are aware of the importance of innovation, teaching organisations to communicate well and network with other organisations, are adaptable to change and engaged with their own ideas in support of the organisation's management. Originality of the research – The contribution of the research is that it has applied the generic instrument for measuring innovation climate on tourism and the first time climate is measured in Slovenia.


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