Simulation and Economic Study of the MED-TVC Units at Umm Al Nar Desalination Plant

A rigorous mathematical model has been used to develop a steady state simulation program MEDNAR to analyze the multi-effect thermal vapor compression desalination (MED-TVC) plant at Umm Al-Nar power and desalination plant. The effect of thermodynamic losses on the thermal performance ratio, the specific heat transfer area and the specific flow rate of the cooling water are taken into account. The losses contemplated are the boiling point elevation and the temperature depression corresponding to the pressure drop during the vapor condensation process. The MEDNAR also takes into consideration the variation in the physical properties of the seawater with temperature and salt concentration, and the effect of the presence of non-condensable gases on the heat transfer coefficients in the evaporators. Sensitivity analyses, using this software, were conducted to study the effect of a number of process variables on the plant performance. As a part of this thesis, an economic study has been carried out to determine the total water unit cost. This includes a cost break down in details for capital investment and production costs. Also an economic sensitivity analysis was performed to investigate the relationships between the fuel cost, plant production rate, operation and maintenance cost and plant running factor, and the total water unit cost

Studies on the Occurrence of Fluoride in Some Food Samples

In recent years, the amount of fluoride in biological samples, drinking water and in fluoride containing food or feedstuffs has generated considerable interest. Hence the determination of fluoride is becoming increasingly important due to its implications for environmental health. Fluoride is considered to be amongst the most phytotoxic of the more common pollutants. In response to that extensive research has been made to improve the determination of trace amounts of fluoride through developing different analytical methods. The application of these various analytical methods for fluoride ion determination in water and food samples has gained an enormous interest. Chapter I of this thesis involves the major aspects of fluoride including availability of fluoride in the environment, physiological effect and mode of action of fluoride. Also it contains a literature survey on the application of various analytical methods of analysis for fluoride ion determination in many of environmental samples. The experimental part of the thesis is presented in Chapter II. It includes the chemicals, materials and the method of preparation of the various solutions used. The preparation of the different samples for analysis, the methods of analysis as well as the instruments of analysis are described. Moreover, this chapter includes the general standard procedures and techniques established for fluoride ion determination in the environmental samples. In Chapter III, the results of fluoride ion analysis in the different types of water, tea, honey, juice, dates, spinach and hamour fish were listed. In this context the results indicate that the average value of F- content in the bottled water was 0.103 mg/L which is relatively lower than the corresponding value in well water. The F- was not detected in desalinated water whereas in the holy Zamzam water it is close to 0.4 mg/L. The F- content in tea is 2.33 mg/L and tea could be considered as a good natural source of F-. Also spinach and hamour fish samples could be considered as moderate sources of F-. However, honey, juice and dates contain trace amounts of F-. Chapter IV describes the application of a spectrophotometric method for the determination of F- in commercial samples. The method depends on the use of Zr (IV)-thiazolyl azo rezorcinol (TAR) system as a spectrophotometric reagent for fluoride ion determination. The results show that the lower detectable concentration of F- using this method was 1x10-5 mol/L of F-. The method was applied for the determination of Fin commercial mouth wash solutions and the results agreed (about 98.3%) of its content shown on the label of the mouth wash solution bottle. Chapter V summarizes the results of analysis of F- in the various drinking water types and different food samples and recommended the fluoridation of the desalinated water. However, the desalinated water has different uses other than its use as a drinking water, therefore we are recommending the fluoridation of the bottled water

Influence Of Non-Uniform Number Of Turns Per Coils And Stator Geometry On Unbalanced Magnetic Force In Brushless Permanent Magnet Machine

The Three Phase Permanent Magnet Brushless machines in which slot number and pole number combinations are similar such as differ by one have to be configured with asymmetric winding pattern in order to obtained perfect balanced back-emf among phases. However, the asymmetric winding pattern inherently results an unwanted force which is commonly known as an Unbalanced Magnetic Force or Unbalanced Magnetic Pull. An acoustic noise and vibration are the end results of this phenomenon. In some robotic application systems that require an accurate positioning control, this phenomenon is sometimes considerably severe. Investigations of electromagnetic performance in the asymmetric winding permanent magnet machines are carried out by using 2-D Finite-Element Analysis and the developed prototype machines are tested for verification purpose. In principle, the investigations are mainly driven by the efforts of minimizing the Unbalanced Magnetic Force. In this research, a reduction of Unbalanced Magnetic Force is achieved by implementing two approaches, i) non-uniform number of turns per coils in every tooth in a respective phase, and ii) an asymmetric design of stator. The investigation shows that only the first implementation technique is successful as reducing the existing Unbalanced Magnetic Force by 18% without damaging the desired torque performance in the subjected machines. Although the second implementation technique also could reduce the Unbalanced Magnetic Force, severe degradation of the torque performance as well as a bigger cogging torque existed. It is also shown that that the Unbalanced Magnetic Force is mostly influenced by it radial component instead of the tangential component. A reduction of radial force component result in a smaller Unbalanced Magnetic Force globally. Practically, the optimized design of machine is recommended for industrial applications which requires accurate position control such as robotic arm and conveying system

Development Of Location Based Services For Geocoding And Recording Road Accidents Data

This thesis explores and reviews both conceptual and technological issues associated with integrating mobile Geographic Information System (GIS) and Location Based Services (LBS); within the context of the study, road accident geocoding data collection as subject of the problem. The development approaches are discussed in this thesis from conceptual system modelling to integrating mobile-GIS and LBS middleware with the deployed map service, the developed geocoding service and data collections service. The developed system is partially based on open source software to reduce total cost of ownership for developing countries’ governments and to follow Malaysia government policy for year 2007 in adapting and developing open source solutions. The testing of the system and geocoding was carried out within the campus of Universiti Putra Malaysia. The conclusion of this research shows the LBS and mobile-GIS geocoding method have achieved improvement compared conventional method of geocoding and data collection; where each of positional errors and effort of data transferring have been reduced using these new technologies

An Analysis of Export Restriction Rules and Proposals Under the WTO

هذه المذكرة هي نسخة منقحة عن ورقة بحثية سرية حول القيود المفروضة على المفاوضات نات الصلة بالأمن الغذائي تحت رعاية منظمة التجارة العالمية (WTO) . تتألف النسخة الكاملة لهذه الورقة من عنصرين: يمنح العنصر الأول خطه للإطار القانوني القائم ومقترحات التفاوض على قيود الصادرات. أما العنصر الثاني. فهو يمنح مقترحات التفاوض. وبسبب السرية. إن العنصر الأول فقحد متاح للعامة وسيتم عرضه في هذه المذكرة. تتمحور هذه المذكرة حول ثلاثة أقسام حيث يتناول القسم الأول أهم معاهدات منظمة التجارة العالمية (WTO) . وبالأخص الاتفاقية العامة للتعرفة و التجارة الدولية ١٩٩٤ (1994 GATT) واتفاقية الزراعة (AoA). كما أنه يناقش كيف يسهم التباس المصطلحات في هذه المعاهدات في خلق التحديات على صعيد التنظيم الفعال لقيود الصادرات. أما القسم الثاني. فهو يعرض المقترحات العديدة لأعضا، منظمة التجارة العالمية (WTO) والتي تهدف إلى توضيح الالتباسات أو ملء الثغرات في المخططات التنظيمية القائمة. ويناقش القسم الثالث المعاهدات التجارية الإقليمية بما فيها شراكة التجارة والاستثمار عبر الأطلسي (TTIP). اتفاقية الاقتصاد والتجارة الشاملة (CETA)‘ والشراكة عبر المحيط الهادئ (TTP)، بالإضافة الى اتفاقيات أخرى أقل شهرة لمنظمة التجارة العالمية (WTO).This memorandum is a redacted version of a confidential research paper on export restriction negotiations in relation to food security under the auspices of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The complete version of this paper has two components: the first provides a sketch of the existing legal framework and negotiation proposals on export restriction; the second provides negotiation proposals. Due to confidentiality considerations, only the first component of analysis is publicly available and presented here. This memorandum is organized into three parts. The first part elaborates on the most relevant WTO treaties, namely the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT 1994) and the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA). It discusses how ambiguity in the terms in these treaties poses challenges to effective regulation of export restriction. The second part presents proposals from several WTO Members that seek to clarify the ambiguities or fill the void in the existing regulatory schemes. The third part discusses regional trade treaties, including Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), and Trans- Pacific Partnership (TTP), along with other less prominent WTO agreements

Identification of novel differentially expressed genes in type 1 diabetes mellitus complications using transcriptomic profiling of UAE patients: a multicenter study

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is a chronic metabolic disorder that mainly affects children and young adults. It is associated with debilitating and long-life complications. Therefore, understanding the factors that lead to the onset and development of these complications is crucial. To our knowledge this is the first study that attempts to identify the common differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in T1DM complications using whole transcriptomic profiling in United Arab Emirates (UAE) patients. The present multicenter study was conducted in different hospitals in UAE including University Hospital Sharjah, Dubai Hospital and Rashid Hospital. A total of fifty-eight Emirati participants aged above 18 years and with a BMI < 25 kg/m2 were recruited and forty-five of these participants had a confirmed diagnosis of T1DM. Five groups of complications associated with the latter were identified including hyperlipidemia, neuropathy, ketoacidosis, hypothyroidism and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). A comprehensive whole transcriptomic analysis using NGS was conducted. The outcomes of the study revealed the common DEGs between T1DM without complications and T1DM with different complications. The results revealed seven common candidate DEGs, SPINK9, TRDN, PVRL4, MYO3A, PDLIM1, KIAA1614 and GRP were upregulated in T1DM complications with significant increase in expression of SPINK9 (Fold change: 5.28, 3.79, 5.20, 3.79, 5.20) and MYO3A (Fold change: 4.14, 6.11, 2.60, 4.33, 4.49) in hyperlipidemia, neuropathy, ketoacidosis, hypothyroidism and PCOS, respectively. In addition, functional pathways of ion transport, mineral absorption and cytosolic calcium concentration were involved in regulation of candidate upregulated genes related to neuropathy, ketoacidosis and PCOS, respectively. The findings of this study represent a novel reference warranting further studies to shed light on the causative genetic factors that are involved in the onset and development of T1DM complications

MACROECONOMICS INDICATORS AND BANK STABILITY: A CASE OF BANKING IN INDONESIA

This paper provides new empirical evidence of the bank stability in relation to the macroeconomic indicator of Indonesia. The bank stability is first calculated using Z-score, and then regressed using Autoregressive distributive lag (ARDL) model on the macroeconomic variables i.e. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in US dollar, Interest rates (IR) in percentage and Consumer Price Index (CPI). To analyse further the long run relationship and the impact of bank stability, Cholesky standard deviation shock to the model, ARDL and Impulse Response Function (IRF) are used. These ARDL and IRF are carried out independently and repeated over data for three different models: (i) the commercial banks model, (ii) Islamic banks model, and (iii) the overall banking industry model. The empirical findings suggest long run relationship between the stability of commercial banks and macroeconomic factors. The findings also suggest the long run relationship between the stability of overall banking industry and macroeconomic factors. However, there is no evidence of long run relationship between the stability of Islamic banks and macroeconomics factors. Nevertheless, this finding is subject to the limitation of data, on the number of Islamic banks included in the test. The sample of Islamic banks was 5 banks from a total of 10 Islamic banks, due to insufficient data, as compared to the larger number of commercial banks taken into, as the sample

SCARECROW: scalable malware reporting, detection and analysis

Malware is the main computer security threat that can cause damage to user's devices and company's infrastructure. End users who want to download executable files from the Internet are currently presented by a binary choice (OK or Cancel) but there is no viable third alternative for uncertainty (Not Sure). Reporting to any security agency or company for status inquiry regarding executable files normally lack of efficiency in terms of reporting back to the users in a timely manner. As a consequence, developing a more efficient approach that provide a prompt response to the users on reported suspicious files is important in order to encourage more end users engagement in malware reporting thus ultimately reducing the number of unknown malware in the wild. This study proposes a new automatic and scalable malware analyzer that is able to quickly scrutinize and help generate report for each malware detected. The implementation of the approach includes both the client (user's system) and the backend processing (security agency). The client side provides a user friendly and integrated reporting mechanism. The backend is based on both static and dynamic analysis for comprehensive malware detection and profiling. The backend utilizes cloud computing infrastructure to scale, speed up and automate the overall analysis and feedback processes. The system provides a win-win situation for both end user and security agency by providing sustainable and successful symbiotic anti-malware eco-system

Oil Palm Mapping Over Peninsular Malaysia Using Google Earth Engine and Machine Learning Algorithms

Oil palm plays a pivotal role in the ecosystem, environment, economy and without proper monitoring, uncontrolled oil palm activities could contribute to deforestation that can cause high negative impacts on the environment and therefore, proper management and monitoring of the oil palm industry are necessary. Mapping the distribution of oil palm is crucial in order to manage and plan the sustainable operations of oil palm plantations. Remote sensing provides a means to detect and map oil palm from space effectively. Recent advances in cloud computing and big data allow rapid mapping to be performed over large a geographical scale. In this study, 30 m Landsat 8 data were processed using a cloud computing platform of Google Earth Engine (GEE) in order to classify oil palm land cover using non-parametric machine learning algorithms such as Support Vector Machine (SVM), Classification and Regression Tree (CART) and Random Forest (RF) for the first time over Peninsular Malaysia. The hyperparameters were tuned, and the overall accuracy produced by the SVM, CART and RF were 93.16%, 80.08% and 86.50% respectively. Overall, the SVM classified the 7 classes (water, built-up, bare soil, forest, oil palm, other vegetation and paddy) the best. However, RF extracted oil palm information better than the SVM. The algorithms were compared and the McNemar's test showed significant values for comparisons between SVM and CART and RF and CART. On the other hand, the performance of SVM and RF are considered equally effective. Despite the challenges in implementing machine learning optimisation using GEE over a large area, this paper shows the efficiency of GEE as a cloud-based free platform to perform bioresource distributions mapping such as oil palm over a large area in Peninsular Malaysia