ENHANCING PRODUCED WATER QUALITY USING MODIFIED ACTIVATED CARBON

The formation produced water from natural gas production process in the North field offshore considered largest volume of waste water in Qatar, which could be considered a potential benefits source for the industry as well as for other domestic uses if it was treated properly, taking in to consideration economical cost and conditions aspects. This project aims to study the physical and chemical characterizations of the produced water associated with natural gas from the North field, in the same time examine the removal of major inorganic and organic pollutants and heavy metals from the produced water by using different treatment method such as the use of sand filtration, activated carbon filtration and modified activated carbon filtration. Samples of produced water were collected from the North field offshore gas production platforms and analyzed to examine the physical and chemical characterizations of the produced water, the result were compared with the chemical composition of other field produced water, the concentration were within the range among other field except for sulfide and treatment chemical production (additive chemicals) concentrations. The average results briefly showing that, pH , COD, TOC, BOD, conductivity, sulfide, oil and grease (HEM) and total nitrogen parameters as follows: 4.43 , 10496.6 mg/l , 2405 mg/l , 1034 mg/l 7035 µs/cm ,326.3 mg/l ,40.5 mg/l, 47.4 mg/l respectively. Also the study includes other characterizations such as organic acids, phenolic, B.T.E.X, production Chemicals (Additive Chemicals), inorganic anions, metals and cations and the average values of the B.T.E.X (Benzene, Toluene, Ethyl Benzene and Xylene) were found as the following 11170 ppb, 278.1 ppb, 4648.6 ppb and 1156.8 ppb respectively. After the sand filtration (SF) the removal efficiency of the TSS , COD, acetate, propionate, corrosion inhibitor and TN (total nitrogen) parameters were the following 77.5% ,10.1%, 7.82 %, 4.5%, 94.1% and 63.7 % respectively. Meanwhile, the removal efficiency of the B.T.E.X (Benzene, Ethyl Benzene and Xylene) found as the follows: 93.14%, 99.8% and 96.7% except for Toluene was 27.6%. The highest removal efficiency for the metals and cations was for iron, chromium and manganese were as the follows 99.5%, 97.5% and 95.8% respectively. Activated carbon filtration was found to be more efficient to remove COD and TOC with 23.7% and 30.7% respectively among the three media. Regarding the removal efficiency of the Activated Carbon for the organic acid was the highest for the acetate and propionate with 83.6% and 88.7% respectively and for the inorganic ions- phosphate the removal efficiency was 94.9%. Also the AC showed removal for some metals such as zinc, copper, boron, nickel, iron and chromium and highest removal efficiency more than 97% for the all B.T.E.X compound except for the Ethyl benzene was 76.9%. Modified Activated Carbon was found to be more efficient to reduce the TOC with 31.1% whereas the COD concentration increased by 12.6%. MAC showed also removal efficiency for the inorganic ions phosphate and sulphate with 94.9 and 48.4% respectively. For the metals, MAC was more efficient than the AC to reduce the zinc, molybdenum and boron concentration and less efficient than AC to reduce copper and acetate (Organic acid), Regarding the B.T.E.X removal efficiency is similar to AC more than 98% except for the Ethyl benzene which was 92.3% higher than AC 76.9%.تشكل المياه المصاحبة والناتجة من عمليات إنتاج الغاز الطبيعي في حقل الشمال أكبر كميات المياه الصرف المهدرة في قطر، والتي يمكن اعتبار هذه المياه مصدرا مفيدا لصناعة أو لاستخدامات الأخرى كالري وغيرها إذا تم معالجتها بشكل صحيح مع الأخذ في الاعتبار جوانب تكلفة المعالجة. يهدف هذا المشروع إلى دراسة المواصفات الفيزيائية والكيميائية للمياه المصاحبة والناتجة من عمليات إنتاج الغاز الطبيعي من حقل الشمال في قطر، وفي نفس الوقت دراسة مدى إزالة الملوثات العضوية وغير العضوية الرئيسية والمعادن الثقيلة من المياه المنتجة باستخدام أساليب علاج مختلفة مثل استخدام الترشيح بالرمال و الترشيح بالكربون النشط و الترشيح بالكربون النشط المعدل . تم جمع عينات من المياه المصاحبة للغاز الطبيعي من منصات إنتاج الغاز البحرية في حقل الشمال وتم تحليلها لدراسة المواصفات الفيزيائية والكيميائية ، وتمت مقارنة هذه النتائج مع نتائج الدراسات اخرى سابقه سواءً للمياه المصاحبة للغاز الطبيعي أو النفط ، وكانت النتائج جميعها ضمن نطاق نتائج الدراسات السابقة باستثناء تركيز المواد الكبريتيديه و تركيز المواد الكيميائية المضافة اثناء عمليات الإنتاج مثل المواد المانعة لتأكل المعادن. متوسط النتائج لدرجة الحموضة المياه pH ، والمواد الكيميائية المستهلكة للأكسجين COD ، والمجموع الكلي للمواد الكربونية TOC ، المواد البيولوجية المستهلكة للأكسجين BOD ، الموصلية Conductivity ، الكبريتيد sulfide ، الزيوت والشحوم (HEM) ومجموع الكلي للمواد النيتروجينية TN على النحو التالي: 4.43 ، 10496.6 ملغم / لتر، 2405 ملغم / لتر، 1034 ملغم / لتر 7035 ميكرو ثانية / سم، 326.3 ملغم/ لتر، 40.5 ملجم / لتر، 47.4 ملجم / لتر على التوالي. كما تتضمن الدراسة لمواصفات أخرى مثل الأحماض العضوية والفينول والمركبات الهيدروكربونية المتطايرة BTEX ، المواد الكيميائية المضافة اثناء عمليات الإنتاج ، الأيونات غير العضوية والمعادن والكاتيونات حيث أن متوسط قيم المركبات الهيدروكربونية المتطايرة BTEX مثل )البنزين ،التولوين ، إيثيل البنزين والزايلين( على النحو التالي 11170 جزء في البليون، 278.1 جزء في البليون، 4648.6 جزء في البليون و 1156.8 جزء في البليون على التوالي . بعد تجربة ترشيح بالرمل (SF) كانت كفاءة إزالة المواد الكلية الصلبة العالقة TSS ، المواد الكيميائية المستهلكة للأكسجين COD ، الخلات، بروبيونات، المواد المانعه للتآكل ومجموع الكلي للمواد النيتروجينية أن كفاءة الإزالة على النحو التالي 77.5 ، ٪ 10.1 ٪ ، 7.82 ، ٪ 4.5 ، ٪ 94.1 ٪ و 63.7 ٪ على التوالي . وكما وجدت كفاءة إزالة ) B.T.E.X البنزين، إيثيل البنزين والزايلين( كما يلي: 93.14 ،٪ 99.8 ٪ و 96.7 ٪ على التوالي باستثناء التولوين كان 27.6 ٪. وكانت أعلى كفاءة إزالة للمعادن والكاتيونات هي للحديد والكروم والمنجنيز وكانت كما يلي 99.5 ،٪ 97.5 ٪ و 95.8 ٪ على التوالي . الترشيح بالكربون النشط كان أكثر كفاءة لإزالة المواد الكيميائية المستهلكة للأكسجين COD والمجموع الكلي للمواد الكربونية TOC حيث أن كفاءة الإزالة على النحو التالي 23.7 ٪ و 30.7 ٪ على التوالي من بين وسائل الترشيح الثلاث. وفيما يتعلق بكفاءة إزالة الكربون النشط لأحماض العضوية كان أعلى مستوى كفاءه للخلات وبروبيونات مع كفاءة الإزالة على النحو التالي 83.6 ٪ و 88.7 ٪ على التوالي. بالنسبة للأيونات الغير عضويه مثل الفوسفات كانت كفاءة الإزالة 94.9 ٪. كما أظهر الكربون النشط كفاءه لإزالة بعض المعادن مثل الزنك والنحاس والبورون والنيكل والحديد والكروم وأعلى كفاءة إزالة كانت أكثر من 97 ٪ B.T.E.X لجميع مركبات الهيدروكربونية المتطايرة باستثناء البنزين الإيثيلي حيث كانت الكفاءة 76.9 ٪ . الترشيح بالكربون النشط المعدل أكثر كفاءة لتقليل المجموع الكلي للمواد الكربونية TOC حيث أن كفاءة الإزالة 31.1 ٪ في حين زاد تركيز المواد الكيميائية المستهلكة للأكسجين COD بنسبة 12.6 ٪. كما أظهرت الكربون النشط المعدل أيضا كفاءة لإزالة أيونات الغير العضوية الفوسفات والكبريتات بنسبة 94.9 و 48.4 ٪ على التوالي. وبالنسبة للمعادن كان الكربون النشط المعدل أكثر كفاءة من الكربون النشط العادي لتقليل من تركيز العناصر التالية الزنك والموليبدينوم والبورون وكان الكربون النشط المعدل أقل كفاءة من الكربون النشط العادي لتقليل من تركيز النحاس والحمض العضوي خلات ، وفيما يتعلق بكفاءة إزالة مركبات الهيدروكربونية المتطايرة BTEX الكربون النشط المعدل أكثر من 98 ٪ باستثناء البنزين الإيثيلي الذي كان بنسبة 92.3

Evaluation of the Impact of Antibiotic Stewardship Program on Antibiotics Utilization As Surgical Prophylaxis at a Secondary Hospital in United Arab Emirates

Background: Overuse or misuse of antibiotics, especially broad-spectrum antibiotics, may result in nosocomial infections, leading to increased mortality rate, extended hospital stay, and cost. The antibiotic stewardship program (ASP) is introduced to combat the irrational use of antibiotics. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of the newly implemented surgical antibiotics prophylaxis (SAP) guidelines. Materials & Methods: This study was a retrospective, hospital-based study conducted over five years (2017 to 2022), one year before and four years after implementation of ASP at Dibba hospital, United Arab Emirates. The study included adult patients who undergo surgical operations during the study period. Results: Out of 3290 patients included in the study,1756 received SAP. The percentage of patients who received SAP improved from pre-ASP 53.6% to 56.7% four years post-ASP. The most frequently used SAP in pre-ASP was amoxicillin with clavulanic acid (decreased from 44% to 0%), in contrast to Cefazolin (increased from 0% to 83%). The appropriate selection of SAP was improved from 42% to 97%, appropriate SAP timing increased from 81% to 98%, appropriate SAP duration was noticeably enhanced from 46% to 98%. The incidence of surgical site infection (SSI) decreased from 34.82% in pre-ASP to 7.99%, 17.91%, 5.40%, and 3.71% in the first, second, third, and fourth post-ASP years, respectively. Conclusions: Four years Implementation of SAP guidelines have significantly improved the rational use of antibiotics resulting in improved clinical outcomes

Attitudes Toward and Images of Children with Special Needs

The media and literature play significant roles in shaping children’s attitudes toward children with special needs. Indeed, several research studies indicate that people with special needs were often portrayed negatively and inaccurately in children’s literature books. To date, no study has been found that investigated the available Arabic and/or English children’s literature books in the UAE to see how people with special needs are portrayed. The aim of this study, therefore, was twofold: a) to analyse children’s literature which feature books with special needs characters, and b) to examine the differences between Arabic and English children’s literature portrayal of people with special needs. One hundred and nine children’s literature books were reviewed. Findings of this study indicate that people with special needs were portrayed negatively in English and Arabic children’s literature books

Incidence of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus in the United Arab Emirates; Comparison of Six Diagnostic Criteria: The Mutaba’ah Study

BACKGROUND: For more than half a century, there has been much research and controversies on how to accurately screen for and diagnose gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). There is a paucity of updated research among the Emirati population in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The lack of a uniform GDM diagnostic criteria results in the inability to accurately combine or compare the disease burden worldwide and locally. This study aimed to compare the incidence of GDM in the Emirati population using six diagnostic criteria for GDM. METHODS: The Mutaba’ah study is the largest multi-center mother and child cohort study in the UAE with an 18-year follow-up. We included singleton pregnancies from the Mutaba’ah cohort screened with the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) at 24–32 weeks from May 2017 to March 2021. We excluded patients with known diabetes and with newly diagnosed diabetes. GDM cumulative incidence was determined using the six specified criteria. GDM risk factors were compared using chi-square and t-tests. Agreements among the six criteria were assessed using kappa statistics. RESULTS: A total of 2,546 women were included with a mean age of 30.5 ± 6.0 years. Mean gravidity was 3.5 ± 2.1, and mean body mass index (BMI) at booking was 27.7 ± 5.6 kg/m(2). GDM incidence as diagnosed by any of the six criteria collectively was 27.1%. It ranged from 8.4% according to the EASD 1996 criteria to 21.5% according to the NICE 2015 criteria. The two most inclusive criteria were the NICE 2015 and the IADPSG criteria with GDM incidence rates of 21.5% (95% CI: 19.9, 23.1) and 21.3% (95% CI: 19.8, 23.0), respectively. Agreement between the two criteria was moderate (k = 0.66; p < 0.001). The least inclusive was the EASD 1996 criteria [8.4% (95% CI: 7.3, 9.6)]. The locally recommended IADPSG/WHO 2013 criteria had weak to moderate agreement with the other criteria, with Cohen’s kappa coefficient ranging from (k = 0.51; p < 0.001) to (k = 0.71; p < 0.001). Most of the GDM risk factors assessed were significantly higher among those with GDM (p < 0.005) identified by all criteria. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate discrepancies among the diagnostic criteria in identifying GDM cases. This emphasizes the need to unify GDM diagnostic criteria in this population to provide accurate and reliable incidence estimates for healthcare planning, especially because the agreement with the recommended criteria was not optimal

Chemical characterisation and the anti-inflammatory, anti-angiogenic and antibacterial properties of date fruit (Phoenix dactylifera L.)

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Date fruit, Phoenix dactylifera L. has traditionally been used as a medicine in many cultures for the treatment of a range of ailments such as stomach and intestinal disorders, fever, oedema, bronchitis and wound healing. Aim of the review: The present review aims to summarise the traditional use and application of Phoenix dactylifera date fruit in different ethnomedical systems, additionally the botany and phytochemistry are identified. Critical evaluation of in vitro and in vitro studies examining date fruit in relation to anti-inflammatory, anti-angiogenic and antimicrobial activities are outlined. Key Findings: The ethnomedical use of Phoenix dactylifera in the treatment of inflammatory disease has been previously identified and reported. Furthermore, date fruit and date fruit co-products such as date syrup are rich sources of polyphenols, anthocyanins, sterols and carotenoids. In vitro studies have demonstrated that date fruit exhibits antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and anti-angiogenic activity. The recent interest in the identification of the numerous health benefits of dates using in vitro and in vivo studies have confirmed that date fruit and date syrup have beneficial health effects that can be attributed to the presence of natural bioactive compounds. Conclusions: Date fruit and date syrup have therapeutic properties, which have the potential to be beneficial to health. However, more investigations are needed to quantify and validate these effects

Maternal mortality and morbidity burden in the Eastern Mediterranean region : findings from the Global Burden of Disease 2015 study

Assessing the burden of maternal mortality is important for tracking progress and identifying public health gaps. This paper provides an overview of the burden of maternal mortality in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) by underlying cause and age from 1990 to 2015. We used the results of the Global Burden of Disease 2015 study to explore maternal mortality in the EMR countries. The maternal mortality ratio in the EMR decreased 16.3% from 283 (241-328) maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 1990 to 237 (188-293) in 2015. Maternal mortality ratio was strongly correlated with socio-demographic status, where the lowest-income countries contributed the most to the burden of maternal mortality in the region. Progress in reducing maternal mortality in the EMR has accelerated in the past 15 years, but the burden remains high. Coordinated and rigorous efforts are needed to make sure that adequate and timely services and interventions are available for women at each stage of reproductive life

Global, regional, and national under-5 mortality, adult mortality, age-specific mortality, and life expectancy, 1970–2016: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016

BACKGROUND: Detailed assessments of mortality patterns, particularly age-specific mortality, represent a crucial input that enables health systems to target interventions to specific populations. Understanding how all-cause mortality has changed with respect to development status can identify exemplars for best practice. To accomplish this, the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2016 (GBD 2016) estimated age-specific and sex-specific all-cause mortality between 1970 and 2016 for 195 countries and territories and at the subnational level for the five countries with a population greater than 200 million in 2016. METHODS: We have evaluated how well civil registration systems captured deaths using a set of demographic methods called death distribution methods for adults and from consideration of survey and census data for children younger than 5 years. We generated an overall assessment of completeness of registration of deaths by dividing registered deaths in each location-year by our estimate of all-age deaths generated from our overall estimation process. For 163 locations, including subnational units in countries with a population greater than 200 million with complete vital registration (VR) systems, our estimates were largely driven by the observed data, with corrections for small fluctuations in numbers and estimation for recent years where there were lags in data reporting (lags were variable by location, generally between 1 year and 6 years). For other locations, we took advantage of different data sources available to measure under-5 mortality rates (U5MR) using complete birth histories, summary birth histories, and incomplete VR with adjustments; we measured adult mortality rate (the probability of death in individuals aged 15-60 years) using adjusted incomplete VR, sibling histories, and household death recall. We used the U5MR and adult mortality rate, together with crude death rate due to HIV in the GBD model life table system, to estimate age-specific and sex-specific death rates for each location-year. Using various international databases, we identified fatal discontinuities, which we defined as increases in the death rate of more than one death per million, resulting from conflict and terrorism, natural disasters, major transport or technological accidents, and a subset of epidemic infectious diseases; these were added to estimates in the relevant years. In 47 countries with an identified peak adult prevalence for HIV/AIDS of more than 0·5% and where VR systems were less than 65% complete, we informed our estimates of age-sex-specific mortality using the Estimation and Projection Package (EPP)-Spectrum model fitted to national HIV/AIDS prevalence surveys and antenatal clinic serosurveillance systems. We estimated stillbirths, early neonatal, late neonatal, and childhood mortality using both survey and VR data in spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression models. We estimated abridged life tables for all location-years using age-specific death rates. We grouped locations into development quintiles based on the Socio-demographic Index (SDI) and analysed mortality trends by quintile. Using spline regression, we estimated the expected mortality rate for each age-sex group as a function of SDI. We identified countries with higher life expectancy than expected by comparing observed life expectancy to anticipated life expectancy on the basis of development status alone. FINDINGS: Completeness in the registration of deaths increased from 28% in 1970 to a peak of 45% in 2013; completeness was lower after 2013 because of lags in reporting. Total deaths in children younger than 5 years decreased from 1970 to 2016, and slower decreases occurred at ages 5-24 years. By contrast, numbers of adult deaths increased in each 5-year age bracket above the age of 25 years. The distribution of annualised rates of change in age-specific mortality rate differed over the period 2000 to 2016 compared with earlier decades: increasing annualised rates of change were less frequent, although rising annualised rates of change still occurred in some locations, particularly for adolescent and younger adult age groups. Rates of stillbirths and under-5 mortality both decreased globally from 1970. Evidence for global convergence of death rates was mixed; although the absolute difference between age-standardised death rates narrowed between countries at the lowest and highest levels of SDI, the ratio of these death rates-a measure of relative inequality-increased slightly. There was a strong shift between 1970 and 2016 toward higher life expectancy, most noticeably at higher levels of SDI. Among countries with populations greater than 1 million in 2016, life expectancy at birth was highest for women in Japan, at 86·9 years (95% UI 86·7-87·2), and for men in Singapore, at 81·3 years (78·8-83·7) in 2016. Male life expectancy was generally lower than female life expectancy between 1970 and 2016, an

Maternal mortality and morbidity burden in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: findings from the Global Burden of Disease 2015 study.

OBJECTIVES: Assessing the burden of maternal mortality is important for tracking progress and identifying public health gaps. This paper provides an overview of the burden of maternal mortality in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) by underlying cause and age from 1990 to 2015. METHODS: We used the results of the Global Burden of Disease 2015 study to explore maternal mortality in the EMR countries. RESULTS: The maternal mortality ratio in the EMR decreased 16.3% from 283 (241-328) maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 1990 to 237 (188-293) in 2015. Maternal mortality ratio was strongly correlated with socio-demographic status, where the lowest-income countries contributed the most to the burden of maternal mortality in the region. CONCLUSION: Progress in reducing maternal mortality in the EMR has accelerated in the past 15 years, but the burden remains high. Coordinated and rigorous efforts are needed to make sure that adequate and timely services and interventions are available for women at each stage of reproductive life

TOWARDS AUTOMATION OF ALUMINUM CELL RAMMING PROCESS

Newly installed cathode blocks in an aluminium reduction cell, expand due to a rapid increase of temperature when passing a high current at the start-up of the cell. High thermal stresses may result if cathode blocks are lined without gaps, and this can lead to cracking of the cathodes and failure of the cell. On the other hand, leaving gaps would cause failure due to molten metal infiltration in the gaps. To overcome these problems carbon-based ramming material is used to fill these gaps. Currently ‘Filling’ is carried out manually or partially automated, but this needs to be fully automated in line with Industry 4.0. Automation here means the making of an apparatus, a process, or a system to operate with minimum inputs from humans and produce consistent filling of the ramming paste. The main objective of this project was to establish the needed characteristics of ramming paste under different conditions so that one can make decisions to optimize the life of the carbon paste in the cell while designing the automatic system. Experimental analysis was carried out to visualize and investigate the manual compaction of ramming paste in the gaps and identify forms and defects after the compaction. Building on this, characterization of ramming paste was carried out under different conditions by varying applied pressure. At room temperature, it had the ability to bond and solidify under pressure with increasing young’s modulus value as pressure increases. But it was observed that over-compaction initiated internal cracks in the solidified sample. Then, characterization was carried out by varying the baking temperature, so blocks were fabricated to be heated to different temperatures and then investigate their behaviours, the baking temperatures were from 200˚C to 600˚C. The achieved yield strength of 200˚C was high however similar strength was achieved at room temperature for unbaked samples as well, on the other hand, it was observed that the higher the temperature with the presence of oxygen the more fragile the ramming paste became. Further, to achieve a consistent flow of the ramming paste into the filling, the Principle of Fused Deposition Modelling was tested to extrude ramming paste using a nozzle with different nozzle profiles and various applied loads. This set of experiments concluded that ramming paste cannot be extruded using a nozzle as it gets compacted at the nozzle exit and compaction builds up on the top layers. The paste does not flow because of its strong bonding nature and the resulting consolidation under pressure. Based on the findings a machine was designed and built to extrude ramming paste using a two-stage process comprising of, firstly a screw conveyor to positively convey the material and secondly a roller to compact the material coming out from the screw conveyor. Test runs were carried out with the machine and the results show that the machine can produce ramming paste flow, at the desired density in a consistent fashion. Based on the findings of this research and the prototype machine, industry scale machines automating the ‘Aluminum Cell Ramming Process’ can be built

Enhancing Green Building Technologies and Solutions in UAE University Campus: A Comprehensive Assessment and Validation Approach

This study investigates the integration of Green Building Technologies and Solutions within UAEU’s Maqam Campus, focusing on assessing sustainable design effectiveness. Using a mixed-method approach, the research comprehensively evaluates indoor environmental quality (IEQ) from June 2022 to January 2023. Data collection, user insights, on-site audits, and analysis inform the assessment. Initial survey findings reveal a preference for manual control among students, emphasizing user agency. Subsequent surveys and environmental monitoring identify areas for improvement, notably in thermal comfort and lighting quality. The study highlights the significance of holistic occupant satisfaction and IEQ in green building design, advocating for user-centric solutions and advanced technologies to enhance energy efficiency and create harmonious environments in educational buildings like the C6 building