Allelopathic potential in rice - a biochemical tool for plant defence against weeds

Rice is a key crop for meeting the global food demand and ensuring food security. However, the crop has been facing great problems to combat the weed problem. Synthetic herbicides pose a severe threat to the long-term viability of agricultural output, agroecosystems, and human health. Allelochemicals, secondary metabolites of allelopathic plants, are a powerful tool for biological and eco-friendly weed management. The dynamics of weed species in various situations are determined by crop allelopathy. Phenolics and momilactones are the most common allelochemicals responsible for herbicidal effects in rice. The dispersion of allelochemicals is influenced not only by crop variety but also by climatic conditions. The most volatile chemicals, such as terpenoids, are usually emitted by crop plants in drought-stricken areas whereas the plants in humid zones release phytotoxins that are hydrophilic in nature, including phenolics, flavonoids, and alkaloids. The allelochemicals can disrupt the biochemical and physiological processes in weeds causing them to die finally. This study insight into the concepts of allelopathy and allelochemicals, types of allelochemicals, techniques of investigating allelopathic potential in rice, modes of action of allelochemicals, pathways of allelochemical production in plants, biosynthesis of allelochemicals in rice, factors influencing the production of allelochemicals in plants, genetical manipulation through breeding to develop allelopathic traits in rice, the significance of rice allelopathy in sustainable agriculture, etc. Understanding these biological phenomena may thus aid in the development of new and novel weed-control tactics while allowing farmers to manage weeds in an environmentally friendly manner

Eco-friendly composites for brake pads from agro waste: a review

Natural fibers possess unique property densities that make them potential alternative reinforcement materials in synthetic brake pad composites. This article presents a comprehensive review for the potential and possibilities of reinforcing brake pads using natural plant-based fibers. The influential keys to designing brake pad composites are found to be thermal stability, interfacial bond of the matrix with the fiber, thermal fade, effectiveness, and recovery. Besides that, the optimization technique for manufacturing process of eco-friendly brake pads is also covered. It can be concluded that natural fibers can be used as potential materials for designing effective eco-friendly brake pad composites in the near future

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

Morphometric Parameters and Geospatial Analysis for Flash Flood Susceptibility Assessment: A Case Study of Jeddah City along the Red Sea Coast, Saudi Arabia

Flash floods are one of the most common and destructive natural hazards, and recent flood events show their severe impact on Saudi Arabia. Flash floods are increasing year by year in duration and intensity, resulting in huge destructive impacts for the nation concerned. Anticipating the spatial patterns and occurrence of rainfall-induced floods is in high demand. Recent technique-based studies and their comprehensive results aid in understanding the flood potential of the drainage basins and in minimizing the risks of a threat to humans and of economic damage. Jeddah City is located at the western coast of the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia and is one of the most important coastal cities in the Arabian Kingdom. It has experienced several destructive flash flood events, particularly in 2009 and 2011, causing serious damage and significant loss of life. An analysis of the morphometric parameters using geospatial techniques provides significant insights into the hydrological response of the drainage basins to major heavy rainfall events. In this paper, two relative flood susceptibility scenarios were produced: drainage basin levels and very accurate pixel-level conditions. The morphometric comparison levels suggest that basins 1 and 7 are very high, whereas the other basins have moderate and low levels. The derived flood susceptibility map was integrated with the topographic position and wetness algorithms (TPI and TWI) through overlay processing. The integration analysis aids in realizing the relationship between the general basin morphometric characteristics and the in situ relief for producing the flood susceptibility spots over the entire basins. Thus, the method of this paper can be applied to evaluate the site-specific plan minimizing the effects of flash flood risks in similar areas

New Approach to Selecting Civil Defense Centers in Al-Riyadh City (KSA) Based on Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis and GIS

Maintaining and enhancing the quality of civil defense services are of importance to citizens’ life in any city. During the past few decades, the expansion of settlements in Al-Riyadh City has led to a shortage in the distribution of the civil defense centers (CDCs) there. The main aim of this study is to implement the Weighted Sum Method (WSM) and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to evaluate the distribution of the CDCs in Al-Riyadh City. Eight criteria (i.e., distance from the existing civil defense center, accident density, population density, distance from the road, distance from commercial centers, distance from educational services, distance from industrial areas, and distance from residential areas) were used. The areas under the curve (AUC) of the Prediction Rate Curve (PRC) show that almost all of the AHP models are better than the WSM model. We suggest establishing five CDCs in Al-Riyadh City in areas that are lacking CDCs and characterized by a high population density and consequently a high rate of accidents. We recommend highly long-term planning for establishing new CDCs in cities where there is rapid areal expansion (e.g., Al-Riyadh City)

Developing a dtm software for fotogrammetric digital orthophoto production and applications

Tez (Doktora) -- İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi, Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü, 1999Thesis (Ph.D.) -- İstanbul Technical University, Institute of Science and Technology, 1999Son zamanlar bilgisayar teknolojisinde çok büyük gelişmeler oluşmuştur. Sayısal bilgi ve otomasyona olan talebin artması nedeniyle haritaların sayısal tekniklerle üretilmesi de popular hale gelmektedir. Klasik haritaciliğin bu karşılaması mümkün olmayan bu talebi digital olarak üretilmiş ortofotolar karşılayabilirler. Bir ortofoto, fotoğraf geometrisinden dolayı oluşan distorsiyonu ortadan kaldırmak için diferansiyel anlamda düşeye çevrilmiş bir fotoğrafik görüntüdür. Ortofotolar geometrik olarak standart bir çizgi ve sembol haritasına eşdeğerdir; sadece semboller ve çizgileri değil, aynı zamanda gerçek fotogrametrik görüntü içerirler. Bir ortofoto üretimi için topografya nedeniyle ortaya çıkacak görüntü distorsiyonlannı düzeltmek amacıyla bir sayısal arazi modeline (SAM) gereksinim duyulur. Bir SYM, normal olarak topoğrafik haritaları veya uydu görüntülerinden türetilen yükseklik verilerinin bir düzgün ağda modellemesiyle oluşur. Bir sayısal arazi modeli, enterpolasyon yöntemi ve yazılım ile ilgilidir. "SAM nedir" sorusuna basit bir cevap bir sonraki paragrafla verilmiştir. Bir sayısal yükseklik modeli (SYM) yeryüzeyinin beli bir bölümünün iki boyutlu bir yüzeyde digital olarak temsil edilmesini sağlar. Görüşler bir SYM de "yükseklik" yerine "arazi" kullanılması konusunda farklılaşmaktadır. Buradaki yükseklik sadece arazi yüzeyi temsil edildiğinde tercih edilir oysa arazinin yüksekliğinden çok öznhelikleri önemli ise o zaman arazi kullanır. Arazi ifadesinin kullanımı, topografyanın yayında diğer arazi özniteliklerininde eklenmesine alanak tanır ki bu durum arazinin bir kısmının digital olarak temsil edilmesi olanağım artırır. SAM kullanımı ile tek değerli bir sayısal model oluşturulabilir, örneğin nüfus yoğunluğu, erezyon veya sahil yüzeyi. Sayısal yükseklik modelleri, özellikle drenaj ve potansiyel su baskınları gibi topografyanın etkili olduğu, GIS uygumalannda, kullanım bölgesi analizde, görüş analizi proplemleri ve güneş ve rüzgar patlamaları konularında özellikle yararlıdır. Bu tür dosyalar bütün ülke için oluşturulabilir. SAM üretiminde kullanılan bazı temel aşamalar daha sonraki paragraflarda özlenmiştir. SYM üretiminde kullanılan temel veriler, eşyükselti eğrilerinin sayısallaştınlması, fotogrametrik veri üretimi (hava fotogrametrisi ve uydu verileri dahil) ve ölçmeler yardımıyla elde edilen arazi yükseklik verileridir. En yaygın olarak kullanılanı eşyükselti eğrilerinden üretilendir. Eş yükselti eğrileri çizgisel haritalardan el ile, yarı otomatik, ix çizgi izleme veya otomatik tarama yöntemlerinden birisi ile sayısallaştınlır veya oluşturulan stereomodelden fotogrametrik olarak doğrudan doğruya elde edilir. SYM işleme, mevcut SYM lerinin kalibre edilmesi, iyileştirilmesi ve tamamlanması için gereklidir. Bunların arasında SYM lerini bir yapıdan diğer bir yapıya dönüştürme işlemlerinin yanında editleme, filtreleme ve birleştirme işlemleri de vardır. Editleme SYM lerinde hataları düzeltme ve güncelleştirme için gereklidir. Filtreleme, düşük ve yüksek geçiş fidelemelerinin sayısal kullanımı ile çoğaltma ve yumuşatma fonksiyonlarını içerir. Yumuşatma fonksiyonu ile SYM indeki detaylar azaltılır veya ortadan kaldırılır. Ağırlıklı Ortalama ile Enterpolasyon seçilen dayanak noktalarına uzaklıklarına göre ağırlıklar verilmektedir, bu yöntemin matematik modeli aşağıdaki gibidir k z<=-k (D 7=1 burada Wy ağırlığı enterpolasyon noktası ile dayanak noktası arasındaki fonksiyonudur. Çok yüksek çözünülürlüklü görüntü elde etme, çok fazla miktarda ham verinin depolanması gibi bazı problemlere sebep olabilir. Ortofoto üretimi için üç kısma ayrılabilir. Bunlar; geometrik parametrelerin hesaplanması, sabit nokta vektörlerinin v projeksiyonların hesaplanması. Ortofoto işlemi için çeşitli giriş verileri vardır, bunlardan bazıları; üç boyutlu arazi koordinatlarının içeren sayısal arazi modelleri, etkileşimli olarak sayısallaştınlmış orta nokta bulucuları, digital görüntüdeki yaklaşık orta nokta bulucuları, fotoğraf üzerinde sayılaştınlmış kontrol noktalan, yeryüzünde bunlarla karşılık gelen kontrol noktalan ve iç yöneltme parametrelerinin, kalibre edilmiş odak uzaklığının, mercek distorsiyon değerlerinin, bozulmuş kamera görüntüdeki kalibre edilmiş sonra orta nokta bulucuları, uçuş yüksekliği gibi ilgilerin yer aldığı uçağın dış yöneltmesinin içinde aldığı kamera kalibrasyon raporu. Digital ortofotolann kullanımı üretiminde bilinen doğruluğa bağlıdır. Digital ortofotonun doğruluğu aşağıdaki etkenler bağlıdır.. Kamera ve odak uzaklığı. Çıktı ölçeğine büyütme. Diapozitiflerin yoğunluk oranı veya tarayıcının çözünülürlük kalitesi. Tarayıcının işlenmemiş ham veri tarama kalitesi ve geometrik doğruluğu. Mikron veya fotoğraf ölçeğinde dpi ile ifade edilen tarama örneklerinin kalitesi. Diferansiyel düşeye çevirme yöntemleri . Sonuç piksellerinin boyutu. Radyometrik düzeltme. Kontrol noktalarının tanımlanması. Kamera odak uzaklığına bağlı arazi veya binadaki varyans. (Sayısal Yükseklik Modeli) DEM'in yoğunluğu ve kalitesi Ortofoto aşağıda belirtilen iki üretim yöntemi ile hesaplanabilir.. Piksel-piksel diferansiyel düşeye çevirme yöntemi: Bu yönteme göre, ters distorsiyona eşit olan local yerdeğiştirme vektörü bütün dönüşüm formüllerine göre her bir piksel için hesaplanır.. Sabit nokta Yöntemi: Bu yöntemde geometrik dönüşüm sayısal arazi modeli (SAM) tarama formatındaki noktalara uygulanır. Ortofoto projeksiyon sırasında dört komşu grid köşesi bilineer enterpolasyonu ile her piksel için geometrik düzeltme vektörleri elde edilir. Komparatörde Koordinat Ölçmesi İç Yöneltmenin Bulunması 1 Kompaıatör koordinatlarının resim koordinatlarına dönüştürülmesi 2 Distorsiyon ve ışık yansımasının belirlenmesi Tüm yöneltme elemanlarının hesaplanması Cisim koordinatlarının hesaplanması Karşılıklı yöneltmenin belirlenmesi Model koordinatlarının hesaplanması Mutlak yöneltmenin belirlenmesi Şekil 1. Fotogrametride çözüm Algoritmaları xı Bu çalışmanın amacı kaliteli ortofoto üretilmesi ve bu amaçla araziye en uygun SYM elde edilmesidir. Bu amaç için VB 5.0 programlama dili kullanılarak 3D-Foto diye isimlendirilen bir program yazılmış ve o program sadece SYM üretmekle kalmayıp aynı zamanda nokta dönüşümü, ortofoto programına gerekli dosyalar üretilmesi ve kolay şekilde istenen üç boyutlu arazi görüntüsünün izlenebilmesi ve bütün üç boyutlu koordinat editlemelerini yapabilmektedir. Bu Doktora çalışması 7 bölümden oluşmuştur. Birinci bölümde çalışmanın amacı verilmiştir, ikinci bölümde fotogrametrinin genel matematik esaslan ve merkezi projeksiyonun çözüm algoritmaları irdelenmiştir. Fotogrametrik çözüm algritmalanmn işlem akışı şekil 1. de gösterilmiştir. Bu bölümde fotogrametrinin Kolinearite (Doğrusallık) ve Koplanearite (Eşdüzlemlilik) Koşulu da verilmiştir. Üçüncü bölümde, ortofotolann tanımı, düşeye çevirmenin matematik anlamı ve düzeltme yöntemleri verilmiştir. Digital ortofotolann değişik alanlarda kullanımının üzerinde durulmuştur. Diferansiyel düşeye çevirmenin matematiksel dayanağı da bu bölümde ele alınmıştır. Dördüncü bölümde ortofotolann üretim aşamalan ile ilgilidir. Bu bölümde piksel-piksel ve sabit nokta yöntemleri gibi farklı diferansiyel düşeye çevirme yöntemleri üzerinde durulmuştur. Bununla birlikte fotoğrafların taranması, sayısal yükseklik modellerinin tanımı ve ortofoto üretim programı da bu bölümde irdelenmiştir. Digital ortofoto üretim programının akış diyagramı şekil 2 de verilmiştir. Sayısal arazi modelinin gelişimi ve kavramı, veri elde edilmesi, verinin işlenmesi, yorumlanması, görselleştirilmesi ve farklı uygulamalan beşinci bölümde verilmiştir. Bu bölümde aynca, enterpolasyon yöntemleri irdelenmiş ve uygulamada kullanılacak enterpolasyon yöntemi kısaca irdelenmiştir. Bölüm 6'da Visual Basic 5.0 programlama dili kullanılarak yazılmış olan uygulama programı incelenmiş ve ağırlıklı ortalama ile enterpolasyon modelinin çözümü karşılaştınlmıştır. Aynca, PICTRAN digital fotogrametri yazılımı bu bölümde incelenmiştir. Uygulama sonucu elde edilen sonuçlar ve yeni çalışmalar için öneriler yedinci bölümde verilmiştir. xıı Orijinal Görüntü Orijinal Görüntü Tüm Geometrik Distorsiyonlann Değerlendirilmesi; İki boyutlu Dengeleme, îç Yöneltme, Distorsiyon, ^_| Orta Nokta l Bulucuları Kontrol l Noktaları Kamera \ Kalibrasyonj Raporu J Dayanak Noktalarında Düşeye Çevirme Hesabı Projeksiyon /brtofoto] SYM 3.Adım Şekil 2. Digital ortofoto yazılım akış diagramı There is an enormous development in computer technology at recent years. Because of the increasing demand for digital information and automation, producing of maps by digital techniques becomes popular. As classical mapping techniques can not fulfil this demand, this can be fulfilled by digital by produced orthophotos. An orthophoto is a photogrammetric image which is differentially rectified in order to remove any distortion due to photographing geometry. Orthophotos are geometrically equivalent to standard line and symbol maps, but they includes not only lines and symbols but also actual photogrammetric images. In order to produce an orthophoto a terrain model (DTM) is needed in order to correct the image distortions caused by relief displacement. A DEM is normally generated by sampling a regular grid of elevation values derived from topographic maps, aerial photographs or satellite images. A digital terrain model involves an interpolation method and a computer program. To give a simple answer to the question of "What is a DEM?" is given following paragraph. A Digital Elevation Model (DEM) provides a digital representation of a portion of the earth's terrain over a two dimensional surface. Opinion differs over whether "terrain" should be used in place of "elevation" in a DEM. Elevation is preferred when only relief is represented whereas terrain is used to imply attributes of a landscape other than the altitude of that landscape. Using terrain allows for the possibility of including landscape attributes other than topography as a means of improving the digital representation of a section of terrain. The functional significance of using DTM could therefore imply a digital model of any single-value surface (population density, cost surface, or erosion potential). Digital elevation models are particularly useful for GIS applications that are influenced by topography, such as drainage and flood potential, facility site analysis, viewshed problems and solar or wind exposure issues. These kinds of files can be produced for the entire state. Some of the several basic steps are used to produce DTM are abstracted at the following paragraphs. DEM generation, is the basic data for a DEM is based on terrain elevation observations which are derived generally from one of three sources: digitized contours, photogrammetric data capture (including aerial photography and digital satellite xiv imagery), and surveying. Contours from analog maps are normally digitized by manual digitizing, semi-automated line-following, or automatic raster-scanning. DEM manipulation is manipulation procedures are essential in order to modify, calibrate, or refine the existing DEMs. They include editing, filtering, merging and joining besides procedures for converting DEMs from one structure to another. Editing is required to correct errors and updating DEMs. Filtering involves smoothing and enhancement functions by using low-pass and high-pass filters respectively. Interpolation with weighted average is the height of an interpolation point is found by weighted arithmetic average of the heights of selected reference points. k Z'~^ 0) 7=1 Here the weight Wy is a function of the distance between the interpolation point and reference points. Handling of very high resolution images can cause problems such as; saving the huge amount of raw data. The procedure of the orthophoto produce can be divided into three steps. These steps are; Calculation of geometric parameters, Calculation of anchor point vectors and Orthoprojection. There are several sources as input data for orthophoto process. Some of them are; Digital terrain model containing three dimensional ground coordinates, Fiducial marks digitised interactively, Approximate fiducial marks in the digital image, Control points digitised in the photo print, Corresponding control points on the ground and Camera calibration report including parameters of inner orientation, calibrated focal length, principle point location, the value of lens distortions, calibrated fiducial marks in the distorted camera image, exterior orientation of the aircraft, e.g. flight height. The usage of digital orthophotos is dependent upon having it produced to a known accuracy. The accuracy of digital orthophoto is related to following factors;. Camera and focal length. Magnification to out put scale. Density ratios of diapositives or scanners resolution quality. The quality of scanners while scanning raw data and their geometric accuracy. The quality of scanned resembles which can be expressed with micron or dpi. Differential rectification methods. The dimension of out put pixel xv . Radiometric correction. Determining control points. Variance in terrain or in buildings according to focal length. Density and quality of digital elevation model (DEM) data The orthophoto can be produced by means of two following production methods.. Pixel-by-pixel method: In this method the local displacement vector, which is equivalent with the inverse distrotion, is calculated for each pixel in accordance with the complete transformation formulas.. Anchor-point-method: In this method the geometric transformation are applied to the DTM raster points only. During orthoprojection one obtain the rectification vector for a pixel by bilinear interpolation between the four neighbouring corners. The aim of this study is to obtain an appropriate DEM which suits best to the surface and enable an orthophoto of best quality. For this purpose a computer program 3D- FOTO, which is written in Visual Basic 5.0 programming language, produces not only DEM's, but also makes points transfer, producing of necessary files for orthophoto production, visualisation of the terrain and finally all editing mechanisms for coordinates. This PhD study consist of 7 chapter. In the first chapter the main idea and the purpose of the study was given. In the second chapter, the mathematical models of photogrammetry and central projection solution algorithms are examined. Solution algorithms of the photogrammetric process is described and given on the figure 1. In this chapter Collinearity and Complanarity condition of the photogrammetry are also givea In the chapter three, description of orthophotos, mathematical means of rectifying and correction methods was given. The usage of digital orthophotos in different fields was being highlighted. The mathematical base of differential rectification is also included to this chapter. Chapter four is basically related on digital orthophoto producing steps. In this chapter, different differential rectification such as pixel by pixel method and Anchor-point- method were studied. Also, scanning of the photographs, definition of the digital elevation model and digital ortophoto production program are explained in this chapter. The flowchart of the digital orthophoto software is given as figure 2. xvi Figure 1. Solution algorithms of the photogrammetric process. With the background and concepts of digital terrain model, data acquisition, data process, interpretation, visualisation and different application of the digital terrain models are examined in the chapter five. In this chapter also the interpolation methods were studied and the interpolation methods that were used in the study were examined briefly. In chapter six, the application program which is written in Visual Basic 5.0 is investigated and, solution of the weighted average model is compared. Also, the PICTRAN digital photogrammetric software has been examined. The results were obtained from the study and suggestions for the new studies were given in chapter seven. xvu / Original V- ^ I image J Evaluate full geometric distortion: 2D-adjustment, inner orientation, lens distortion, perspective projection Fiducial marks Control points, Camera \ Calibration report, STEP 1 Calculatie Rectification at Anchor points DTM Orthophoto STEP 3 Figure 2. The flowchart of the digital orthophoto software.DoktoraPh.D

New Approach to Selecting Civil Defense Centers in Al-Riyadh City (KSA) Based on Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis and GIS

Maintaining and enhancing the quality of civil defense services are of importance to citizens’ life in any city. During the past few decades, the expansion of settlements in Al-Riyadh City has led to a shortage in the distribution of the civil defense centers (CDCs) there. The main aim of this study is to implement the Weighted Sum Method (WSM) and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to evaluate the distribution of the CDCs in Al-Riyadh City. Eight criteria (i.e., distance from the existing civil defense center, accident density, population density, distance from the road, distance from commercial centers, distance from educational services, distance from industrial areas, and distance from residential areas) were used. The areas under the curve (AUC) of the Prediction Rate Curve (PRC) show that almost all of the AHP models are better than the WSM model. We suggest establishing five CDCs in Al-Riyadh City in areas that are lacking CDCs and characterized by a high population density and consequently a high rate of accidents. We recommend highly long-term planning for establishing new CDCs in cities where there is rapid areal expansion (e.g., Al-Riyadh City)

Morphometric-hydro Characterization of the Coastal Line between El-Qussier and Marsa-Alam, Egypt: Preliminary Flood Risk Signatures

Egypt is highly exposed to flash flood hazards, particularly in Sinai Peninsula and along the Red Sea coast, causing sudden and huge damages to constructions and huge losses in human lives during a very short time. This paper investigates the dominant characterization of morphometrical features and their relationships with the hydrological behaviors along an important strip of the western Red Sea coast. The study focuses on analyzing the October 2009 and 2019 storm events along the coastal area between EL-Qussier and Marsa Alam in order to intiate a preliminary flood risk assessment model. Morphometric features along the entire study zone provide a complete scenario of the nature of the catchments and sub-catchments development. Numerous morphometric indexes such as catchments geometry, areal indexes, linear indexes, and relief indexes were examined through processing different sets of data. Modern techniques such as remote sensing and geospatial analysis were applied to process different spatial and spectral data. The hydrological model (HEC-HMS) in the WMS software was run to delineate the catchments and sub-catchments and extract the peak flow hydrograph curves for the main catchments. The results of the water amounts and peak flow were calculated using the SCS unit hydrograph approach. The hydrological characteristics of the major catchments reveal conditions for moderate levels of flash flooding. The study ended with a number of recommendations that could minimize the negative effects of the flash flood hazards

Optimization of Dye Removal Using Waste Natural Material and Polymer Particles

In this paper waste natural material (date seed) and polymer particles(UF) were used for investigation of removal dye of the potassium permanganate. Also study effect some variables such as pH, dye concentration and adsorbent concentration on dye removal. 15 experimental runs were done using the itemized conditions designed established on the Box-Wilson design employed to optimize dye removal. The optimum conditions for the dye removal were found: (pH) 12, (dye con.) 2.38 ppm, (adsorbant con.) 0.0816 gm for date seed with 95.22% removal and for UF (pH) 12, (dye con.) 18 ppm, (adsorbant con.) 0.2235 gm with 91.43%. The value of R-square was 85.47% for Date seed and (88.77%) for UF