Assessing Environmental Management Plan Implementation in Water Supply Construction Projects: Key Performance Indicators

Assessing the implementation of environmental management plans (EMPs) in construction projects is crucial for meeting environmental sustainability goals and reducing potential adverse impacts. By using performance indicators (PIs), stakeholders can objectively measure the performance of EMP implementation, identifying areas of success and areas that may require improvement. Therefore, this study aims to examine the PIs for assessing EMP implementation in water supply construction projects, using Saudi Arabia as a case study. Data from semi-structured interviews and a systematic literature review were used to develop a potential list of PIs. Then, the PIs were used to create a survey and distributed to industry professionals. Data from 112 respondents were analyzed using mean ranking analysis, the normalization method, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and fuzzy synthetic evaluation (FSE). Eighteen critical PIs for assessing EMP implementation in water supply construction projects were identified, including public safety, road safety hazards, construction waste, clogged drainage, irregular flooding, the spilling of chemical substances, slope failures, soil erosion, landslide occurrence, increased schedule waste, changes in the color of bodies of water, oil/fuel spills, restricted site accessibility, the smell of run-off water, traffic accidents on construction sites, the spread of disease, changes in the color of run-off water, and overflowing silt traps. The EFA revealed that PIs can be grouped into three underlying constructs: fluid-related indicators, health and safety-related indicators, and site environment-related indicators. The FSE results confirmed that all PIs are between moderately critical to critical. This study’s significance lies in its examination of PIs that aim to improve the environmental performance of water supply construction projects. Understanding which indicators are most effective allows for targeted improvements, helping to minimize negative environmental impacts and ensuring sustainable practices. Finally, this study is a pioneer in examining the critical PIs for assessing EMP implementation in water supply construction projects

Sulforaphane Downregulates Hepatic Fibroblast Growth Factor 21 (FGF21) of Diet Induced Obese Mice

Background: Fibroblast growth factor 21 is a hormone-like protein that plays a critical role as an energy regulator. Sulforaphane (SFN) is expected to have potential therapeutic effects in treating obesity. This study aims to investigate the effect of SFN treatment on hepatic gene expression of FGF-21 of diet induced obese mice. Methods: CD1 male mice and two groups of lean and diet induced obesity (DIO) model after feeding a high fat diet were used. Afterward, both lean and DIO mice were treated for four weeks with either SFN (5mg/kg BW) (n=10) or Vehicle (n=10). After that, blood and liver samples were collected and analyzed. Hepatic FGF-21 gene expression was measured using qRT-PCR. Results: Treatment of DIO mice with SFN causes a significant reduction in body weight gain (15.42%) compared to DIO-vehicle group, which showed a weight gain by (3.86%), p-value<0.0001. In addition, SFN treatment to lean group did not affect body weight. DIO-SFN treated mice showed a significant reduction in fasting glucose, leptin, and insulin levels compared to DIO-vehicle treated group, p-value<0.05. Hepatic FGF-21 gene expression was significantly upregulated in DIO-vehicle compared to lean-vehicle mice with ˜ 3 folds, p-value<0.05. Treatment of DIO with SFN causes a significant downregulation of FGF-21 gene expression by ˜9 folds compared with DIO-vehicle treated group, p-value<0.05. Conclusions: Treatment of DIO mice with SFN causes downregulation of hepatic FGF21 expression in obese mice. The effects of SFN on FGF21 gene expression could be a direct effect or secondary to weight loss, which warrants further studies.QNRF, NPRP 9 -351-3-07

Ternary Ti-Mo-Fe Nanotubes as Efficient Photoanodes for Solar-Assisted Water Splitting

Designing efficient and stable water splitting photocatalysts is an intriguing challenge for energy conversion systems. We report on the optimal fabrication of perfectly aligned nanotubes on trimetallic Ti-Mo-Fe alloy with different compositions prepared via the combination of metallurgical control and facile electrochemical anodization in organic media. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns revealed the presence of composite oxides of anatase TiO2and magnetite Fe3O4with better stability and crystallinity. With the optimal alloy composition Ti-(5.0 atom %) Mo-(5.0 atom %) Fe anodized for 16 h, enhanced conductivity, improved photocatalytic performance, and remarkable stability were achieved in comparison with Ti-(3.0 atom %) Mo-(1.0 atom %) Fe samples. Such optimized nanotube films attained an enhanced photocatalytic activity of ∼0.272 mA/cm2at 0.9 VSCE, which is approximately 4 times compared to the bare TiO2nanotubes fabricated under the same conditions (∼0.041 mA/cm2at 0.9 VSCE). That was mainly correlated with the emergence of Mo and Fe impurities within the lattice, providing excess charge carriers. Meanwhile, the nanotubes showed outstanding stability with a longer electron lifetime. Moreover, carrier density variations, lower charge transfer resistance, and charge carriers dynamics features were demonstrated via the Mott-Schottky and electrochemical impedance analyses

Empower Generations: Longitudinal Study for National Capacities in Life Sciences and Healthcare

Background: The decrease in the number of adolescents showing genuine interest in the fields of healthcare has been one of the recent concerns worldwide. A plethora of studies have discussed the factors that influence career choices of high school students, including science educational pedagogies, gender, environment, the student’s cognitive capabilities, and social perceptions of occupations being gender-based. As reported in 2012, a majority of the Qatari high-school students have shown a greater interest in business, technological, and administrative careers and a lower interest in healthcare. Comprehensive national and institutional strategies have since been utilized to direct the interest of Qatari generation toward healthcare careers. Objective: The primary objective of this case-control study is to assess the effect of schooling type on the enrollment in the Empower Generations (EG) career training in healthcare at the Qatar University. The secondary objectives are: (1) to describe the effect of initial career interest on the EG and healthcare majors composite’s enrollments and (2) assess the association between the history of enrollment in EG and university GPAs. Method: This is a case-control study that utilized the Qatar University’s enrollment databases for the health professions majors, that is, Health Sciences, Medicine, Pharmacy, and Dentistry. The datasets were collected from the registration records between 2013 and 2020. The statistical analysis was performed on the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 26; the study used Chi-Square Test and Independence and logistic regression to assess the effect of schooling type and initial career interest on the enrollment in the EG training at the Qatar University. All statistics were tested for p = 0.05 and 95% CI. Results: Total QU-Health records of admissions from 2013 to 2020 involve 562 eligible students. A total of 180 students (32%) attended EG training before they were admitted to QU-Health, whereas a total of 382 (68%) were enrolled to QU-Health without attending EG training. The study revealed significant findings regarding the association between EG training and international schools (p < 0.001). Among the group who attended EG training, there were 63 students (75%) who reported that they did not have an initial career interest before they joined the EG training compared to 21 students (25%) reported that they did not have an initial career interest but enrolled immediately to healthcare majors. The findings indicate insignificant association between the history of EG training and the high school percentage p = 0.397. However, the association between a history of EG training and the university’s GPA is significant, with a p < 0.001, OR 5.016 (2.954–8.518). Conclusion: The study has shown significant association between the EG training enrollment and the type of school and the initial career interest of high school students. The EG training is perceived to direct the interest of high school students toward the careers of healthcare and is thought to enhance the performance of college students through their university’s GPAs