Multidisciplinary oil spill modeling to protect coastal communities and the environment of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea

We present new mathematical and geological models to assist civil protection authorities in the mitigation of potential oil spill accidents in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Oil spill simulations for 19 existing offshore wells were carried out based on novel and high resolution bathymetric, meteorological, oceanographic, and geomorphological data. The simulations show a trend for east and northeast movement of oil spills into the Levantine Basin, affecting the coastal areas of Israel, Lebanon and Syria. Oil slicks will reach the coast in 1 to 20 days, driven by the action of the winds, currents and waves. By applying a qualitative analysis, seabed morphology is for the first time related to the direction of the oil slick expansion, as it is able to alter the movement of sea currents. Specifically, the direction of the major axis of the oil spills, in most of the cases examined, is oriented according to the prevailing azimuth of bathymetric features. This work suggests that oil spills in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea should be mitigated in the very few hours after their onset, and before wind and currents disperse them. We explain that protocols should be prioritized between neighboring countries to mitigate any oil spills

Modelling of oil spills in confined maritime basins: The case for early response in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea

Oil spill models are combined with bathymetric, meteorological, oceanographic, and geomorphological data to model a series of oil spill accidents in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. A total of 104 oil spill simulations, computed for 11 different locations in the Levantine Basin, show that oil slicks will reach the coast of Cyprus in four (4) to seven (7) days in summer conditions. Oil slick trajectories are controlled by prevailing winds and current eddies. Based on these results, we support the use of chemical dispersants in the very few hours after large accidental oil spills. As a corollary, we show shoreline susceptibility to vary depending on: a) differences in coastline morphology and exposure to wave action, b) the existence of uplifted wave-cut platforms, coastal lagoons and pools, and c) the presence of tourist and protected environmental areas. Mitigation work should take into account the relatively high susceptibility of parts of the Eastern Mediterranean

Global patient outcomes after elective surgery: prospective cohort study in 27 low-, middle- and high-income countries.

BACKGROUND: As global initiatives increase patient access to surgical treatments, there remains a need to understand the adverse effects of surgery and define appropriate levels of perioperative care. METHODS: We designed a prospective international 7-day cohort study of outcomes following elective adult inpatient surgery in 27 countries. The primary outcome was in-hospital complications. Secondary outcomes were death following a complication (failure to rescue) and death in hospital. Process measures were admission to critical care immediately after surgery or to treat a complication and duration of hospital stay. A single definition of critical care was used for all countries. RESULTS: A total of 474 hospitals in 19 high-, 7 middle- and 1 low-income country were included in the primary analysis. Data included 44 814 patients with a median hospital stay of 4 (range 2-7) days. A total of 7508 patients (16.8%) developed one or more postoperative complication and 207 died (0.5%). The overall mortality among patients who developed complications was 2.8%. Mortality following complications ranged from 2.4% for pulmonary embolism to 43.9% for cardiac arrest. A total of 4360 (9.7%) patients were admitted to a critical care unit as routine immediately after surgery, of whom 2198 (50.4%) developed a complication, with 105 (2.4%) deaths. A total of 1233 patients (16.4%) were admitted to a critical care unit to treat complications, with 119 (9.7%) deaths. Despite lower baseline risk, outcomes were similar in low- and middle-income compared with high-income countries. CONCLUSIONS: Poor patient outcomes are common after inpatient surgery. Global initiatives to increase access to surgical treatments should also address the need for safe perioperative care. STUDY REGISTRATION: ISRCTN5181700

On the Curve Equipartition Problem: a brief exposition of basic issues

We describe briefly the problem of partitioning a continuous curve into N parts with equal chords. (The length of a chord may be defined by any smooth distance metric applied on its endpoints-the Euclidean metric being one of them.) A have proved that a decision variation of this problem is NP-complete, yet for any continuous curve and any N there always exists at least one equipartition. In this work, we propose an approximate algorithm and also a steepest descent method that converges to an exact solution.

3D visual reconstruction of large scale natural sites and their

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Therapeutic abdominoplasty: Report of a case

Background: Abdominoplasty is a surgical procedure which is commonly used for cosmetic purposes. However, there are very few reports in the world literature describing the abdominoplasty procedure for therapeutic purposes rather than for cosmetic reasons. Methods: A 58 year old female presented with an excessive drooping belly and a concomitant minor umbilical stoma hernia, who suffered from chronic back pain, urinary incontinence, nerve atrophy of the low extremes, central-type obesity, gastric disorders, and spinal osteophytes who underwent abdominoplasty and umbilical hernia repair. Result: On discharge from the hospital after 11 days, the patient mentioned satisfactory elimination of the back pain as well as amelioration of the urinary incontinence. Within 14 months after the operation, the patient noticed extreme improvement of ambulation and postural stability as well as complete disappearance of the neuro-myodystrophy. Conclusion: Wide abdominal rectus plication abdominoplasty should be considered to be performed for therapeutic purposes when major health problems occur

Robust PID Controller for a Pneumatic Actuator

In this paper the position control pneumatic actuator using a robust PID controller is presented. The parameters of the PID controller are computed using a Hurwitz invariability technique enriched with a Simulated Annealing Algorithm. The nonlinear model involves uncertain parameters due to linearization of the servo valve, variations of the initial volume of the cylinder and variation of the external load. The problem is proven to be solvable and the controller parameters are chosen to provide a suboptimal solution for tracking error minimization. Simulation results are presented for the nonlinear model