The Status of Natural Radioactivity and Heavy Metals Pollution on Marine Sediments Red Sea Coast, At Safaga, Egypt

Natural 226Ra, 232Th and 40K radio nuclides concentration in beach Sediments along Safaga coast of Red sea, Egypt has been carried out using a NaI (Tl) gamma ray spectrometric technique. The total average concentrations of radionuclides ± uncertainty of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K were 22.2 ± 1.7, 19.2 ± 2.5, and 477.6 ± 27.6 Bqkg-1, respectively. The total average absorbed dose rate is found to be 41.4 nGyh-1, whereas the annual effective dose rate has an average value of 54 μSvy-1. The total organic matter (TOC), carbonates (CaCo3) and Heavy metals distribution have been measured at some locations, the concentration for the investigated heavy metals overtake the allowable limits recommended by the Canadian Environmental Quality Guidelines, this assigned to the ratio of metals pollution is caused by anthropogenic activities (phosphate shipment as in Abu Tartour harbor and navigation as in Touristic harbor) and or by natural impacts such in mangrove interment. Statistical analyses were carried out between the parameters obtained from the radioactivity to know the existing relations and to study the spatial distribution of radionuclide

Notable changes in geochemical and mineralogical characteristics of different phases of episyenitization: insights on the radioactive and shielding of the late phase

Kab Amiri granites are submitted to post-magmatic hydrothermal solutions through fracture and faults, causing several alteration processes. The most common processes are episyenitization, saussuritization, hematitization, sericitization, kaolinization, albitization, chloritization, silicification, and muscovitization. Kab Amiri granites are vuggy, with the vugs partially to completely refilled with new constituents. The least episyenitized granites have elevated amounts of Fe, P, Zr, Ni, U, Th, Ba, Y, Hf, Nb, and As, which are correlated with their mobilization from biotite, k-feldspar, plagioclase and metamict zircon. These elemental changes are related the partial albitization, muscovitization, desilicification and chloritizatiom, which lead to the mobilization of these elements and forming of specific mineral association in the least altered granites such as autonite, tripiolite, columbite, Zircon and galena. On the second stage, granites were subjected to intense alteration processes by mineralizing fluids, causing wholly muscovitization of biotite and feldspar, albitization of plagioclase, carbonitization and apatitization. Many elements were mobilized from these altered minerals, including Ti, Al, Mn, Mg, Ca, Na, K, Mo, Cu, Pb, Zn, Ag, Co, Sr, V, Cr, Sn, Rb, Ta, Li, Sc, W, S, In, and Tl, leading to definite mineralization as kaslite, monazite, xenotime, polycrase and apatite. The mineralizing fluids in the least and highly episyenitized granites are incorporated in some ore minerals like uranophane, fergusonite, bazzite and garnet. Notably, the presence of elements such as U, Th, and other heavy metals in Kab Amiri granites highlights the potential for these rocks in radiation shielding applications. The unique combination of elements and minerals resulting from the alteration processes can be leveraged for developing new materials or enhancing existing materials used in radiation shielding

Utilization of artificial intelligence approach for prediction of DLP values for abdominal CT scans: A high accuracy estimation for risk assessment

PurposeThis study aimed to evaluate Artificial Neural Network (ANN) modeling to estimate the significant dose length product (DLP) value during the abdominal CT examinations for quality assurance in a retrospective, cross-sectional study.MethodsThe structure of the ANN model was designed considering various input parameters, namely patient weight, patient size, body mass index, mean CTDI volume, scanning length, kVp, mAs, exposure time per rotation, and pitch factor. The aforementioned examination details of 551 abdominal CT scans were used as retrospective data. Different types of learning algorithms such as Levenberg-Marquardt, Bayesian and Scaled-Conjugate Gradient were checked in terms of the accuracy of the training data.ResultsThe R-value representing the correlation coefficient for the real system and system output is given as 0.925, 0.785, and 0.854 for the Levenberg-Marquardt, Bayesian, and Scaled-Conjugate Gradient algorithms, respectively. The findings showed that the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm comprehensively detects DLP values for abdominal CT examinations. It can be a helpful approach to simplify CT quality assurance.ConclusionIt can be concluded that outcomes of this novel artificial intelligence method can be used for high accuracy DLP estimations before the abdominal CT examinations, where the radiation-related risk factors are high or risk evaluation of multiple CT scans is needed for patients in terms of ALARA. Likewise, it can be concluded that artificial learning methods are powerful tools and can be used for different types of radiation-related risk assessments for quality assurance in diagnostic radiology

Geotechnical aspects of alluvial soils at different depths under sodium chloride action in Najran region, Saudi Arabia: Field supported by laboratory tests

The current research study is aimed at studying the impact of sodium chloride on the performance of semi-arid soils in the Najran area of Saudi Arabia. Experimental work has been undertaken to investigate how adding salt to the semi-arid soil collected in the Najran area affects the boundaries of Atterberg, compaction characteristics, California bearing ratio, and shear strength. All testing was conducted on soil samples from different zones of the Najran area at varying depths of 1.5, 3, and 4.5 m along the soil profiles. The soil samples were analyzed individually and then compared with the same soil samples mixed with NaCl at different percentages of 5, 10, and 20% by weight of the dry soil. Using advanced techniques, such as the scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive x-ray analysis, and X-ray diffraction analysis, the stabilization process was examined. The findings revealed that NaCl significantly impacts the geotechnical characteristics of semi-arid soils. The maximum dry density increased from 1.995, 1.93, and 1.96 to 2.02, 1.99, and 2.03 g/cm3, and the optimal water content decreased from 9.47, 13.7, and 11.29 to 7.01, 9.58%, and 8.09% with 20% NaCl added at various depths, respectively. Shear resistance parameters were improved by adding 20% NaCl, where the soil cohesion increased from 0.1333, 0.0872, and 0.0533 to 0.1843, 0.1034, and 0.0372 kg/cm2, and the angle of internal friction increased from 24°, 25.5°, and 29° to 27.8°, 30°, and 33°, respectively. The liquid and plastic limits and, in turn, the plasticity index reduced as the added percentage of NaCl increased. Furthermore, the California bearing ratio percentages significantly increased and reached more than 50%. As a result, it is established that NaCl is an excellent stabilizer, especially at 20% concentration, and might be used as a sub-base substance in highway construction

ELEMENTAL VARIATION ON BOTTLED DRINKING WATER BY ICP-OES

The concentration of some inorganic metals is a restrictive factor for drinking water qual-ity. A fully quantitative method was applied to check the concentration of nineteen elements on the bottled water samples using ICP-OES in Al Qasim province of Saudi Arabia

Evaluation of Photon Interaction Parameters of Some Antioxidants for Food Irradiation Applications

This study aimed to investigate the interaction parameters of antioxidant molecules in some spices and vegetables with gamma radiation. At first, mass attenuation coefficients (MACs, cm2/g) of gingerol, rosmarinic acid, quercetin, curcumin, eugenol, piperine, allicin, and capsaicin molecules were determined at the photon energies (13–1332 keV) emitted from the radioactive isotopes Am-241, Ba-133, Co-60, and Cs-137 with the help of the EpiXS and WinXCOM programs. The smallest and largest MAC values were found as 1.20 and 8.48 cm2/g at 13 keV and 0.059 and 0.058 cm2/g at 1332 keV for eugenol and allicin, respectively. It was observed that both results support each other. Using the MAC values, the effective atomic number and electron density (Zeff and Neff) values of the molecules were derived. The Zeff values for gingerol and allicin were obtained in the range of 5.79–3.40 and 13.85–4.53, respectively. The variation of the buildup factors of antioxidants in the range of 0.015–15 MeV depending on the chemical composition and penetration depth were also examined. It was noticed that the photon accumulation was the lowest in allicin and the highest in gingerol and eugenol. The results obtained from this study will make an essential contribution to dose calculations in food irradiation studies

Energy Management and Control in Multiple Storage Energy Units (Battery–Supercapacitor) of Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles

This paper presents a new approach of energy management for a fuel cell electric vehicle traction system. This system includes a supercapacitor, a traction battery of valve-regulated sealed lead–acid type, a high-performance permanent magnet traction system, and a power electronics converter. Special attention was placed on the coordination for managing the flow of energy from several sources to treat the concerns of prolonged electric vehicle mileage and battery lifetime for drivetrains of electric vehicles. Connection to a supercapacitor in parallel with the electric vehicle’s battery affects electric vehicle battery lifetime and its range. The paper used a study case of an all-electric train, but the used methods can be applied on hybrid or electric train cases. Fuzzy logic control and proportional integral control methods were used to control the electric vehicle system. The results of these two control methods were examined and compared. The simulation results were compared between the proposed electric vehicle system and the traditional system to show the effectiveness of the proposed method. Comparison of waveforms was made with and without the supercapacitor. The proposed optimized energy management strategy could improve the overall performance of the hybrid system and reduce the power consumption

Influence of sintering duration on crystal phase and optical band gap of Mn3+ -doped willemite-based glass-ceramics

A conventional melt quenching technique was used to successfully fabricate Mn2O3 -doped willemite glass-ceramics (Zn2SiO4:Mn3+) produced from the ZnO-SLS glasses. The results from XRD revealed that willemite crystallization is improved by increasing the sintering duration. It was revealed that, as the sintering duration progressed, the phase formation shifted from amorphous to α-Zn2SiO4 crystal. In addition, the structural growth of willemite phases can be seen using FTIR spectroscopy. The results of UV-Vis spectroscopy indicated that the intense absorption occurs in the UV zone, with wavelengths ranging from 250 nm to 400 nm, while the optical band gap showed a decreasing trend from 3.61 eV to 2.52 eV. These results perfectly established that Mn3+ dopant is potentially beneficial for producing willemite glass-ceramics for optoelectronic applications