Water Supply from Turkey to Cyprus Island with Suspended Marine Pipeline

More than 90% of the water requirement for the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC/KKTC) was being supplied from groundwater resources, while the rest was being provided from surface waters and seawater until the 1990s. Due to excessive water abstractions above their natural feeding levels, most of the aquifers had salinization as a result of sea water interference with electrical conductivity (EC) value exceeding 7000 mmho/cm. In order to provide a permanent and long-term solution to the water problem in TRNC, a sea-crossing suspended water transmission pipeline (TRNC Water Supply) project has been developed for sustainable water transfer from Turkey to the Cyprus Island. While the initial feasibility and conceptual design studies have been prepared for State Hydraulic Works (DSI) in 1998-1999, the implementation projects and tender documents have been completed in 2006-2009, and the construction of the suspended marine pipeline has started in 2011 as commissioned by DSI. The engineering supervision and consultancy services of the project have been provided by a team from Istanbul Technical University (ITU). The project, which has been fully completed in October 2015 had a total cost of 1.6 x 109 TL (600 x 106 $), including expropriation costs. The unit cost of the water with flowrate 75 x 106 m3/year is calculated to be 0.6$/m3 (n=15 x 50 years, i=0.08), and the investment is expected to be repaid in 5.3 years. In this article, design details of the suspended marine pipeline and its critical components of this unique project are presented.First, we would like to thank Prof Veysel Eroglu, the TR Minister of Forestry and Water Affairs of the time, for his great contributions in the realization of this unique project, and his bold vision. Due to the efforts and contributions in the project design, planning and construction phases, we are thankful to Alarko Contracting Group, Intec Engineering DV, Art? Project, Danish Hydraulic Institute (DHI), AES Engineering Ltd, Firat Plastic Inc., and Kalyon - Sigur Ros Joint Venture, together with all stakeholders working on design and construction of the land structures of the project. We also extend our gratitude to the managers & employees of the General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works (DSI) for their efforts in this projec

Biomethane Production as an Alternative Bioenergy Source from Codigesters Treating Municipal Sludge and Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Wastes

Energy recovery potential of a mesophilic co-digester treating OFMSW and primary sludge at an integrated biomethanization plant was investigated based on feasibility study results. Since landfilling is still the main solid waste disposal method in Turkey, land scarcity will become one of the most important obstacles. Restrictions for biodegradable waste disposal to sanitary landfills in EU Landfill Directive and uncontrolled long-term contamination with gas emissions and leachate necessitate alternative management strategies due to rapid increase in MSW production. Moreover, since energy contribution from renewable resources will be required more in the future with increasing oil prices and dwindling supplies of conventional energy sources, the significance of biogas as a renewable fuel has been increased in the last decade. Results indicated that almost 93% of annual total cost can be recovered if 100% renewable energy subsidy is implemented. Besides, considering the potential revenue when replacing transport fuels, about 26 heavy good vehicles or 549 cars may be powered per year by the biogas produced from the proposed biomethanization plant (PE = 100,000; XPS = 61 g TS/PE·day; XSS-OFMSW = 50 g TS/PE·day)

Attitudes and Behaviors Regarding Smoking in Friends and Relatives of Patients in Emergency Room: A New Frontier in the Fight against Tobacco

Background: Emergency rooms (ERs) are usually crowded with friends and relatives (F&Rs) of the patients. This experience may result in changes in smoking behaviors and create opportunities for smoking cessation interventions. The study aims to investigate these changes and offers a new frontier in the fight against smoking.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the ERs of two universities in different cities. A questionnaire consisting of 18 questions was applied to F&Rs of the emergency patients. Statistical analysis was performed using Jamovi program.Findings: A total of 603 respondents were included in the study. Of them, 71.3% were first-degree relatives, 51.7% waited 5 or more times in ER before, and 68.6% spent 0-2 hours in a day around the ER. Upon witnessing patients in the ERs, 53.4% of the F&Rs had the idea of quitting smoking and 42.9% wanted to have smoking cessation therapy during their wait in the hospital. While 76.1% of the participants were not using different brands of cigarettes when offered in normal life, this rate was lower around the ERs (64.6%) (P < 0.001). Participants smoked 0.82 ± 0.34 cigarette per hour in normal life excluding sleeping time; this number raised almost 6 folds during the wait (4.85 ± 2.11) (P < 0.001).Conclusion: F&Rs smoked more during waiting around ERs. However, they also expressed desire to quit smoking and receive smoking cessation intervention during the wait. Providing smoking cessation counseling to F&Rs in the ER may be a valuable intervention

Estimation of Blue and Green Water Potentials of Türkiye under Global Climate Change Effects

This study analyzed the impact of global climate change scenarios on the water resources of Turkiye by means of various climate and hydrological simulations projected for this century. An integrated approach was used by coupling regional climate models and a semi-distributed hydrologic model to assess the climate change impacts. A regional climate model, that is the output of 3 global models (HadGEM2-ES, MPI-ESM-MR and CNRM-CM5.1), has been conducted with RCP4.5 & RCP8.5 emission scenarios for whole the country at the watershed-scale with a resolution of 10x10 km. Hydrological simulations were conducted by using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) Model to determine the variation of surface and groundwater resources based on climate change projections. Blue water flow (water yield + deep aquifer recharges), green water storage (soil water), and water surplus/deficit projections have been conducted considering the current and projected status for water-consuming sectors of domestic, industry, agriculture, and ecosystem services. Results attained were further evaluated through statistical methods regarding blue water flow and green water storage potential of the country. The main purpose of the study was to aid the legal authorities, and decision-makers in prioritizing the environmental measures to be taken for mitigation of climate change impacts on Turkiye in the long- run. The work was the first country-wide hydrological modelling study through globally accepted climate change scenarios

Analysis of the common genetic component of large-vessel vasculitides through a meta- Immunochip strategy

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) and Takayasu's arteritis (TAK) are major forms of large-vessel vasculitis (LVV) that share clinical features. To evaluate their genetic similarities, we analysed Immunochip genotyping data from 1,434 LVV patients and 3,814 unaffected controls. Genetic pleiotropy was also estimated. The HLA region harboured the main disease-specific associations. GCA was mostly associated with class II genes (HLA-DRB1/HLA-DQA1) whereas TAK was mostly associated with class I genes (HLA-B/MICA). Both the statistical significance and effect size of the HLA signals were considerably reduced in the cross-disease meta-analysis in comparison with the analysis of GCA and TAK separately. Consequently, no significant genetic correlation between these two diseases was observed when HLA variants were tested. Outside the HLA region, only one polymorphism located nearby the IL12B gene surpassed the study-wide significance threshold in the meta-analysis of the discovery datasets (rs755374, P?=?7.54E-07; ORGCA?=?1.19, ORTAK?=?1.50). This marker was confirmed as novel GCA risk factor using four additional cohorts (PGCA?=?5.52E-04, ORGCA?=?1.16). Taken together, our results provide evidence of strong genetic differences between GCA and TAK in the HLA. Outside this region, common susceptibility factors were suggested, especially within the IL12B locus

Effectiveness of ultrasound-guided lumbar facet-joint injection technique: comparative study with fluoroscopy-guided technique

Purpose: In this study we aimed to compare the feasibility, effectiveness and complication rates of ultrasound-guided lumbar facet-joint injections (FJI) in patients with fluoroscopy-guided technique