A group contribution method for predicting the solubility of mercury

Mercury is a toxic and corrosive element, and understanding its partitioning within ecosystems and industrial processes is of vital importance. The solubility of mercury in normal alkanes, aromatics, water and alcohols is predicted using widely used Soave-Redlich-Kwong equation of state in combination with a group contribution method to estimate binary interaction parameters. The interaction parameters between elemental mercury and seven other molecular groups were determined in this work by fitting available solubility data for mercury. The solubility in the studied solvents was accurately described. This work allows the prediction of the thermodynamic behavior of elemental mercury in a wide variety of solvents, solvent mixtures, and operating conditions where experimental data are unavailabl

Analysis of the Carbon Emissions (Co2) Reduction in Waste Power Plants using Life Cycle Analysis

A Growth in energy demand Electricity in a city will show significant economic growth. Likewise, in the Libyan city of Sirte, economic growth per year is around 6% and with a population growth rate of around 2% per year, the city is struggling to get ahead. Thus, waste generated due to economic activities of the population also increased. While all the garbage is thrown away and not utilized. Separation of types of waste contributes to the economic potential for local governments to manage organized waste. In general, 37% of waste is disposed of in landfills, 8% of which are disposed of in organic form and put into sanitary machines that produce gas. While disposal to open areas around the world includes about 31% of waste with 19% recycled through composting and 11% burned at final disposal. The last recycled process, potentially has increased of CO emission in wasted power plant. To mitigate these situations, depth analysis of the procedure collection of the wasted power plant materials is proposed. In order to reduce carbon pollutant, life cycle analysis has been usage to measure the potential reduction of CO emission in Sirte City of Libya. The performance resuls shows that by using separation materials and life cycle analysis deployment has given significant contributions that able reducing CO emission of has reduced CO Emission. By supply of 1400 tons per day, it can be seen that the electricity production generated is 3.64 MJ which is 2.6% of the production generated from the total waste burned. With the resulting heat of 9.19 MJ, it is a total heat production of 3.7%. Of the emissions produced by the material, PVC contributed the largest contribution to pollution released from the incinerator by 57.7% compared to corrugated box / board which was only 15.2% and / or injection molding by 15.2%. By amounts of 1400 tons wasted assumption, the CO2 that can be generate based on LCA analysis is 2076.87 Kg, moreover, climate change index is equivalent to 3817.58 of CO2 (Kg). Ozon depletion has shown very wonderful grade as show -164.84, meaning that the release of CFCs into the air is significantly reduced. Low carbon index has been shown based on this results, LCA could perform best good treatment for wasted classification arranged with the LCA stage

Analysis of RC Continuous Beams Strengthened with FRP Plates: A Finite Element Model

Strengthening of reinforced concrete (RC) beams with externally bonded fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) plates/sheets technique has become widespread in the last two decades. Although a great deal of research has been conducted on simply supported RC beams, a few studies have been carried out on continuous beams strengthened with FRP composites.  This paper presents a simple uniaxial nonlinear finite-element model (UNFEM) that is able to accurately estimate the load-carrying capacity and the behaviour of RC continuous beams flexurally strengthened with externally bonded FRP plates on both of the upper and lower fibres. A 21-degree of freedom element is proposed with layer-discretization of the cross-sections for finite element (FE) modelling. Realistic nonlinear constitutive relations are employed to describe the stress-strain behaviour of each component of the strengthened beam. The FE model is based on nonlinear fracture mechanics. The interfacial shear and normal stresses in the adhesive layer are presented using an analytical uncoupled cohesive zone model with a mixed-mode fracture criterion. The results of the proposed FE model are verified by comparison with various selected experimental measurements available in the literature. The numerical results of the plated beams (beams strengthened with FRP plates) agreed very well with the experimental results. The use of FRP increased the ultimate load capacity up to 100 % compared with the non-strengthened beams as occurred in series (S). The major objective of the current model is to help engineers’ model FRP-strengthened RC continuous beams in a simple manner

Design and Evaluation of an In-Pipe Leak Detection Sensing Technique Based on Force Transduction

Leakage is the major factor for unaccounted fluid losses in almost every pipe network. In most cases the deleterious effects associated with the occurrence of leaks may present serious economical and health problems and therefore, leaks must be quickly detected, located and repaired. The problem of leakage becomes even more serious when it is concerned with the vital supply of fresh water to the community. Leaking water pipelines can develop large health threats to people mostly because of the infiltration of contaminants into the water network. Such possibilities of environmental health disasters have spurred research into the development of methods for pipeline leakage detection. Most state of the art leak detection techniques have limited applicability, while some of them are not reliable enough and sometimes depend on user experience. Our goal in this work is to design and develop a reliable leak detection sensing system. The proposed technology utilizes the highly localized pressure gradient in the vicinity of a small opening due to leakage in a pressurized pipeline. In this paper we study this local phenomenon in detail and try to understand it with the help of numerical simulations in leaking pipelines (CFD studies). Finally a new system for leak detection is presented. The proposed system is designed in order to reduce the number of sensing elements required for detection. The main concept and detailed design are laid out. A prototype is fabricated and presented as a proof of concept. The prototype is tested in a simple experimental setup with artificial leakages for experimental evaluation. The sensing technique discussed in this work can be deployed in water, oil and gas pipelines without significant changes in the design, since the concepts remain the same in all cases.King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (Project Number R7-DMN-08

Analysis and Design of an In-Pipe System for Water Leak Detection

In most cases the deleterious effects associated with the occurrence of leaks may present serious problems and therefore, leaks must be quickly detected, located and repaired. The problem of leakage becomes even more serious when it is concerned with the vital supply of fresh water to the community. In addition to waste of resources, contaminants may infiltrate into the water supply. The possibility of environmental health disasters due to delay in detection of water pipeline leaks has spurred research into the development of methods for pipeline leak and contamination detection. Leaking in water networks has been a very significant problem worldwide, especially in developing countries, where water is sparse. Many different techniques have been developed to detect leaks, either from the inside or from the outside of the pipe; each one of them with their advantages, complexities but also limitations. To overcome those limitations we focus our work on the development of an in-pipe-floating sensor. The present paper discusses the design considerations of a novel autonomous system for in-pipe water leak detection. The system is carefully designed to be minimally invasive to the flow within the pipe and thus not to affect the delicate leak signal. One of its characteristics is the controllable motion inside the pipe. The system is capable of pinpointing leaks in pipes while operating in real network conditions, i.e. pressurized pipes and high water flow rates, which are major challenges.Center for Clean Water for Clean Energy at MIT & KFUP

Characterization of In-Pipe Acoustic Wave for Water Leak Detection

This paper presents experimental observations on the characteristics of the acoustic signal propagation and attenuation inside water-filled pipes. An acoustic source (exciter) is mounted on the internal pipe wall, at a fixed location, and produces a tonal sound to simulate a leak noise with controlled frequency and amplitude, under different flow conditions. A hydrophone is aligned with the pipe centerline and can be re-positioned to capture the acoustic signal at different locations. Results showed that the wave attenuation depends on the source frequency and the line pressure. High frequency signals get attenuated more with increasing distance from the source. The optimum location to place the hydrophone for capturing the acoustic signal is not at the vicinity of source location. The optimum location also depends on the frequency and line pressure. It was also observed that the attenuation of the acoustic waves is higher in more flexible pipes like PVC ones.Center for Clean Water and Clean Energy at MIT and KFUP

Bishop score versus transvaginal ultrasonographic measurement of cervical length in predicting successful labor induction in post-term pregnancy: prospective cohort study

Background: The current study aims to compare the efficacy of Bishop score assessment and transvaginal ultrasonographic measurement of the cervical length in prediction of the outcome of labor induction in post-term pregnancy.Methods: A comparative Prospective observational study conducted in Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kom Ombo central hospital from January 2017 to October 2017. Pregnant women were classified into two groups of Bishop Score Group (1): ladies with (Bishop Score 5) = favorable cervix. Also, they were classified into two groups of cervical lengths: Group (1): women with (cervical length <25mm, shorter cervix) and Group (2): those with (cervical length ≥25 mm, longer cervix). The Primary outcome was Bishop score by digital examination and Cervical length by TVS.Results: The study group was 100 women. Regarding sonographic assessment, 44 patients had cervical length <25 mm and the mean cervical length for the whole study group was 25.19±8.16 mm. Successful induction was achieved in 78 patients (78%), while CS was done in 22 patients due to failed induction.  No difference between both groups regarding the parity (p=0.063). When comparing women with successful VD versus those delivered by CS, we found significantly higher Bishop score in the first group 5.12 ± 1.93  vs 3.89 ± 1.71 in the second group (p=0.002). Additionally, VD group had significantly shorter cervix than CS group (22.31 ±7.14 vs. 35.37± 5.80 mm, p=0.007). The Bishop score showed significant moderate negative correlation with the cervical length (r=-0.589, p=0.001).Conclusions: Success of labor induction in women undergoing induction due to prolonged pregnancy can be highly predicted by cervical length as it is more objective and accurate than Bishop Score. The 25 mm cut-off point for cervical length was the best predictor of vaginal delivery

Quantifying Acoustic and Pressure Sensing for In-Pipe Leak Detection

Experiments were carried out to study the effectiveness of using inside-pipe measurements for leak detection in plastic pipes. Acoustic and pressure signals due to simulated leaks, opened to air, are measured and studied for designing a detection system to be deployed inside water networks of 100 mm (4 inch) pipe size. Results showed that leaks as small as 2 l/min can be detected using both hydrophone and dynamic pressure transducer under low pipe flow rates. The ratio between pipe flow rate and leak flow rate seems to be more important than the absolute value of leak flow. Increasing this ratio resulted in diminishing and low frequency leak signals. Sensor location and directionality, with respect to the leak, are important in acquiring clean signal.King Fahd University of Petroleum and Mineral

Multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii strains carrying the blaOxA-23 and the blaGES-11 genes in a neonatology center in Tunisia

Multidrug-resistant and difficult-to-treat Acinetobacter baumannii may be responsible for nosocomial infections. The production of carbapenem-hydrolyzing class D β-lactamases (CHDLs) and extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBLs) of the GES type possessing a carbapenemase activity has been increasingly reported worldwide in A. baumannii. The aim of this study was to analyze the resistance mechanisms of two carbapenem resistant A. baumannii clinical isolates recovered in a neonatology center in the center-east of Tunisia.Two carbapenem resistant A. baumannii isolates were recovered. The first isolate co-harbored the blaGES-11 ESBL gene and the blaOxA-23 CHDL gene. Analyses of the genetic location indicated that the blaGES-11 gene was plasmid located (Gr6). However, the blaOxA-23 gene was located on the chromosome. The second strain had only the blaOxA-23 CHDL gene, which was plasmid located.This study showed the first description of the GES-type β-lactamase in A. baumannii in Tunisia

Adapting the blue ocean strategy for educators: opportunities for professional development in the Malaysian higher education context

Embedding opportunities for professional development to attain greater visibility to achieve and retain the recognition both locally and internationally is important for educators at tertiary level. The challenge to consistently retain the social standing by its ranking is greater for young private universities in Malaysia. By means of the principles of Blue Ocean Strategy (BOS), this research highlighted the opportunities in strengthening the human capital moving towards a professional learning community. The study employed the qualitative research design to explore the institutional support provided for professional development to identify training needs and opportunities to educators, as well as the prospects of adapting the BOS strategy to meet the diverse needs of the professional development of educators. Employing a purposeful sampling method, five key stakeholders in the management position and ten lecturers from a private university in Malaysia were interviewed. These lecturers were specifically selected based on their knowledge and interest in the topic and the other criteria was their willingness to participate in the study. The criteria established directly reflects the purpose of the study. Document analysis of policy guidelines for professional development and the strategies adapted by the universities to enhance professional development was conducted. U Findings indicate that universities are encouraged to transform and cater for the ever-changing customer dynamics and technologies as well as to create demand and value to professional development. Findings point out that the concept of professional development should be broadened, and policy directives should be enhanced for greater visibility. Professional development should be examined as the governing mechanism to determine innovate practices to meet the diverse needs of academics. The conclusion of the study points to the need to broaden the concept of professional development and the implication for the organizational innovation is discussed