Mohamed Enver Surty’s In Pursuit of Dignity

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Prediction of estuarine morphological evolution

Estuaries are vital environmental and economic resources, providing habitat for thousands of species, absorbing runoff, and supporting recreation and commerce. Yet, despite their importance, estuaries are threatened by human activities. Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) analysis and Cross Spectral techniques were used in the analysis and prediction of estuarine morphology. The estuaries selected for study were Suisun Bay, CA and Mobile Bay, AL. It was found that EOF is an effective and efficient technique to analyze morphology, a coupling with cross spectral methods such as Fourier Transformation (FFT) resulted in determination of forcing functions responsible for imparting variance to the bathymetry. In both the estuaries it was found that the first two eigenvalues represented almost 80% of the morphological/bathymetric dataset. The second eigenfunction was found to be closely dependent on the freshwater inflows to the estuaries. EOF analysis on Suisun Bay revealed that the bay is depositional particularly in the shallow bays of Honker and Grizzly, whereas the main channels as well as Carquinez Straits maintained their depths throughout the period studied. Utilizing a Cross spectral technique, Amplitude Response Function (ARF), temporal eigenfunctions for the bay were determined for year 2100. The temporal eigenfunctions were predicted for cases where river inflows to the bay were varied by 1 standard deviation unit. These predicted eigenfunction values combined with the eigenvalues resulted in the recovery of predicted depths for year 2100. It was found that Suisun Bay remains depositional through the year 2100 and maintains depths in the main channels as well as Carquinez Straits. This depositional behavior results in the decrease of bay volume to almost 40% of the volume in 1989. EOF analysis on Mobile Bay revealed that the bay is predominantly depositional except in the navigation channel and the shoreline of the Bay. The navigation channel maintaining it depth is attributed to the regular dredging carried to facilitate shipping. The second temporal eigenfunction showed a close correlation with river inflows as in the case of Suisun Bay. However, a cross correlation performed on the second temporal eigenfunction and inflows revealed that the response of the eigenfunction is perturbed by almost 9 years, as opposed to 6 to 9 years for Suisun Bay. An ARF on the temporal eigenfunctions combined with a reverse EOF resulted in the formation of bathymetric datasets for the year 2100 for inflows variation of 1 standard deviation. It was revealed that increasing the flows results in an increase of bay volume by approximately 30% and a decrease in flows results in a loss of volume by approximately 20%

Combined Ozone and Ultraviolet Inactivation of Escherichia Coli

The kinetics of Escherichia coli inactivation were studied using ultraviolet (UV) radiation, ozone, and UV and ozone (UVO) in combination in a batch reactor at varying pH levels (6, 7, and 8) and at a constant temperature of 25°C. The inactivation kinetics for all three treatment processes was pseudo first order, and the reaction rate constants were considered to be additive such that a combined reaction rate could be obtained by adding the kinetic rates of the processes applied and numerically small rates could be neglected in the computation of the combined rate. Statistical tests (ANOVA and student\u27s t-test) performed on the inactivation data indicated no apparent effect of pH on the kinetics of the processes. It was found that the UVO process was the most efficient in inactivating E. coli. The increase in the inactivation rate with the UVO process is attributed to synergetic activity of UV and ozone which results in the generation of hydroxyl radicals from ozone decomposition

Studies on Bioactive Heterocycles

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Introduction - What Is in a Period? Arabic Historiography and Periodization

This article introduces the question of periodization in a comparative perspective under three headings: space, subject matter, and agency. The issue of space has deeply influenced reflections on periodization as is, evident, for instance, within changed frameworks such as global history and new fields of study, such as Mediterranean or Indian Ocean Studies. For the Middle East, the rise of the concept of Late Antiquity has proven to be a particularly fruitful spatial reconfiguration that has changed established notions of periodization. The second major impact on the questions of periodization has come from changing thematic foci, most importantly, the diversification of historical studies away from the primacy of political history. In the field of Middle Eastern history, this has been particularly pertinent on account of the prominent position that dynastic periodizations have held. Finally, notions of periodization have undergone changes as the question of historical agency has been reconsidered. In the study of non-European history, such changes emerged in particular as an outcome of reflections on the degree to which such societies’ histories followed patterns derived from European models. The article argues that the contributions to this volume open up new venues to think of the question of periodization in Middle Eastern history by taking a long-term perspective from early Islam to the present day

Chapter 15 People Versus Books

William A. Graham is an influential and pioneering scholar of Islamic Studies at Harvard University. This volume brings together seventeen contributions to the study of the Qur’an and Islam, all influenced by his work. Contributions to this collection, by his colleagues and students, treat many different aspects of Islamic scripture, from textual interpretation and hermeneutics to recitation and parallels with the Bible. Other chapters tackle in diverse ways the question of what it means to be "Islamic," and how such an identity may be constituted and maintained in history, thought and learning. A final section reflects on the career of William Graham and the relation of scholarship to the undervalued tasks of academic administration, especially where the study of religion is concerned. This book will be of interest to readers of Islamic Studies, Qur’anic Studies, Islamic history, Religious Studies, scripture, exegesis, and history of the book. Given Graham’s role at the Harvard Divinity School, and the discussions of how he has shaped the study of religion, the volume should be of interest to readership across the study of religion as a whole

Biosurfactant production from shrimp shell waste by Pseudomonas stutzeri

1411-1418Biosurfactant producing Pseudomonas stutzeri strain L1 was isolated from a marine fishing port in Mumbai. Biosurfactant production by the strain was tested using crude substrates like de-oiled cakes of soybean, sunflower and coconut; fish waste, shrimp shell waste, sugarcane and mosambi waste. The isolate exhibited emulsification activity in most of the substrates with the highest in shrimp shell waste. Nutritional and environmental parameters for maximum biosurfactant production were optimized by changing one variable at a time. Biosurfactant was recovered by acid precipitation. About 4 to 6 g/l biosurfactant could be obtained in the optimized medium which showed emulsification index of 65 % and surface tension reduction upto 40 dynes/cm

Modelling of Passive Contaminant Transport in River Sediments.

Contaminant transport from riverine sediments was investigated via physical and mathematical models. Due to its remote nature, there exists a lack of understanding of transport mechanisms and rates at the sediment-water interface of rivers. This dissertation is focused on evaluation of potential abiotic transport processes which affect the movement of contaminants across this sediment-water interface. Only non-dispersive transport of passive contaminants was considered allowing the research to focus on the movement of the sediment pore water which carries the contaminants. The abiotic processes studied include the advection by flow of sediment pore water and the movement and turnover of sediment through erosion by the overlying river flow. Pore water flow driven by a mean hydraulic gradient between the river and its associated ground-water aquifier and driven by the local pressure variations associated with the uneven surface of the river sediment was considered. Mathematical models of the transport mechanisms considered are presented and used to compare the importance of each. The preliminary results indicate the potential importance of a heretofore largely unexamined mechanism, advective transport by the local pressure variations over the uneven bed sediment. The mathematical models developed for the flow and transport processes in the bottom sediments can be applied to a variety of realistic river conditions. A very general model of ground-water flow based on the boundary element method and capable of describing flow in heterogeneous media with arbitrary boundary conditions and with point sources and sinks was developed in both two and three dimensions. Techniques were also developed to employ the structure of the boundary element method to trace individual streamlines or equipotential surfaces and to solve special classes of hyperbolic and parabolic problems. A mathematical model of river sediment movement as bed load was also developed that was capable of describing the dynamics and spatial variations of contaminants within a moving sediment bed

The Impact of China’s Environmental and Trade Policies on U.S. Plastic and Paper Waste Exports

This article documents major environmental and trade policy changes in China and their impact on plastic and paper waste trade between the U.S. and China and other trade partners. The article explains how U.S. plastic waste exports have been nearly annihilated by these policies. Paper waste trade is more resilient and has survived the policy shifts in China, although quite diminished

The Impact of China\u27s Environmental and Trade Policies on U.S. Plastic and Paper Waste Exports

This article documents major environmental and trade policy changes in China and their impact on plastic and paper waste trade between the U.S. and China and other trade partners. The article explains how U.S. plastic waste exports have been nearly annihilated by these policies. Paper waste trade is more resilient and has survived the policy shifts in China, although quite diminished