Hydrochemistry and stable isotopes (δ 18 O and δ 2 H) tools applied to the study of karst aquifers in Southern Mediterranean basin (Teboursouk area, NW Tunisia)

Karst aquifers receive increasing attention in Mediterranean countries as they provide large supplies water used for drinkable and irrigation purposes as well as for electricity production. In Teboursouk basin, Northwestern Tunisia, characterized by a typical karst landscape, the water hosted in the carbonates aquifers provides large parts of water supply for drinkable water and agriculture purposes. Groundwater circulation in karst aquifers is characterized by short residence time and low water-rock interaction caused by high karstification processes in the study area. Ion exchange process, rock dissolution and rainfall infiltration are the principal factors of water mineralization and spatial distribution of groundwater chemistry. The present work attempted to study karstic groundwater in Teboursouk region using hydrochemistry and stable isotopes (δ18O and δ2H) tools. Karst aquifers have good water quality with low salinity levels expressed by TDS values largely below 1.5 g/l with Ca-SO4-Cl water type prevailing in the study area. The aquifers have been recharged by rainfall originating from a mixture of Atlantic and Mediterranean vapor masses

Theoretical and technical potential evaluation of solar power generation in Iran

Nowadays, utilizing solar energy for power production at high efficiency and in a cost-effective status is a challenging issue for power plant engineers. This challenge would be answered by considering several affecting parameters such as technical, economic, and environmental criteria. In this investigation, in order to provide an assessment for implementing solar power plants in the southeast of Iran, Sistan and Baluchistan province, a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) approach is linked to a geographic information system (GIS). The MCDM approach is used to appraise the effective criteria for implementing solar power plants. The environment, orography, economic and climate are selected as the important criteria. Each criterion is assessed for the defined location of the investigation (Sistan and Baluchistan province) and in addition, GIS is employed to provide a geographical-graphical valuation to determine the most appropriate place for installing a large-scale solar power production plant. The solar systems considered in this study are photovoltaic (PV) collectors and concentrated solar power (CSP) generation plants (e.g. solar trough collectors). Technical and theoretical valuations are made to specify the amount of solar power which can be harnessed in Sistan and Baluchistan. In overall, it is demonstrated that this specific location in the southeast of Iran has the technical potential to provide 7,419 TWh/y and 8,758 TWh/y of solar electricity by installing CSP and PV technologies, respectively

Sustainable Agricultural Development In Sw Tunisia/ Survival Sector And Natural Resources Degradation

Agricultural production relies on numerous interrelated key factors namely irrigation technique, drainage, soil quality … and irrigation water quality that has gained less concern in the agricultural management process. However, the evaluation of the used quality for irrigation especially for long-term use is of crucial importance. Unfortunately, no comprehensive classification based on the assessment of the complex causality links of chemical water composition of the different environmental components that is suitable for the accurate evaluation of the used quality at a local particular scale was found. Thus, to gain an overall impression of the different methods and approaches a review of the previously published diagrams in the light of the effectiveness and representativeness of the obtained results about the various factors related to farming practices and land characteristics is required. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to represent new diagrams used in future studies as classification approaches. New classification techniques are introduced and described based on the previously used approaches coupled with the consideration of variables soil physic-chemical properties and climate conditions. The resulting schema is used to classify a variety of different approaches operating at multiple levels of characteristics and interaction levels (structure, texture, permeability ...)

Groundwater mixing and geochemical assessment of low-enthalpy resources in the geothermal field of southwestern Tunisia

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Hydrogeochemical and stable isotope data of Groundwater of a multi-aquifer system: Northern Gafsa basin - Central Tunisia

The hydrodynamic of the multi-aquifer system (the Continental Intercalaire “ C.I ” and the Complex Terminal “ C.T ”) of the North Gafsa basin is largely determined by tectonics (Tebessa - Gafsa fault). The composition of groundwater is controlled by complex reactions at gas-liquid-solid “mineralogical composition of associated rocks” interfaces, which depend on the natural surrounding and potential anthropogenic impact. The hydrochemical data (major ion geochemistry) indicate that these groundwaters are characterized by the dominance a Ca-Mg-HCO3/SO4 and Na-Cl-NO3 water types. Geochemical pattern is mainly controlled by the dissolution of halite, gypsum and/or anhydrite as well as by the incongruent dissolution of carbonate minerals. The pH of these samples range from 6.54 to 8.89, supporting the conclusion that the H2CO3/HCO3 couple control pH buffering. Oxygen-18 (δ18O‰SMOW) and deuterium (dD‰SMOW) isotopic data show the exchange between the groundwater and the rock (water-rock interaction) and the evaporation effect. The isotopic content of the boreholes waters is of mixed Mediterranean - Atlantic origin and is opposite to the quantity of rainwater distribution, both in space and time in the study area. This is due to its geographical situation in the southern and south-western of the Mediterranean Sea and between the Atlas area and the Sahara Platform. The concentrations of the isotopic composition of the groundwater are significantly higher than the rainwater. This is indicative of the dissolution of salts and other processes modifying the rainwater geochemical composition during infiltration into the vadose zone. The hydraulic interconnection of these components of the system has led to the evolution of these interesting groundwater types

A genetic algorithm for shortest path with real constraints in computer networks

The shortest path problem has many different versions. In this manuscript, we proposed a muti-constrained optimization method to find the shortest path in a computer network. In general, a genetic algorithm is one of the common heuristic algorithms. In this paper, we employed the genetic algorithm to find the solution of the shortest path multi-constrained problem. The proposed algorithm finds the best route for network packets with minimum total cost, delay, and hop count constrained with limited bandwidth. The new algorithm was implemented on four different capacity networks with random network parameters, the results showed that the shortest path under constraints can be found in a reasonable time. The experimental results showed that the algorithm always found the shortest path with minimal constraints

Use of health care services among Syrian refugees migrating to Norway: a prospective longitudinal study

Background Understanding the differential utilization of healthcare services is essential to address the public health challenges. Through the migration process, refugees move from one set of health risk factors to another and can face multiple healthcare challenges along their journey. Yet how these changing risk factors influence refugees’ use of health care services is poorly understood. Methods A longitudinal survey assessing health care utilization of 353 adult Syrian refugees was conducted; first in a transit setting in Lebanon and after one year of resettlement in Norway. The main outcomes are the utilization of general practitioner services, emergency care, outpatient and/or specialist care and hospitalization during the previous 12 months. Associations between use of healthcare services and several sociodemographic, migration-related and health status variables at both time points were found using regression analysis. We also analyzed longitudinal changes in utilization rates using generalized estimating equations. Results The use of general practitioner and emergency care increased after resettlement while outpatient/specialist care markedly dropped, and hospitalization rates remained the same. Undocumented status and poor self-rated health (SRH) prior to resettlement were identified as predictors for use of health care after arrival. After resettlement, higher health literacy, higher education, higher social support and poor SRH and quality of life were significantly associated with use of healthcare services. Conclusions Utilization of health services changes post migration to the destination country and are associated with migration-related and socio-demographic factors. Poor SRH is associated with use of services, both pre-arrival and post-resettlement. Our findings have implications for future resettlements, health care policies and service provision to newly arrived refugees with regard to both health needs as well as delivery of services.publishedVersio

Application of Analytical Hierarchy Process and Frequency Ratio Model for Predictive Flood Susceptibility Mapping Using GIS for the Khazir River Basin, Northern Iraq

Flood damage assessment is considered the essential tool for evaluating risk to civil and agricultural systems in land use planning. The validity of the studies’ outcome depends on the availability of data and their spatial distribution. The present study came to compute flood susceptibility maps utilizing two application models: (i) the frequency ratio, and (ii) the analytical hierarchy process. These models were then tested in the Khazir River basin using GIS with a selection of twelve flood conditioning factors. The flood inventory variables layer and flood-causing factors were created using remote sensing data, a digital elevation model, and secondary data from various sources. Then, the flood inventory map was highlight divided into training and test data, with 105 flood sites (70%) used for training and 45 sites (30%) used for testing. After applying the areas under the curve for the frequency ratio and analytical hierarchy process models, which were 90.6% and 88.9%, respectively, the final flood sensitivity maps showed similar results for the two models, which confirm the effectiveness of the adopted methodology. The study found a considerable spatial variance in flood sensitivity maps, as (21.06%) of the flooded areas are classified as having very low sensitivity to flooding, (24.09%) are classified as having low vulnerability to floods, and (23.79%) are classified as having moderate vulnerability, (24.10%) classified as highly vulnerable to flooding, and (6.96%) classified as highly vulnerable to flooding. Flood danger ranged from very low in mountain locations to very high in plain areas close to the riverbanks. Obtained results could be improved if a land-use planning policy will be applied, in order to establish a master plan for water resources development to avoid flood damage

Chronic pain and mental health problems among Syrian refugees: associations, predictors and use of medication over time: a prospective cohort study

Objectives This study aims to examine associations, predictors and pharmacological treatment of chronic pain and mental health problems among Syrian refugees in a longitudinal perspective. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting We collected survey data among Syrian refugees in Lebanon granted resettlement to Norway (self-administered questionnaires) and at follow-up 1 year after arrival in Norway (structured telephone interviews). Participants Adult Syrian refugees attending mandatory pretravel courses in Lebanon in 2017–2018 were invited to participate. In total, 353 individuals participated at both time points. Primary and secondary outcomes We examined the cross-sectional associations between pain, mental health and migration-related exposures at baseline and follow-up and assessed whether associations changed significantly with time. Furthermore, we investigated the longitudinal association between mental health at baseline and pain at follow-up. We also evaluated temporal changes in use of analgesics and psychotropic drugs. Results While most refugees reported improved health from the transit phase in Lebanon to the early resettlement phase in Norway, a few had persisting and intertwined health problems. Most migration-related stressors were more closely associated with chronic pain and mental health problems after resettlement as compared with the transit phase. In parallel, poor mental health was associated with chronic pain in the follow-up (adjusted risk ratio (ARR) 1.5 (1.0, 2.2)), but not at baseline (ARR 1.1 (0.8, 1.5)). Poor mental health at baseline was a statistically significant predictor of chronic pain at follow-up among those not reporting chronic pain at baseline. At both timepoints, one in four of those with chronic pain used analgesics regularly. None with mental health problems used antidepressants daily. Conclusions Providers of healthcare services to refugees should be attentive to the adverse effect of postmigration stressors and acknowledge the interrelations between pain and mental health. Possible gaps in pharmacological treatment of pain and mental health problems need further clarification.publishedVersio

Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Training on the Reduction of Craving ‎in Drug Abusers

Background: Emotion regulation appears to provide individuals with a doubled ability to avoid drug relapse and assists with the control of temptation to reuse, which is a type of tendency-avoidance conflict. The present study aims to investigate the effect of Gross model-based emotion regulation training on the reduction of craving beliefs in drug-addicted people.Methods: The present study was a quasi-experimental design. This was a pre- and post-test design that consisted of control and experimental groups. The study population comprised all addicted individuals who visited addiction treatment clinics in Marivan, Iran. About 30 drug-addicted individuals by the random selection method were chosen. Participants were randomly assigned to either the experimental or control groups. Results were analyzed by univariate covariance analysis.Findings: Gross model-based emotion regulation training reduced signs and beliefs associated with temptation in drug-addicted people (P < 0.001).Conclusion: Considering the present study’s findings, we recommend that addiction treatment centers teach strategies of emotion regulation to drug-addicted people by establishing workshops with the intent to reduce temptation signs