Optimal design of water distribution systems based on entropy and topology

A new multi-objective evolutionary optimization approach for joint topology and pipe size design of water distribution systems is presented. The algorithm proposed considers simultaneously the adequacy of flow and pressure at the demand nodes; the initial construction cost; the network topology; and a measure of hydraulic capacity reliability. The optimization procedure is based on a general measure of hydraulic performance that combines statistical entropy, network connectivity and hydraulic feasibility. The topological properties of the solutions are accounted for and arbitrary assumptions regarding the quality of infeasible solutions are not applied. In other words, both feasible and infeasible solutions participate in the evolutionary processes; solutions survive and reproduce or perish strictly according to their Pareto-optimality. Removing artificial barriers in this way frees the algorithm to evolve optimal solutions quickly. Furthermore, any redundant binary codes that result from crossover or mutation are eliminated gradually in a seamless and generic way that avoids the arbitrary loss of potentially useful genetic material and preserves the quality of the information that is transmitted from one generation to the next. The approach proposed is entirely generic: we have not introduced any additional parameters that require calibration on a case-by-case basis. Detailed and extensive results for two test problems are included that suggest the approach is highly effective. In general, the frontier-optimal solutions achieved include topologies that are fully branched, partially- and fully-looped and, for networks with multiple sources, completely separate sub-networks

A Study of Himreen Reservoir Water Quality Using in Situ Measurement and Remote Sensing Techniques

The use of remote sensing and GIS in water monitoring and management has been long recognized. This paper is an  application of remote sensing technique and in situ measurement for monitoring water quality parameters of Himreen Dam reservoir water. Himreen dam  constructed in 1980 lies in Diyala governorate east part of  IRAQ  is used mainly for Control Diyala river flood and  power generation. The output results shows that high correlation found between reflectance values were extracted from landsat TM 1989 and ETM+ 2002 images with water depth and its turbidity and there is no sources of thermal pollution in water. Generally, Himreen reservoir water can be classified according to the  standard Specification (US Standards) as good  medium salt water. Keywords: Remote sensing, Water quality, Himreen reservoir, Landsat  TM and ETM+ images

REMOTE SENSING AND GIS TECHNIQUES FOR URBAN GROWTH MONITORING OF BASARAH CITY

Basarah city has experienced a rapid urban expansion over the last decades dueto accelerated economic growth. This paper reports an investigation into the application ofthe integration of remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) for detectingurban built up growth for the period 1973 - 2002, and evaluate its impact on theenvironmental situation of Basarah city by analyzing the spatial distribution of urbanexpansion according to land cover types and normalized difference vegetation index(NDVI). The integration of remote sensing and GIS was found to be effective inmonitoring and analyzing urban growth patterns and in evaluating urbanization impact onsurface conditions of Baghdad area

Temporal Change Detection of AL- Hammar Marsh a IRAQ Using Remote Sensing Techniques

The Mesopotamian marshlands the largest wetland in the Middle East and one of the most outstanding in the world have been lost mainly as a result of drainage and damming The cause of the decline is mainly as a result of damming upstream as well as drainage schemes since the 1970s The Tigris and the Euphrates are amongst the most intensively dammed rivers in the world In the past 40 years tThe Mesopotamian marshlands the largest wetland in the Middle East and one of the most outstanding in the world have been lost mainly as a result of drainage and damming The cause of the decline is mainly as a result of damming upstream as well as drainage schemes since the 1970s The Tigris and the Euphrates are amongst the most intensively dammed rivers in the world In the past 40 years the two rivers have been fragmented by the construction of more than 30 large dams whose storage capacity is several times greater than the volume of both rivers The immediate cause of marshland loss however has been the massive drainage works implemented in southern Iraq in the early 1990s following the second Gulf War Satellite images provide hard evidence that the once extensive marshlands have dried-up and regressed into desert with vast stretches salt encrusted Recent satellite imagery shows only limited areas of the marshlands have been reclaimed he two rivers have been fragmented by the construction of more than 30 large dams whose storage capacity is several times greater than the volume of both rivers The immediate cause of marshland loss however has been the massive drainage works implemented in southern Iraq in the early 1990s following the second Gulf War Satellite images provide hard evidence that the once extensive marshlands have dried-up and regressed into desert with vast stretches salt encrusted Recent satellite imagery shows only limited areas of the marshlands have been reclaime

Coupled topology and pipe size optimization of water distribution systems

This paper describes a new multi-objective evolutionary optimization approach to the simultaneous layout and pipe size design of water distribution systems. Pressure-deficient and topologically infeasible solutions are fully incorporated in the genetic algorithm without recourse to constraint violation penalties or tournaments. The proposed approach is demonstrated by solving three benchmark problems taken from the literature. New optimal layouts and/or new feasible solutions that are cheaper than the best solutions in the literature were found for both branched and looped network configurations. Specifically, a new best solution was generated for each of the above-mentioned benchmark problems. In addition, the case of the looped design of a hitherto branched network in the literature was considered. Detailed results are included that show that the proposed approach achieves good solutions efficiently and consistently

Multi-directional maximum-entropy approach to the evolutionary design optimization of water distribution systems

A new multi-directional search approach that aims at maximizing the flow entropy of water distribution systems is investigated. The aim is to develop an efficient and practical maximum entropy based approach. The resulting optimization problem has four objectives, and the merits of objective reduction in the computational solution of the problem are investigated also. The relationship between statistical flow entropy and hydraulic reliability/failure tolerance is not monotonic. Consequently, a large number of maximum flow entropy solutions must be investigated to strike a balance between cost and hydraulic reliability. A multi-objective evolutionary optimization model is developed that generates simultaneously a wide range of maximum entropy values along with clusters of maximum and near-maximum entropy solutions. Results for a benchmark network and a real network in the literature are included that demonstrate the effectiveness of the procedure

Mapping Dispersion of Urban Air Particulate Matter Over Kirkuk City Using Geographic Information System

Urban air pollution problem is a major concern in many large cities and becomes increasingly critical around the world. The effects of urban air pollution on public health are being felt worldwide. Pollutants can  destroy sensitive tissues (in people, animals and plants), impair respiratory functions, degrade building materials and deteriorate the aesthetic aspects of environment. Mapping of urban air pollution dispersion is very complex as it depends upon various  factors including weather conditions, urban structural features and their topographic. In this research , the relationship between in-suite urban air pollutants (particulates matters - PM and total suspend particulate-TSP) and some metrological factors (Temperature, Humidity and wind speed) has been investigated. Geographic Information System (GIS ) was utilized to map urban air pollution dispersion in Kirkuk city - Iraq. The rapid growth of Kirkuk city as the main petroleum city in Iraq  last years  has resulted in significant increase in environmental pollution. A correlation analysis was performed to establish between air pollutants and metrological parameters. GIS technique was used to investigate the spatial distribution of the pollutants and identification of the city area of high concentration of pollutants. The results shows that there is a weak linear correlation between metrological factors and most of air pollutants. PM10 only shows a significant correlation with temperature. Generally we can conclude that the impact of  metrological factors can be almost ignored. From GIS  distribution maps for  PM and TSP pollutants, the highest concentration pollutants located around oil industrial area and in the center of the city. Keywords Urban Air Pollution, Particulates Matters, Total Suspend Particulate, Geographic Information System (GIS ) , Correlation Analysis

Comparison of surrogate measures for the reliability and redundancy of water distribution systems

An investigation into the effectiveness of surrogate measures for the hydraulic reliability and/or redundancy of water distribution systems is presented. The measures considered are statistical flow entropy, resilience index, network resilience and surplus power factor. Looped network designs that are maximally noncommittal to the surrogate reliability measures were considered. In other words, the networks were designed by multi-objective evolutionary optimization free of any influence from the surrogate measures. The designs were then assessed using each surrogate measure and two accurate but computationally intensive measures namely hydraulic reliability and pipe-failure tolerance. The results indicate that by utilising statistical flow entropy, the reliability of the network can be reasonably approximated, with substantial savings in computational effort. The results for the other surrogate measures were often inconsistent. Two networks in the literature were considered. One example involved a range of alternative network topologies. In the other example, based on whole-life cost accounting, alternative design and upgrading schemes for a 20-year design horizon were considered. Pressure-dependent hydraulic modelling was used to simulate pipe failures for the reliability calculations

The Bouveret Syndrome: An Unusual Cause of Hematemesis

Gallstones are usually silent. Less commonly, patients with cholelithiasis develop symptoms and/or complications; biliary fistula occurs in 3% to 5% of the cases. When a large stone is passed and occludes the duodenum, gastric outlet obstruction (the Bouveret syndrome) may result. In reported cases, the stones are usually larger than 2.5 cm. The usual presenting symptoms are those of bowel obstruction: abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. Less commonly, the patients experience melena and, rarely, hematemesis. We describe a patient who had the largest stone reported to cause hematemesis rather than bowel obstruction and to be diagnosed endoscopically. The 5 X 4 X 3 cm stone was extracted surgically. Endoscopic diagnosis and extraction of stones up to 3 cm in size has been reported, avoiding the need for surgery

A comparative study of voluntarily reported medication errors among adult patients in intensive care (IC) and non- IC settings in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Purpose: To investigate the risk factors associated with medication errors and to compare the incidence and types of voluntarily reported medication errors among adult intensive care unit (ICU) and non-ICU patients at King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.Methods: The design of this study was retrospective. All voluntarily reported medication errors involving adult patients (≥ 18 years) who were admitted into King Abdulaziz Medical City during the study period (January 2012 to June 2013) were included in the study. Reported medication errors were classified as ICU or non-ICU errors. Medication errors were also classified according to the node of medication use, harm category, and type of medication errors.Results: A total of 31,399 patients admitted into the hospital were included in the study, with 1,966 (6 %) admitted into the ICU and 29,433 (94 %) admitted into the non-ICU units. Overall, the incidence of medication errors was 1.2 % (390/31,399), 1. Over half of the errors were administration-related (51 %). The incidence of medication errors was 5.5 % (108/1,966) in ICU compared with 0.96 % (282/29,433) in non-ICU units (p < 0.001. In both settings, prescribing errors, delay in drug administration and dispensing extra dose were the most common medication errors. Higher risk for medication errors was significantly associated with admission into ICU vs. non-ICU units [OR = 5.24, 95 % CI: (4.12, 6.65); p < 0.001] and with patients’ age ≥ 60 vs. < 60 years [OR = 1.48, 95 % CI: (1.19, 1.83); p < 0.001].Conclusion: Medication errors are common in the health facility and occur during all stages of medication use from prescribing to administration. Higher risk for medication errors is associated with admission into the ICU and with patients’ age ≥ 60. Physician, pharmacists, and nurses need to be vigilant, up-to-date, and continuously trained to reduce the incidence of medication errors.Keywords: Medication errors, Voluntary reporting, Intensive care unit, Hospital settin