Crossflow Microfiltration of Tight Emulsions and Suspended Colloids by Ceramic Membranes

Produced water is known as the largest waste stream associated with the oil and gas extraction process from onshore and offshore fields; that is found in the form of either oil in water (o/w) or water in oil (o/w) emulsion. It is a very complex mixture composes of a variety of organic, and inorganic chemicals that can be found either suspended or dissolved in the water. During the oil and gas production many problems occur because of the formation of the emulsions. These emulsions can be very tight/stable and difficult to break it, and this is due to their heterogeneous composition. The presence of polar compounds such asphaltenes, surfactants and polymer used during the process and the presence of many types of fine solids such as crystallized wax, clays, and scales that participate in the formation of resistance films at the oil/water interface are known to produce unwanted stable emulsions that generate operational problems and are difficult to break. Therefore, produced water became a global concern and discharging this tremendous amount of water to the environment threatens the aquatic life and destroys the natural resources. The conventional methods in treating tight produced water emulsions and removal of suspended matters of micron size was found to have limitations, thus, there was a need to look for a robust method to solve such problems. The cross-flow ceramic microfiltration membrane is one of the promising solution for the micron-size oil droplets and colloids, yet no much work done using ceramic membrane. To this aim, a cross-flow ceramic microfiltration membrane was used to separate tight oil-in-water emulsions stabilized using Ethylene tetrakis surfactant. Diesel was used as oil source while, bentonite is used as the suspended matter source. The results showed that the cross-flow ceramic microfiltration membrane significantly removes the oil and colloidal suspended matters. It’s worthy to mention that the performance of the membrane was examined to remove the oil, bentonite, and mixture of both oil and bentonite, and it was found that the optimum pressure for the removal of both o/w emulsion-bentonite mixture, and o/w emulsion solution was at 0.5bar, where 90% of the oil content can be removed. On the other hand, the removal of suspended solids from o/w emulsion-bentonite solution was at its maximum under 0.2bar, where almost 99.97% of the suspended solids were removed. The 0.45m ceramic membrane showed that it is a promising technology for treating any wastewater contains tight emulsions and suspended maters

New Techniques for Disconnector Switching VFT Mitigation in GIS

Switching operations in a Gas Insulated Substations (GIS) generate very fast transient over voltages (VFTO) which are dangerous for the transformer and the system insulation because of their short rise time. Under special circumstances the overvoltages can arise close to the transformer Basic Insulation Level (BIL). The reduction of VFTO amplitudes is considered main challenges. Therefore, VFTO in the 220 kV Wadi-Hoff GIS is analyzed and the worst case for disconnector switching is predicted using EMTP/ATP in this paper. VFTO mitigation techniques are studied in this work. Furthermore, proposed techniques are presented for mitigating the VFTO. The proposed techniques can be used by the maintenance engineers, transformer designers, and GIS insulation manufactures. The results show that the proposed techniques highly reduce the VFTO in a simple manner.DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.11591/ijece.v4i2.518

Smear Layer Removal Using Two Different Ni-Ti Instruments with Two Different Irrigating Systems. An Invitro Study

Objectives: To evaluate and compare smear layer removal in root canals instrumented with two single Ni-Ti rotary instruments with two different irrigating systems. Materials and Methods: Sixty recently extracted single-rooted mandibular premolars teeth were decoronated to a standardized length of 14 mm. Roots were divided into two main groups (n=30) according to the rotary NiTi file used for instrumentation either with One Shape (OS) file or with One Curve file (OC). Each main group was subdivided into three subgroups according to the methods used to agitate the irrigating solutions either sonically or ultrasonically as following: Group A was subdivided into Subgroup A1: One Shape file and Endo Activator (EA) (n=10) Subgroup A2: One Shape file and Passive Ultrasonic irrigating (PUI) (n=10) Subgroup A3 (control group): One Shape file and passive needle irrigation (n=10) Group B was subdivided into: Subgroup B1: One Curve file and Endo Activator (EA) (n=10) Subgroup B2: One Curve file and Passive Ultrasonic Irrigation (PUI) (n=10) Subgroup B3 without activation: One Curve file and passive needle irrigation (n=10). During instrumentation: In all groups, 3 ml of freshly prepared 2.6% NaOCl irrigating solution was delivered using 30 G NaviTip closed end needle. The final irrigation protocol included 3 ml of freshly prepared 2.6% NaOCl followed by 3 ml of 17% EDTA solution then 3 ml of normal saline as final rinse. After dividing the roots in half, the specimens were analysed under SEM magnification at (X1000) to assess the smear layer and perform statistical analysis. Results: In all groups a statistically significant difference was found between (Apical) and each of (Coronal) and (Middle) groups, where apical third showed higher smear layer scores followed by middle third and the coronal third. As regards total mean scores of all canal thirds, passive needle irrigation had the highest smear scores followed by PUI then EA. OS file showed higher smear layer score than OC file and there was no statistically significant difference between them. Conclusions: Within the limitations of this study, it could be concluded that: Machine-assisted irrigant activation techniques are reliable and promising methods that improve the cleanliness of root canal. None of the techniques was able to remove smear layer completely from the root canal. Heat treatment of OS file did not have significant effect regarding the ability to remove the smear layer

Whole genome sequencing delineates regulatory, copy number, and cryptic splice variants in early onset cardiomyopathy

Cardiomyopathy (CMP) is a heritable disorder. Over 50% of cases are gene-elusive on clinical gene panel testing. The contribution of variants in non-coding DNA elements that result in cryptic splicing and regulate gene expression has not been explored. We analyzed whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data in a discovery cohort of 209 pediatric CMP patients and 1953 independent replication genomes and exomes. We searched for protein-coding variants, and non-coding variants predicted to affect the function or expression of genes. Thirty-nine percent of cases harbored pathogenic coding variants in known CMP genes, and 5% harbored high-risk loss-of-function (LoF) variants in additional candidate CMP genes. Fifteen percent harbored high-risk regulatory variants in promoters and enhancers of CMP genes (odds ratio 2.25, p = 6.70 × 10−7 versus controls). Genes involved in α-dystroglycan glycosylation (FKTN, DTNA) and desmosomal signaling (DSC2, DSG2) were most highly enriched for regulatory variants (odds ratio 6.7–58.1). Functional effects were confirmed in patient myocardium and reporter assays in human cardiomyocytes, and in zebrafish CRISPR knockouts. We provide strong evidence for the genomic contribution of functionally active variants in new genes and in regulatory elements of known CMP genes to early onset CMP.This project was supported by the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research (SM, JE), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (PJT 175034) (SM, JE) and by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (ENP 161429), under the frame of ERA PerMed (SM). SM holds the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada & Robert M Freedom Chair in Cardiovascular Science. SWS holds the GlaxoSmithKline Endowed Chair in Genome Sciences at the Hospital for Sick Children and the University of Toronto. PGM holds a Canada Research Chair Tier 2 in Non-coding Disease Mechanisms. PGM acknowledges the support of the Government of Canada’s New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF), [NFRFE-2018-01305]. EO holds the Bitove Family Professorship of Adult Congenital Heart Disease. MM holds a Ramon y Cajal grant from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (RYC-2017-22249). WO is supported by funding from Fundació La Marató (321/C/2019). JB is funded by a Frans Van de Werf fellowship for clinical cardiovascular research, and by a senior clinical investigator fellowship of the FWO Flanders. KM was a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow under grant no. DGE1144152 during the majority of the project. CS is the recipient of a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Practitioner Fellowship (1154992). JI is the recipient of an NHMRC Career Development Fellowship (1162929). RDB is the recipient of a New South Wales Health Cardiovascular Disease Senior Scientist Grant. PSD is supported by the DBT/Wellcome Trust- Indian Alliance. We acknowledge the Labatt Family Heart Centre Biobank at the Hospital for Sick Children for access to DNA samples, and The Centre for Applied Genomics at the Hospital for Sick Children for performing WGS. We thank Xiucheng Cui and Emanuela Pannia for performing the zebrafish experiments at the SickKids Zebrafish Genetics and Disease Models Core (CRISPR-Cas9 and gRNA syntheses, zebrafish embryo microinjections, gRNA PCR validation, qRT-PCR, cardiac imaging). This research was made possible through access to the data and findings generated by the 100,000 Genomes Project. The 100,000 Genomes Project is managed by Genomics England Limited (a wholly owned company of the Department of Health and Social Care). The 100,000 Genomes Project is funded by the National Institute for Health Research and NHS England. The Wellcome Trust, Cancer Research UK and the Medical Research Council have also funded research infrastructure. The 100,000 Genomes Project uses data provided by patients and collected by the National Health Service as part of their care and support. We thank members of the ICGC/PCAWG working groups for generating the variant calls used in our case-control burden analyses.Peer Reviewed"Article signat per 38 autors/es: Robert Lesurf, Abdelrahman Said, Oyediran Akinrinade, Jeroen Breckpot, Kathleen Delfosse, Ting Liu, Roderick Yao, Gabrielle Persad, Fintan McKenna, Ramil R. Noche, Winona Oliveros, Kaia Mattioli, Shreya Shah, Anastasia Miron, Qian Yang, Guoliang Meng, Michelle Chan Seng Yue, Wilson W. L. Sung, Bhooma Thiruvahindrapuram, Jane Lougheed, Erwin Oechslin, Tapas Mondal, Lynn Bergin, John Smythe, Shashank Jayappa, Vinay J. Rao, Jayaprakash Shenthar, Perundurai S. Dhandapany, Christopher Semsarian, Robert G. Weintraub, Richard D. Bagnall, Jodie Ingles, Genomics England Research Consortium, Marta Melé, Philipp G. Maass, James Ellis, Stephen W. Scherer & Seema Mital"Postprint (published version

Evaluating the Effects of Human Activity over the Last Decades on the Soil Organic Carbon Pool Using Satellite Imagery and GIS Techniques in the Nile Delta Area, Egypt

The study aims to clarify the relationship between soil organic carbon (SOC) and human activity under arid conditions, in the east area of the Nile Delta, Egypt. SOC is one of the critical factors in food production and plays an important role in the climate change because it affects the physio-chemical soil characteristics, plant growth, and contributes to sustainable development on global levels. For the purpose of our investigations, 120 soil samples (0–30 cm) were collected throughout different land uses and soil types of the study area. Multiple linear regressions (MLR) were used to investigate the spatiotemporal relationship of SOC, soil characteristics, and environmental factors. Remote sensing data acquired from Landsat 5 TM in July 1995 and operational land imager (OLI) in July 2018 were used to model SOC pool. The results revealed significant variations of soil organic carbon pool (SOCP) among different soil textures and land-uses. Soil with high clay content revealed an increase in the percentage of soil organic carbon, and had mean SOCP of 6.08 ± 1.91 Mg C ha−1, followed by clay loams and loamy soils. The higher values of SOCP were observed in the northern regions of the study area. The phenomenon is associated with the expansion of the human activity of initiating fish ponds that reflected higher values of SOC that were related to the organic additions used as nutrients for fish. Nevertheless, the SOC values decreased in southeast of the study area with the decrease of soil moisture contents and the increase in the heavy texture profiles. As a whole, our findings pointed out that the human factor has had a significant impact on the variation of soil organic carbon values in the Eastern Nile Delta from 1995 to 2018. As land use changes from agricultural activity to fish ponds, the SOCP significantly increased. The agriculture land-use revealed higher SOCP with 60.77 Mg C ha−1 in clay soils followed by fish ponds with 53.43 Mg C ha−1. The results also showed a decrease in SOCP values due to an increasing in land surface temperature (LST) thus highlighting that influence of temperature and ambient soil conditions linked to land-use changes have a marked impact on surface SOCP and C sequestration

Faculty members’ perceptions about the effectiveness of the procedures for applying the appraisal of academic staff at Sultan Qaboos University

The appraisal of academic staff at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) has been in place for many years as a quality assurance measure. Its primary objective is to enhance staff performance by identifying commendable areas and those requiring improvement in daily activities. Over the years, this appraisal has contributed in faculty development and quality assurance as well as in the continuous improvement. This study explores the perceptions of faculty members at the College of Education concerning the procedures for applying the academic appraisal form at SQU. Utilizing a mixed-method approach (quantitative and qualitative), including questionnaire and semi-structured interview, the research examines the faculty members' views on the effectiveness of the appraisal procedures. The sample participating in this study was 54 faculty members. Out of the 54 participants, 48 completed the questionnaire, while 6 were chosen for in-depth semi-structured interviews. The sample included a wide range of participants to reflect the diversity within the academic staff. The findings may offer valuable insights into the current status of these perceptions and potentially assist policy makers at SQU in enhancing the existing procedures and system for applying the academic appraisal. Furthermore, the results may lead to a set of recommendations and directions for future research, helping to improve the robustness and applicability of the appraisal system within the university context

Ligamentotaxis supplemented by K wires fixation versus volar plate and screws fixation for management of unstable fractures of the distal radius

Background: Fractures of the distal radius was found to be one of the most common skeletal injuries treated by orthopedic or trauma surgeons Objectives: To evaluate the outcome after operative treatment of unstable distal radius fractures to obtain good alignment through different methods of treatment as closed reduction and pinning, bridging and open reduction with volar plate-and-screw fixation. Patients and methods: Our study was a prospective, randomized trial conducted between 2018 and 2019 including 40 patients with displaced, unstable fractures of the distal radius .They were randomized to be managed either by ligamentotaxis supplemented with K-wire fixation or with volar plate fixation with similarity of both groups in the compared variables including age, gender ,mode of trauma , medical co-morbidities and the pattern of fracture. Results: The study was conducted on 40 patients with the mean age of ligamentotaxis group 38.9 years (Range 22-57), while the plating group was 39.45 years (Range 29-51). More than half of patients underwent ligamentotaxis were males and 60% of patients in the plating group were females .Patients in ligamentotaxis group had either road traffic accident or fell on ground with almost equal proportions, but in the plating group falling on ground was the most common. AO fracture type B was the most common among our sample. No statistically significant difference was found between both groups neither at 3 months nor at 6 months follow up. However, the Mayo score showed statistically significant improvement along the follow up Conclusions: We concluded that there is no evidence for the superiority of one treatment over the other either using locking plate and screws or ligamentotaxis supplemented by k wires

Contribution of Gravity Data for Structural Characterization of the Ifni Inlier, Western Anti-Atlas, Morocco: Hydrogeological Implications

The Sidi Ifni region in southwest Morocco is mainly composed of crystalline rocks with limited groundwater storage capacity. These water resources drain in particular fault zones with high fracture permeability. The main objective of this study is to describe the geological structure of the region to optimize future drilling locations. The gravity data were processed using various techniques, such as total horizontal gradient, tilt derivative, and Euler deconvolution, in conjunction with the interpretation of the geological data, to create a new structural map. This map confirms the presence of many previously identified or inferred faults and identifies significant new faults with their respective trends and depths. Analysis of this map shows that major faults are oriented NNESSW and NE-SW, while minor faults are oriented E-W, NW-SE, and NNW-SSE. The superposition of the hydrogeological data and the structural map reveals that the high groundwater flow values in the boreholes are located in the vicinity of the major faults and talwegs. The structures deduced from the filtering and interpretation of the gravity data suggest that the hydrogeological system of the Ifni Inlier is controlled by its structures. To confirm this impact, a high-resolution electrical resistivity map (7200 Hz) was used, with penetration depths ranging from 84 to 187 m. Negative boreholes, located in high resistivity ranges corresponding to sound basement formations without fault crossings, showed high resistivity values. The positive holes, located in anomalies with low linear resistivity, revealed the impact of fault crossings, which drain water and tend to decrease the resistivity values of the formations. Therefore, these new structural maps will assist in planning future hydrogeological studies in this area

Delineation of Groundwater Potential Area using an AHP, Remote Sensing, and GIS Techniques in the Ifni Basin, Western Anti-Atlas, Morocco

An assessment of potential groundwater areas in the Ifni basin, located in the western AntiAtlas range of Morocco, was conducted based on a multicriteria analytical approach that integrated a set of geomorphological and hydroclimatic factors influencing the availability of this resource. This approach involved the use of geographic information systems (GIS) and hierarchical analytical process (AHP) models. Different factors were classified and weighted according to their contribution to and impact on groundwater reserves. Their normalized weights were evaluated using a pairwise comparison matrix. Four classes of potentiality emerged: very high, high, moderate, and low, occupying 15.22%, 20.17%, 30.96%, and 33.65%, respectively, of the basin’s area. A groundwater potential map (GWPA) was validated by comparison with data from 134 existing water points using a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. The AUC was calculated at 80%, indicating the good predictive accuracy of the AHP method. These results will enable water operators to select favorable sites with a high groundwater potential