Qatar Foundation Annual Research Forum Volume 2013 Issue 1

It is not clear if HIV-1 variants lose the ability to prime naïve CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) during progressive, untreated infection. Answering this question is important for developing immunotherapeutic approaches for enhanced control of residual HIV-1 infection in persons on combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). We therefore conducted a comprehensive longitudinal analysis of viral evolution and its impact on primary and memory CD8+ T cell responses pre-seroconversion (SC), post-SC, and during cART. We report the emergence of variant sequences in Gag, Env, and Nef at early (0-3 yr) and late (3.3-7.8 yr) times following SC, and after ART (>8 yr). Memory T cell responses targeting autologous virus variants reached a nadir by 8 yr post-SC along with the development of AIDS. This was followed by a transient enhancement of anti-HIV-1 CTL responses upon initiation of cART. The frequency of epitope variants was clearly associated with the breadth but not the magnitude of memory T cell responses. Our study reveals that the immune system retained its capacity to induce broad and high magnitude, primary T cell responses to late variants in pre-SC T cells, comparable to primary anti-HIV-1 responses induced in T cells from HIV-1 uninfected persons. Consequently, despite evolutionary changes in HIV-1, CD8+ T cells can still be primed to viral variants. Hence, vaccination against late, mutated epitopes could be successful in enhancing primary reactivity of T cells for control of the residual reservoir of HIV-1 in persons on ART.

Background: Anemia of chronic disease (ACD) is highly prevalent among subjects with chronic kidney disease (CKD), rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes mellitus, and cancer as well as in elderly subjects. ACD is also highly associated with infections, severe trauma and critical illness. Anemia of chronic disease is immune driven and is associated with decreased quality of life, and increased mortality. Iron is an essential nutrient for erythropoiesis and its metabolism is altered in ACD. Macrophages play a central role in iron homeostasis by engulfing senescent and damaged red blood cells (RBCs), and recycling iron daily in a process known erythrophagocytosis. Hepcidin, a master iron regulating hormone, prevents iron egress from macrophages and thus prevents normal recycling of the iron needed to support erythropoiesis. Hepcidin binds to ferroportin, the only known iron exporter, leading to its internalization and degradation and consequent iron retention in macrophages. Cytokines like IL-1β and IL-6 are commonly elevated in chronic diseases and stimulate hepcidin production from the liver and macrophages. Circulating hepcidin levels are increased in patients with chronic diseases and recently found to be inversely correlated with vitamin D status. Purpose: To investigate whether vitamin D (1,25(OH)2D) regulates the hepcidin-ferropotin axis in macrophages and thus improves iron egress to circulation to ameliorate ACD. Study design and Results: We sought to examine whether 1,25(OH)2D decreased local expression of hepcidin and increased ferroportin expression in human monocyte/macrophage cell line. THP-1 cells were cultured in the presence of increasing concentrations of 1,25(OH)2D prior to incubation with lipopolysaccharide (LPS (20ng/ml)), a known stimulator of hepcidin, to mimic an inflammatory state found in ACD. We performed RT-PCR to quantify the changes in mRNA expression in these cultured cells. We found that 1,25(OH)2D statistically decreased the mRNA expression of hepcidin and increased the expression of ferroportin in a dose dependent manner. These preliminary data strongly suggest that vitamin D plays a crucial role in macrophage recycling of iron by increasing expression of ferroportin. Although the liver is the primary source of hepcidin, we found that vitamin D also inhibited hepcidin expression in THP-1 cells. We performed in silico analysis on hepcidin promoter; however, no vitamin D response element (VDRE) consensus was identified in hepcidin promoter. Therefore, vitamin D indirectly suppresses hepcidin expression. We examined whether vitamin D may decrease inflammatory cytokines that stimulate hepcidin expression. We measured cytokine release from THP-1 cells cultured in the presence of increasing concentrations of 1,25(OH)2D prior to LPS exposure and found a dose dependent decrease in IL-1β and IL-6 release suggesting that vitamin D suppresses hepcidin expression by lowering pro-hepcidin cytokines. Conclusion: Our in vitro studies show that vitamin D regulates hepcidin-ferroportin axis in macrophages which facilitates iron egress. Thus vitamin D deficiency may contribute to the pathogenesis of ACD. To translate our finding, we are currently conducting a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, in subjects with early chronic kidney disease supplemented with oral high dose vitamin D or matching placebo for one year.

Introduction: Similar to many countries in the world, breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the State of Qatar and the incidence rate is rising. Previous findings indicate women in Qatar are often diagnosed with breast cancer at advanced stages and their awareness of breast cancer screening (BCS) services and participation rates in screening activities are low. Previous studies indicate the need to understand the many complex beliefs, values, and attitudes that influence Arabic women's health seeking behavior for the development of culturally-appropriate awareness and effective intervention strategies to address breast cancer in Qatar. This study investigates beliefs and attitudes about breast cancer and BCS activities in Qatar and how it relates to their screening practices. Methods: A multi-center, cross-sectional quantitative survey of 1,063 (87.5% response rate) female Qatari citizens and Qatari Arabic-speaking residents, 35 years of age or older, was conducted in Qatar from March 2011 to July 2011. Results: In addition to low levels of awareness and participation rates in BCS (13.9% of participants reported performing a monthly BSE, 31.3% had a CBE within the last 1-2 years, and 26.9% of participants 40 years of age or older had a mammogram done within the last 1-2 years), less than half of the women interviewed believed breast cancer can be prevented. The majority of women participants want to know if they have breast cancer and would make an appointment for a mammogram if their HCP suggested it. The main reasons for not planning BCS were fear and embarrassment. Other factors related to BCS practice indicate women with self-perceived good and excellent health, who believe cancer can be prevented, and do not believe cancer is due to God's punishment or bad luck, were more likely to practice BCS. Conclusion: A variety of channels (health care providers, media, breast cancer survivors, and religious leaders) should be utilized to create culturally-appropriate intervention programs to raise awareness of breast cancer, BCS, and the benefits of early detection of breast cancer to help reduce mortality rates amongst Arabic-speaking women living in the State of Qatar. Awareness campaigns must emphasize that cancer can be prevented and treated if detected in its early stages. In addition, including religiously and culturally appropriate messages/teachings as part of awareness campaigns is important components to sustaining intervention strategies that address breast cancer amongst Arabic-speaking Muslim women.

Background and objectives: Cerebral auto-regulation is an intrinsic protective mechanism guaranteeing hemodynamic integrity of cerebral circulation. It modulates cerebral blood flow (CBF) in order to meet regional perfusion demands despite variations in arterial blood pressure. Impaired cerebral auto-regulation is associated with poor functional and prognostic outcomes in patients with ischemic stroke. The aims of this study are to: (i) correlate CBF and cerebral auto-regulation with microalbuminuria in TIA patients; and (ii) assess the prognostic outcomes of such impairment. Methods: Blood flow in the middle cerebral artery was measured on both sides of the brain, using a trans-cranial Doppler. Cerebral auto-regulation was estimated non-invasively by calculating the correlation coefficient between slow changes of arterial blood pressure, evaluated by finger plethysmograph, and slow changes of cerebral blood flow velocity measured with trans-cranial Doppler. Microalbuminuria was measured first by calculating the Albumin/Creatinine Ratio (ACR). Then 24hr urinary protein was collected to calculate total urine albumin excreted in 24hr. Urine samples with microalbuminuria (30-300mg/24hr) and with normal levels of albumin (<30mg/24hr) were also examined (using SDS-PAGE electrophoresis). Protein bands were identified by their rate of migration in comparison with standard molecular weight markers. The presence of albumin was confirmed further by immuno-blotting (Figure-1). Results: The SDS-gel, revealed the presence of three unknown protein bands (Figure-2). Band (A) is heavily stained, representing albumin. Specimens collected from patients 2, 5, 8 and 9 reveal a particularly dense band, and this is supported by the biochemical assay results, which estimated protein content at 35mg/L for sample 9, 40mg/L for sample 5, and 80mg/L for samples 2 and 8. Band (B) was shown in three of the urine samples, namely from patients 2, 5, and 8. Its position on the gel is roughly equidistant between bands A and C. Band (C), denoting a slower migration band, representing Tamm-Horsfall protein. Tamm-Horsfall protein is suspected since not only is it the most abundant protein in urine after albumin, but also its position is in concordance with the relative molecular weight of Tamm-Horsfall protein (between 85 and 110kDa). The intensity of this band is generally not as great as band A. Conclusions: This study has just started in Qatar and the UK. The outcomes will enable us to answer the following questions: Whether testing for cerebral auto-regulation in Stroke/TIA clinics will help in identifying a subgroup of TIA patients who are at grave risk of developing microvascular and macrovascular diseases, including stroke. Do TIA patients with impaired cerebral auto-regulation and microalbuminuria have more vascular events than TIA patients with normal cerebral auto-regulation without microalbuminuria? Is there any statistically significant difference in the short-term (3-6 months) and long-term (3 years) prognosis (between the two groups of TIA patients? Whether there is any correlation between CBF/auto-regulation and microalbuminuria in TIA patients with microalbuminuria. Whether post TIA stroke is independently affected by impaired cerebral auto-regulation, taking into account other confounding factors that might affect the outcome of this study (such as diabetes, hypertension, age, other cardiovascular co-morbidity).

Blood stream infections due to Candida species cause significant morbidity and mortality in health care settings. This surveillance analysis describes the epidemiology, trend in species distribution and outcomes of candidemia in patients at Hamad hospital, Doha, Qatar. From January 2004 to December 2010, a total of 187 patients with 201 episodes of candidemia were identified. C. albicans was the most common species isolated 33.8% (n=68), whereas non-albicans Candida species represented 66.2 % (n=133) of the episodes. The latter consisted of C. glabrata 18.9% (n=38), C. tropicalis 17.9% (n=36), C. parapsilosis 16.9% (n=34), C. orthopsilosis 4% (n=8) and C. dubliniensis 1.5% (n=3). Rare occurring cases of Pichia kudriavzevii , Meyerozyma guilliermondii, Clavispora lusitaniae, Wickerhamomyces anomalus and C. pararugosa (n=2 each) caused (4.9%) of infections. Uncommon yeast species such as C. intermedia, Yarrowia lipolytica, Kluyveromyces lactis , Lidnera fabianii, and Loddermyces elongisporus were found in single cases of candidemia (2.4%). The species distribution and outcome of candidemia showed a difference in crude mortality between patients infected with C. albicans (n=30, 45.5%) and non-albicans Candida species, e.g. C. parapsilosis candidemia was associated with the lowest mortality rate (40.6%), and patients with other non-albicans species had the highest mortality rate (68-71.4%). High mortality rates were observed among pediatric (<1year) and elderly patients (>60 years). All strains showed low MICs (≤ 1%) to isavuconazole. Overall reistance to voriconazole in vitro antifungal activity was 2.5%. Higher resistant rates were only observed for itraconazole (10.9%), C. glabata (n=38) was susceptible dose dependent to fluconazole. Except 0.5%, all isolates were susceptible to anidulafungin and 81.1% to caspofungin. Resistance to anidulafungin was detected in 1/8 (12.5%) isolates of C. orthopsilosis. According to new CLSI breakpoints, C. glabrata n=38 showed 100% resistance, and 37/68 (54.4%) of C. albicans were SDD to caspofungin. Identification by MALDI-MS was 100% in concordance with molecular identification.

Background Osteoporosis is a common skeletal disorder characterized by low bone mass and microarchetectual deterioration of bone tissue with increased susceptibility to fractures. Osteoporosis is considered a multifactorial polygenic disease. The prevalence of postmenopausal osteoporosis in Palestine, based on of BMD at femoral neck, total hip and spine was 24%, 14% and 29.7% respectively. Previous studies on the effect of genetic polymorphisms on bone mineral density (BMD) showed significant correlation between various haplotypes and mutations in the VDR and MTHFR and low bone mineral density [BMD] among Palestinian postmenopausal subjects. Estrogens are known to play an important role in regulating bone homeostasis. Estrogen act through binding to Estrogen Receptor α (ERα) which is a member of the nuclear receptor superfamily of ligand activated transcription factors. Vitamin K hydrochinon is an important cofactor for gamma carboxylation of osteocalcin, a major bone matrix protein . The reduction of vitamin K to vitamin K hydrochinon depends on the vitamin K epoxide reductase complex subunit 1 (VKORC1). Aim In the present study, correlation between specific XbaI and PvuII polymorphisms in the ERα gene and selected polymorphisms in the VKORC1 gene with low BMD and fractures risk were investigated in 345 postmenopausal Palestinian women including 165 osteoporotic, 93 osteopenic and 86 normal subjects using allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and RFLP-PCR technology. Results The data showed significance association between the XX haplotype of the XbaI in ERα gene and lower BMD at the hip (P=0.012). Similarly the PP haplotype of PvuII ER α gene was significantly associated with lower hip BMD ( P=0.03). In addition, the 9041G allele [GG and GA] was significantly more frequent in patients with low BMD (P = 0.012). In our cohort, a genetic variation in the 3&#39;-region of the VKORC1 gene (9041 AG and GG) was significantly associated with low BMD. The data also revealed the +2255 TT haplotype which is linked to lower activity of the enzyme was associated with low BMD while the presence of the C allele [CC or CT], linked to higher activity at this locus, was associated with normal BMD levels [P=0.02]. Conclusions These findings indicate that specific polymorphisms in the ERα gene and VKORC1 gene are correlated with variation in BMD levels among our subjects. These results along with previous data with the VDR and MTHFR genes provide evidence for the strong correlation between genetics and osteoporosis in our population may be significant for treatment decisions and screening of osteoporotic patients. The involvement of other genes variation like the osteoprotegrin and TNF superfamily member genes are underway. The overall data will eventialy be employed for direct correlation and evaluation between the genetic background of patients and the efficacy of selected specific drugs used to treat osteoporosis.

Absorbed Dose Distributions In Lineal Energy For Neutrons And Gamma Rays Were Measured Using Both A Tissue-Equivalent Walled Counter (Tepc) And A Graphite-Walled Low Pressure Proportional Counter (Gpc) In The Am-Be Neutron Source Facility At Uoit. A Series Of Measurements Were Performed With The Counters Filled With Propane-Based Te Gas (55.1% C3H8, 39.5% Co2 And 5.4% N2) At Operating Gas Pressures Corresponding To Tissue Spheres 2.0 , 4.0 And 8.0 ?m In Diameter. The Results Of These Measurements Indicated Satisfactory Performance Of The Counters To Measure Microdosimetric Spectra Extending Down To Event-Sizes That Cover The Gamma Component Of A Mixed Field. An Assessment Of The Performance Of Different Size Tepc Has Been Done And Excellent Agreement Between Their Event Size Spectra Was Found With Differences In The Microdosimetric Parameters Yf And Yd Not Exceeding 3%, Which Is In The Region Of Counting Statistics. To Separate Neutron Dose From Gamma Dose A Simple Lineal Energy Threshold Technique Has Been Used In Addition To More Sophisticated Methods Using G-Fitting And Graphite-Walled Counter Measurements. The Results Of This Study Showed That The Absorbed Dose Gamma Fraction Of The Am-Be Source Was 34.5% As Determined By Gamma Fitting And Dual Chamber Methods. The Simple Threshold Technique Gave A Value Of The Gamma Fraction Of 48% Which Is Acceptable For Radiation Protection Monitoring, However, For Radiation Biology And Neutron Metrology The More Sophisticated Methods Of Determining The Gamma Fraction Of The Total Dose Should Be Used.

Monitoring of respiratory rate and amplitudes of a human being has important medical applications such as in health monitoring as well as in diagnosis of respiratory illnesses and disorders such as the sleep apnea disorder. Currently used techniques for respiratory monitoring require patients to wear sensors and electrodes across the chest to measure the respiratory effort. Such techniques not only cause discomfort to the patient but also require expert supervision. It is desirable to have a low-cost wireless monitoring equipment that is able to measure the respiratory rate and amplitudes through a non-contact and non-invasive methodology. Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology offers promising features for wireless monitoring in medical environments. However, there are several challenges that need to be addressed to enable development of a cost effective and reliable product capable of operating in realistic environments. Such challenges include low signal-to-noise ratios (SNR), interference from moving background objects (clutters) and the need for expensive sampling equipment. We propose a comprehensive scheme for wireless monitoring of the respiratory movements using UWB technology. Our scheme overcomes all the three challenges mentioned above. The proposed scheme is based on the estimation of the ultra-wideband channel impulse response. We exploit the sparsity inherent in the UWB channel to estimate the respiratory movements while operating in a Bayesian framework. We suggest techniques for dealing with background clutter in situations when it might be time variant. We also present a novel methodology for reducing the required sampling rate of the system significantly while achieving the accuracy offered by the Nyquist rate. Results from simulations conducted with pre-recorded respiratory signals demonstrate the robustness of our scheme for tackling the above challenges and providing a low-complexity solution for the monitoring of respiratory movements in harsh operating environments. Equipment based on our technique will be particularly useful to hospitals for clinical diagnosis purposes and also for commercial household usage by people in need of continuous monitoring of their health status. Measurements acquired through the equipment can potentially be communicated to a remote terminal/station for analysis by physicians. The equipment will also be useful in search and rescue scenarios for detecting and monitoring the vital signs of survivors trapped under debris and rubble in disaster management scenarios as well as in surveillance operations such as detecting people behind a wall.

Background: Children with cancer who are treated with intensive myelosuppressive chemotherapy or radiation therapy and develop neutropenia are at risk of developing life-threatening infections. In adult cancer patients with febrile neutropenia, some evidence suggests that there is no difference in efficacy between monotherapy and combination gram negative empiric antibiotic regimens. Outcomes of these different antibiotic regimens have not been compared in the pediatric population in North America. The objectives of this study were to compare the effectiveness and safety of a combination gram negative antibiotic regimen versus monotherapy in pediatric cancer patients with cancer and febrile neutropenia, and to describe the use of additional antimicrobial agents for those patients who did not respond to initial empiric therapy. Methods: A retrospective review of medical records of cancer patients who received empiric treatment for febrile neutropenia with piperacillin-tazobactam and gentamicin, and those who received monotherapy for febrile neutropenia with pipercillin-tazobactam was performed. Demographic information, drug therapy for febrile neutropenia, measures of renal function, daily peak temperature, other medications received (including antibiotics and antipyretics), and bacterial and fungal cultures were obtained from the patient's medical records using a standardized data collection form. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the study patient's demographic information. Difference in duration of fever and change in serum creatinine were assessed using the Wilcoxon Rank-Sum Test. Results: A total of 60 patients were included in this study. Mean duration of fever was 3.5 days in the combination treatment group and 3.1 days in the monotherapy group (p = 0.5). Both the combination and monotherapy groups had similar rates of adding vancomycin (17% vs. 13%). The monotherapy group received additional gram-negative coverage antibiotics more often (10%) than the combination group (0%). Antibiotics added included: gentamicin (0 combination group, 7% combination group), and ciprofloxacin (0 combination group, 3% monotherapy group). Piperacillin-tazobactam was changed to meropenem in 3% of the patients in the combination group and 7% of the monotherapy group, while 3% of the combination group patients were switched from piperacillin-tazobactam to ceftriaxone. Mean percent increase in serum creatinine was 25% in the combination group and 10% in the monotherapy group (p = 0.03). Conclusion: Empiric treatment of febrile neutropenia in children with cancer using a monotherapy regimen with piperacillin-tazobactam is as effective as the combination of piperacillin-tazobactam and gentamicin for reducing duration of fever. This therapeutic option however must be evaluated against local microbial resistance patterns and patient risk factors. Although statistically significant, the difference in change in serum creatinine between the two groups was not clinically significant.

Background Many diabetes patients choose to participate in the Ramadan fast despite medical and religious advice to the contrary. Pharmacists, especially in ambulatory care, are considered the most easily and readily accessible health care providers whose guidance can help ensure safe fasting for these patients. Objective The aim of this novel study is to describe Qatar pharmacists' current practice, knowledge, and attitudes towards diabetes medication management during Ramadan. Methodology This cross-sectional descriptive study was performed among a convenience sample of 500 pharmacists in various practice settings in Qatar. A web-based, 30-items questionnaire was systematically developed following comprehensive literature review. The volume and nature of pharmacist interactions with diabetes patients was explored. Pharmacists' awareness and knowledge of relevant resources, endorsed by international medical and religious bodies, were evaluated. In addition, their attitudes regarding pharmacist role in diabetes care during Ramadan were assessed. Data was entered and analyzed using SPSS Version 19. Results: The survey was completed by 166 (33%) pharmacists during May and June 2012. Eighty-eight (53%) were based in ambulatory care and reported somewhat more interaction (at least weekly) with diabetes patients during Ramadan than hospital pharmacists (70.4%, vs. 55.8%, p=0.08). Three-quarter of respondents had never read recommended diabetes Ramadan guidelines with 62% using Internet resources as their primary reference to answer fasting-related diabetes questions. Two-thirds of respondents correctly identified how to modify oral diabetes therapy dosing during Ramadan, but just 20 (12%) did so for insulin. Despite stated barriers of workload, insufficient access to patient medical records and private counseling areas, pharmacists overwhelmingly expressed willingness to assume greater roles in diabetes patient education during Ramadan. Conclusion Qatar pharmacists frequently interact with diabetes patients, but application of recommended medical guidelines for care and medication dosing for fasting patients is not optimal. While there are various barriers limiting pharmacist participation in diabetes management during Ramadan, they are motivated to assume a greater role in developing this service.

Comparison of different assays to measure antioxidant capacity in Qatari grown food

IgE-mediated mast-cell renin release

Epidemiological study of patients presenting with the first seizure in Qatar.

Patient-Specific Anatomy and Tissue Texture Models for Surgical Simulations

Non-motor manifestations in Parkinson's disease: The link between Sense of smell, subjective visual vertical (SVV) perception and micrographia

SANAD: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Smart Mobile Diabetes Management System Embedding Social Networking Platform

A Novel Bace-1 Inhibitor, F70Hab16 Reduces Oxidative Stress In Brain Tissues Of Scopolamine-Induced Amnesia In Mice

Background: patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) are subjected to reduction in the quality and oxidative capacity of muscles. The effect of duration of diabetes on the muscle endurance response is not clear and strength as well .The aim of this study was the assessment of strength and endurance of knee extensor and flexor in the patients with T2DM&lt;10 and T2DM&gt;10 years in comparison with age, sex, BMI, ABI and PAI-matched health control subjects. Methods: isometric maximal peak torque (MPT) of knee extensor and flexor before and after 40 isokinetic repetitions with velocity of 150 degree/s were recorded in 18 patients with T2DM&lt;10 Y , 12 patients with T2DM&gt;10 Y and 20 matched health control (HC) groups. Results: both diabetic patient groups had significant lower isometric and isotonic knee extensor and flexor strength than HC (Table 1). The endurance indices indicated that whereas the isometric MPT of flexor movement was reduced after isokinetic protocol in the both patient groups in comparison with HC, the less decline was seen in the isotonic torque and work during isokinetic protocol in the T2DM&gt;10 Y group in comparison with two other groups (figure 1). The HbA1c and FBS were significantly correlated with strength not with endurance indices. Conclusions: it seems the progression of diabetes accompanied with vascular, neural and muscular deficits activate, some adaptive and compensatory processes which can maintain muscle performance.

Development and characterization of poly (diol-co-tricarballylate) biodegradable matrices for implantable controlled drug delivery, tissue engineering and other biomedical applications

Development, Implementation, and Evaluation of a Novel Medication Safety Health Promotion Program for Schoolchildren in Qatar

Associations of single nucleotide polymorphisms(rs2383207) on chromosome 9p21 with coronary artery diseases in Qatar

Assessment of Parylene C Thin Films for Heart Valve Tissue Engineering

The idea of deploying multiple wireless sensors around the human body to enable ubiquitous healthcare by measuring continuously all the physiological data of interest has received considerable attention. Ultra-wideband (UWB) is a promising communication technology for short-range communication scenarios like body-centric wireless network (BCWN) (i.e, in the area of medical healthcare). UWB is characterized by low-power which makes it suitable for human body exposure and extends the life of the system. UWB is a high data rate technology that provides immunity to multipath interference, which facilitates the compatibility of such technology in body-centric applications. High data-rate wireless communications, nearing 1 Gb/s transmission rates, are of greater interest in emerging wireless technologies. The demand for higher data rate is increasing with the passage of time. To achieve higher data rates, greater than 50 Mb/s, multiple transmit and multiple receive antennas (MIMO) is recommended in IEEE 802.11n. To reach the target of 1 Gb/s, more advanced techniques like Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology combined with MIMO is an attractive research area now-a-days [1]. For BCWN, the use of multiple antennas at transmitter and receiver can simply be considered as a tool to further increase the signal to noise/interference ratio and additional diversity against fading. BCWN mainly experience fading due to relative movements of body parts, polarisation mismatch, shadowing, diffraction, and scattering from the body parts and surrounding environments. Multiple antennas can be used to combat fading and multipath effects. There has been an increasing interest in diversity and multiple-input, multiple output (MIMO) techniques for enhanced mobile and wireless communications in recent years. There are some studies presented in the open literature, where the benefits of multiple antenna techniques for body-centric communications in narrow-band systems have been investigated. The aim of this work is to investigate channel characterization (i.e having comprehensive radio channel knowledge and accurate channel model) and improve channel capacity provided by a UWB MIMO antenna system in body centric communication systems. The work will specifically investigate how UWB radio signals are affected by body shadowing and what kind for of improvement can be achieved in terms of channel capacity by using MIMO technology for BCWN. This is done by incorporating two different models on the measured data in an indoor environment (Fig. 1 shows the MIMO antenna position during measurements), and calculating various parameters like Rician factor, average received power, shadowing deviation, polarization loss for each spatial sub-channel. In addition, water filling is used in place of uniform distribution which provides higher capacity even at low SNR.

Whole genome sequencing provides a rich and unprecedented collection of the existing genetic variation in a genome. The development of next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies has enabled a rapid and relatively inexpensive method for whole genome sequencing. The current archive of genetic variations in the horse is mostly based on the Thoroughbred mare used to generate the reference sequence (EquCab2.0). Therefore, we have used Illumina paired-end NGS technology to sequence three horse genomes from diverse breeds; an Arabian, a Percheron and an American Miniature Horse. Our objective is to catalog newly identified variations within these three individuals and in comparison to the reference. After filtering the reads, we used BWA to align them to the reference and the Genome Analysis Tool Kit (GATK) HaplotypeCaller to call Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) and insertion/deletion polymorphisms (In/Dels). We also used ControlFreec to obtain regions predicted to contain copy number variations on each of the three genomes. Finally, we used BreakDancer to detect structural variations like inversions and translocations. These newly detected variations will enrich the database of genetic variations in the horse and could potentially have a phenotypic impact related to the biology of each of the three horse breeds. Here we will be presenting preliminary findings on our analysis and highlight the important steps in our pipeline.

Investigating the Function and Substrate Specificity of Histone Deacetylase Enzymes:New Synthetic Tools to Investigate the Role of HDACs in Cancer

Adult neurogenesis exists in two brain regions: the subventricular zone (SVZ) and the hippocampal dentate gyrus. In schizophrenia, hippocampal neurogenesis has been widely characterized, however no evidence exists for whether SVZ neurogenesis might be involved in the disease. This is particularly interesting since antipsychotic drugs were already shown to increase SVZ neurogenesis in rats [1, 2]. Here, I have investigated adult neurogenesis in three mouse models of schizophrenia: transgenic mice overexpressing neuregulin-1 type 1 (NRG1type1-tg); Snap-25 mutant (SNAP25+/-) mice and dysbindin-1 mutant or Sandy (Sdy-/-) mice. Using immunohistochemistry, I found no quantitative change in the number of proliferative cells that were positive for phosophohistone (PHi3) in the SVZ, rostral migratory stream (RMS) and hippocampus in both the NRG1type1-tg and SNAP25+/- mice. Similarly, I found no significant change in the surface area of migrating neuroblasts (doublecortin, Dcx+ cells) in the RMS of NRG1type1-tg and SNAP25+/- mice. The third model, Sdy-/- mice, were systemically injected with either saline or a viral mimic, polyI:C, from postnatal day 5 (P5) to P9 and this model represents gene vs. environment interactions in schizophrenia. Interestingly, I found a significant reduction in the number of proliferative (PHi3+) cells in the medial and subcallosal SVZ of Sdy-/- mice after inflammation. Also, I have found a decrease in the surface area of migratory (Dcx+) cells in the RMS of Sdy-/- (+polyI:C). Furthermore, I sought to find whether neonatal stress causes morphological changes in astroyctosis (i.e. GFAP) and microglia activation (i.e. Iba1) in the SVZ of Sdy-/- mice but found no apparent differences in comparison to wild-type (WT) littermates. Our collaborators from Prof. Lalit Srivastava&#39;s laboratory (McGill University) have shown that these observations in Sdy-/- mice (+polyI:C) were correlated with behavioural abnormalities, such as prepulse inhibition (PPI), reduced locomotor activity and object-recognition deficit although the latter was not statistically significant. In conclusion, I have shown here that a combination of both neonatal inflammation and mutation in a gene relevant to schizophrenia was important for triggering long-term effects in SVZ neurogenesis that was also correlated with behavioural deficits. Future studies will further examine SVZ neurogenesis in postnatal Sandy mice and will also look at brain integrity and cytokine infiltration in both postnatal and adult Sandy mice following neonatal inflammation. Functional studies will determine whether knocking-down toll-like receptor-3 (TLR3), which is the receptor for polyI:C, might rescue SVZ neurogenesis in postnatal Sandy mice after inflammation. 1. Kippin, T.E., S. Kapur, and D. van der Kooy, Dopamine specifically inhibits forebrain neural stem cell proliferation, suggesting a novel effect of antipsychotic drugs. J Neurosci, 2005. 25(24): p. 5815-23. 2. Wakade, C.G., et al., Atypical neuroleptics stimulate neurogenesis in adult rat brain. J Neurosci Res, 2002. 69(1): p. 72-9.

The purpose of this project was to further investigate the characteristic properties of an inorganic-organic hybrid material with respect to its potential application in the field of tissue engineering. The organic component chosen for this project was a co-polymer 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) and 3-trimethoxysilyl propylmethacrylate (TMSPMA), able to crosslink the polymer to the silica network via hydrolysis and condensation of the alkoxysilane functional group. Copolymers of HEMA-TMSPMA were made by the process of free radical polymerization (FRP), using azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as a thermal initiator. Hybrid monoliths were then produced by the sol-gel process with hydrolysed tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and HCL solution as the inorganic precursor. The HEMA:TMSPMA ratios used for this study were 200:1, 100:1, 50:1, 20:1 and pure HEMA, at a concentration of 60wt% organic, to allow for comparison on the effect of crosslinking on the hybrids properties. Characterization of the copolymer and hybrid monoliths determined their chemical and physical properties. Characterisation techniques included Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (HNMR), Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC), Fourier Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), dissolution study in TRIS solution and which was analysed using Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP), Thermo-Gravimetric Analysis (TGA), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), compressive strength testing and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). These methods were used to determine the molecular composition, mechanical properties and characteristic degradation of the copolymers and monoliths. HNMR showed that the FRP process produced highly polymerised copolymers. The sol-gel process produced successful crack-free monoliths with an average gelation/drying period of 3weeks and average of 4 crack free monoliths from samples of 10 for the optimised sol-gel process. The 3 week dissolution study showed a reduction in silica ions release rate and plateaued at a lower concentration with increasing TMSPMA content and hence a higher degree of cross-linking, with a plateau of Si release between week 2 and 3. XRD shows that no crystalline structures formed on the surface of the hybrids, which is expected as TRIS doesn't contain phosphorus or calcium meaning that no precipitates are expected. Mechanical testing shows that the 200:1 HEMA-TMSPMA monoliths have the highest compressive strength, and Pure HEMA monoliths are the most brittle as expected by the materials natural character, with values of 134.6 ± 19.80 MPa and 42.6 ± 17.39 MPa respectively.

Engineered wetland (EWL) is a land treatment system that utilizes natural processes to improve water quality. The EWL system consists of vegetation, aquatic organisms, soils and the associated microbes designed to assist in improving water quality through phytoremediation. Engineered wetlands are commonly utilized to improve municipal wastewater quality however, such technology is not common in treating industrial wastewater (IWW) from oil and gas operations and further, EWL technology has not been tested or implemented in Qatar. EWL technology is promising for Qatar due to land availability, hardy native plant species and suitable climate. The efficiency and sustainability of EWL is highly influenced by its treatment media. A joint project between ExxonMobil Research Qatar (EMRQ) and the Environmental Studies Center of Qatar University (ESC) is carried out to investigate the abilities of native and/or cultivated plant species to improve IWW quality through phytoremediation. Experiments using selected plants were conducted using soil cultures and sand cultures in the first stage of the project, while the second stage will be expanded to include water cultures. The change in the microbial flora in sand cultures and soil cultures at the rhizosphere was also monitored during the course of the growth of plants. This presentation will report results for the effectiveness of the the native plants potential in removing, degrading and eliminating constituents from IWW. Results indicate that IWW had detrimental impact on all plants studied in the sand culture. On the other hand, the results of soil culture indicate that only barley was negatively affected by IWW. The results also showed that common reed (Phragmites Australis) could be a promising aquatic native plant in any phytoremediation project in the future.

The huge economic impact of the corrosion of metallic structures is a very important issue for all modern societies. Reports on the corrosion failures of bridges, buildings, aircrafts, automobiles, and gas and oil pipelines are not unusual. It is estimated that corrosion and its consequences cost developed nations between 3% and 5% of their gross domestic product. The process involving hexavalent chromates is the most effective and most widely used conversion coatings for corrosion protection for many metals and alloys. However, the carcinogenic effect and environmental waste due to chromates are well documented. The concept of 'self-healing', 'self-repairing' or 'smart' materials has in recent years been developed experimentally in new types of manufactured materials creating a new class of multifunctional materials of self healing properties. Such properties add functionality to the materials to heal themselves automatically after mechanical, physical or chemical damages caused, for example, by scratch, impact, abrasion, erosion, friction, corrosion, wear, fire, ice, etc. The development of active corrosion protection systems for steels, Al and Mg substrates is an issue of prime importance in key industries, including petroleum, chemicals, transportation. The present work provides new insights towards the development of new protective systems with self-healing functionality. The proposed coatings characterize with the self-healing ability, ease of application at low cost and safety. When the new chromate-free surface treatments are applied prior to Fluoropolymer top coating, the coatings exceed 2000-hour salt spray tests. The approach described herein can be used in many industrial applications where active corrosion protection of materials is required.

The ultimate composition of the CO2 stream captured from fossil fuel power plants or other CO2 intensive industries and transported to a storage site using high pressure pipelines will be governed by safety, environmental and economic considerations. So far, most of the studies performed on this topic have been limited in scope, primarily focusing on investigating the impact of the CO2 stream impurities on each part of the Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) chain in isolation. This is a significant drawback given the markedly different sensitivities of the pipeline, well bore materials and storage sites to the various impurities. For example, given the risk of water table contamination, trace elements such as Lead, Mercury and Arsenic in the CO2 stream are of far greater concern in an aquifer storage site than compared to the pipeline. On the other hand, even small concentrations of water in the CO2 stream are detrimental to the pipeline due to corrosion, but of benefit even at high concentrations during storage given the immobilisation effect of water on CO2. 'What is good for the pipeline is not necessarily good for storage'. It is clear that the optimum composition and concentration of the impurities in the captured CO2 stream involves a delicate balance between the different requirements within the CCS chain, spanning capture, transportation and storage, with cost and safety implications being the over-arching factor. Pivotal to these considerations is an understanding of the impact of the impurities on the physico-chemical properties of CO2 and its hazard profile. This paper presents and overview of the current FP7 European Commission CO2QUEST project involving the collaboration of 12 industry and academic partners in Europe, China and Canada aimed at addressing fundamentally important and urgent issues regarding the impact of the typical CO2 streams impurities captured from fossil fuel power plants on its safe and economic transportation and storage. The work programme, spanning 36 months, focuses on the development of state-of-the-art mathematical models, backed, by laboratory and industrial-scale experimentation using unique EC-funded test facilities to perform a comprehensive techno-economic, risk-based assessment of the impact of the CO2 stream impurities on the phase behaviour and the physico-chemical reactions governing the pipeline and storage site integrities. The above involves the determination of the important CO2 mixtures that have the most profound impact upon the pipeline pressure drop, compressor power requirements, pipeline propensity to ductile and brittle facture propagation, corrosion of the pipeline and well bore materials, geochemical interactions within the well bore and storage site, and the ensuing health and environmental hazards. Based on a cost/benefit analysis and whole system approach, the results will in turn be used to provide recommendations for tolerance levels, mixing protocols and control measures for pipeline networks and storage infrastructure thus contributing to the development of relevant standards for the safe design and operation of CCS. Acknowledgement: The CO2QUEST project has received funding from the European Union 7th Framework Programme FP7-ENERGY-2012-1-2STAGE under grant agreement number 309102.

Growing concern about anthropogenic influence on the climate system due to emissions of greenhouses gases into the atmosphere causes governments everywhere around the world to adopt fossil fuel use reduction policies. However, to test if various government-launched measures and incentives really are effective, the fossil fuel based CO2 emissions into the atmosphere should be independently verified. To date, independent verification schemes are still far from common and both national policy and commerical carbon trading relies instead on self-reported emissions, and emission reductions. Such reports are based on inventories: summation of the emissions of all (known!) sources. True independent verification, however, should be based on atmospheric observations and supporting atmospheric transport models such that the sum of reported emissions matches the highly accurately measured concentrations in the atmosphere. The atmosphere is our ultimate record of the real GHG emissions: it neither misreports nor misdetects any GHG emissions. So far, however, only prototypes of such verification schemes are reported in the literature, the most noteworthy example being the "Megacities Carbon" initiative (Duren and Miller, 2011). In our group in Groningen, the Netherlands, we have recently demonstrated the first atmospheric observation based verification of greenhouse gas emissions for the Netherlands (Meesters et al., 2012, van der Laan et al., 2010, 2009). The methodology we used was based on the continuous observations of greenhouse gas concentrations at our atmospheric monitoring tower Lutjewad, in the north of the Netherlands. Additionally, in the case for CO2, we used radiocarbon (14C) and carbon monoxide (CO) observations, which enabled us to discriminate fossil fuel based CO2 from natural sources (and sinks) of CO2. Key to the verification scheme, however, was the way in which we could lead back observed concentrations to fluxes from the land to the atmosphere. We used the tracer Rn for this. Rn is a radio-active, but inert gas that emanates from soils at a more or less constant rate. Using this rate, and monitoring the Rn concentration, enabled use to translate greenhouse gas concentrations back into surface fluxes. To achieve this, we also made use of an atmospheric transport model, with which we could both calibrate our results, and test them for robustness. Our efforts produced total emissions (in a 3-year average) for the Netherlands for CH4, N2O and fossil fuel derived CO2 with a combined uncertainty of about 25% Improving the accuracy of such an effort is certainly possible. New, accurate and low-maintenance measurement instruments facilitate the efficient implementation of monitoring stations. Better, higher resolution atmospheric modelling is available, too. Using such advanced tools would make the independent verification to a level of ±10% possible on a yearly basis. Qatar, and especially the Doha agglomeration, would form a perfect testbed for such an excercise. The city, with its strong emissions is relatively isolated, and biospheric sources and sinks, which are much larger than the anthropogenic sources almost everywhere else in the world, are very small in Qatar, thanks to the barren desert.

The case for CO2-based fuels Coal and natural gas are still the main fuels for electricity generation. Traditional power plants have many advantages: they are very reliable and can relatively easily be ramped up and down to follow the electricity demand. However, their one disadvantage, their huge CO2 emission, is so big that they are replaced by alternatives. These alternative electricity generation sources, like solar and wind power, do not emit CO2. However, they are intermittent and cannot be used to follow the electricity demand. With the growth of renewable electricity production, the demand for storage of renewable electricity also increase. Oil-based transportation fuels also have many advantages: they can be stored and transported easily and they can be used to propel any transportation device, from mopeds to ocean liners and from passenger cars to airplanes. However, their high CO2 emission makes an alternative necessary. In many cases electric transport is an excellent alternative, but for long-distance heavy transport, shipping and aviation, hydrocarbon-based fuels will still be in demand. All these pressing problems can in principle be solved by using CO2 and renewable electricity to produce hydrocarbon-based transportation fuels. Costs of CO2-based fuels An inventory of CO2 utilization options shows that commercial options do exist and are ready to be deployed at commercial large scale. The major unit operations in the chain from renewable power and CO2 to fuels are PV-panels, CSP-plants, wind turbines, water electrolysis, CO2 capture, syngas conditioning, and Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (see Figure below). Source: Haije & Geerlings dx.doi.org/10.1021/es203160k. Environ. Sci. Technol, 2011 In this paper we present results of a study in which we have compared the costs of the production of certain CO2 based fuels (hydrogen, methanol, methane, and petrol) with the current market prices of the fossil counterparts of these fuels. As expected, the costs of the CO2-based fuels is in general higher, but the gap seems bridgeable. For example, for producing methanol from CO2 from renewable electricity costs 800 to 1500 USD per ton, while methanol from natural gas costs around 500 USD per ton. A major factor determining the costs, are the investments in electrolyzers to convert the renewable power into hydrogen. Especially, at low availabilities of renewable power, the electrolyzer costs drives up the costs of the CO2-based fuels. Development needs Adaptation of existing technology or development of novel technology is necessary to reduce costs and to cope with the intermittent nature of renewables (e.g., rapid ramp-up and ramp-down). The development of improved electrolyzers at lower costs and high efficiency is important. ECN is developing technology for the conversion of CO2 and hydrogen (a separation-enhanced reversed water-gas-shift process), that is especially suited for the CO2-based fuel applications. Conclusion The production of CO2-based fuels using commercially available technologies is possible. These fuels not only re-cycle CO2, but also store renewable electricity and replace fossil-based transportation fuels. The costs are still higher than fossil-based fuels, but by developing novel technologies, this gap can be reduced.

Nematodes cause billions of dollars of damage each year to agricultural crops worldwide. Nematicides are costly and environmentally detrimental. Crop rotation does not eliminate nematodes, but merely decreases crop damage. For successful engineering of transgenic plants for nematodes resistance, it is important to regulate plant resistance through promoters that over-express resistance genes or produce RNAi in the correct cells at the proper time. Data from our previous microarray experiments showed a number of genes that are responsive and activated at feeding site upon nematode infection after 3, 6 and 9 days. In this investigation, we identified and isolated seven different promoter regions, supposedly harboring different regulatory elements upstream to seven responsive genes that are highly expressed in the nematode feeding site. The upstream promoter regions were cloned, sequenced and tested in our newly developed expression vectors series, pJan25S (NCBI: KC416200), pJan25T (NCBI: KC416201) and pJan25X (NCBI: KC416202), that are an enhancements of pGWB533 for pro- moter testing.. Accumulation of the products of reporter genes encoding green fluorescent protein and b-glucuronidase (GUS) was monitored after transformation of onion cells using biolistics gene transfer. These promoter constructs were also prepared for transformation in Arabidopsis and soybean. These promoters will provide scientists with useful regulators for expressing genes and gene products that may inhibit the life cycle of the nematode at nematode feeding site. The same approach can be used for enhancing resistance of Qatari important plants against different pathogen.

The spatial distribution of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs)was investigated in sediments from 16 sites from the east coast of the Arabian Gulf of Qatar. Sixteen US-EPA priority PAHs and their alkylated homolog were determined. The highest PAHs concentrations were found in sediments inside fishing Harbors as well as at offshore locations close to an oil fields. Most inshore coastal locations showed low PAHs concentrations (95.4- 27.88 ng.g-1). Concentrations of PAHs in Qatar coastal sediments indicated that the area has low contaminate concentrations (<100 ng/g-1) except inside the fishing Harbor and offshore where moderate levels of pollution were detected (100=SPAHs=1000 ng.g-1). The spatial distribution of the concentrations of 16 parent PAHs and their alkyl homologs are presented and the possible sources of the PAHs have been elucidated using diagnostic ratios. Contaminant patterns and diagnostic ratios indicated that the PAHs were mainly from petrogenic sources, with higher contributions of pyrogenic PAHs near industrialized and urban areas.

Red palm weevil-RPW (Rhynchophorus ferrugienus Olive, Coleoptera, Curculionidae) was first observed in India in 1917 as a serious pest on date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.). It was introduced in Arabian Gulf countries in the mid-1980s and now considered to be one of the most destructive insects on date palm. The larvae are responsible for damaging and they cause the death of palm tree. There is no data available about the loss caused by this insect. This study showed the strategies used to control invasive species of RPW. These strategies include the following methods: (1) Declare the infested area as a quarantine or isolated area prohibiting the movement of plants, persons, animals or others. (2) Eradicate invasive species as soon as it is discovered quickly and population levels remain low. (3) Mechanical control involves using machinery or fire to remove the insect. (4) Keeping potentially damaging out in the first place where it was observed. (5) Biological control involves introducing a predator or parasite in an attempt to lower the population dynamic. (6) Chemical control involves using chemical pesticides to kill all the stages. (7) The newest technology for managing invaders species of RPW is using pheromone traps.

Human biomonitoring (HBM) is an emerging risk assessment tool that can be used to decipher the exposure and possible health effects of environmental chemicals. This report presents the results of a pilot HBM study involving 239 farmers in Qatar exposed to chemical fertilizers and pesticides as well as other environmental contaminants associated with the rapidly growing energy industry in the country. This cross-sectional study is based on urine as a biomarker and the objectives are to a) introduce HBM as a research tool in Qatar, b) quantify levels of trace elements and organic contaminants in urine from farmers and c) determine risks associated with the exposure to these contaminants using a detailed exposure questionnaire and biomarker results. This presentation focuses on results of 14 elements (V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, As, Se, Mo, Cd, Ba, Pb and U) in urine samples; results of the organic contaminants are being presented separately. The data set associated with this study is the first of its kind in Qatar. All results were within normal global ranges for farmers with the exception of Mo (elevated) and Fe, Cu and Co (depressed levels). The mean and range of these four elements are: Mo (108 µg/L, 9.59 - 737 µg/L), Fe (54.1 µg/L, 2.68 - 4071 µg/L), Cu (14.6 µg/L, 2.82 - 111 µg/L) and Co (0.505, <0.016 - 3.95 µg/L). Mo is a common constituent of oil and gas processes and this study suggests that it can be used as a biomarker of the energy industry in Qatar. The significance of the low levels of Cu, Co and Fe in terms of potential metabolic or dietary deficiencies is being investigated. This pilot study can serve as a model for future population scale human biomonitoring within the country and region.

Improved productivity requires informed decisions on a number of issues including crop, water, soil and financial risk management. In this paper, we use some case-study examples to illustrate how crop simulation models can be used to analyze the threats and opportunities arising from climate variability, climate change, and market variation for a focus crop at selected locations. We then demonstrate how this analysis can be coupled with site-specific soil information to inform soil and crop management strategies so that crop yield potential can be realised. Two sites in eastern Australia, Dalby (27 degrees S) and Corowa (36 degrees S) were used as a case study to analyse wheat growing conditions at two contrasting locations. Average annual rainfall ranged from 540 mm in Corowa to 675 mm in Dalby, with rainfall summer dominant in the north and winter (growing season) dominant in the south. Simulated crop growth parameters were assessed using APSIM (Agricultural Production Systems Simulator) and the data set was split into two time periods (1957-1983 and 1984-2011) to allow comparison. Dalby in the north showed a shift to decreasing simulated grain yield in the later period. For example the median grain yield at Dalby was reduced from 4000 kg/ha to a little over 3000 kg/ha. The decreased yield probabilities were accompanied by increased water stress during critical growth stages at Dalby. APSIM simulations highlight the climate change/ variability at Dalby with current 80 percentile yield of about 4000 kg/ha whereas at Corowa, there is no evidence of climate change/ variability and the 80 percentile yield is about 6000 kg/ha. The soil at the Dalby location is a Vertisol, while that at Corowa is a Solonetz. We used the paper-based DSS (Decision-Support Systems) called SCAMP (Soil Constraints and Management Package). Management strategies for ameliorating production constraints are identified, including the use of amendments such as gypsum and soil analyses to give fertiliser recommendations. Fertiliser management (fertilizer rate, timing and placement) can then be optimised using the CD-based DSS SafeGauge for Nutrients to maximise nutrient use efficiency and to minimise the environmental risk associated with off-site nutrient movement. Climate variability and economic return considerations indicate Corowa is the better choice for long term food security and economic returns than Dalby. SCAMP and SafeGauge for Nutrients indicate that different soil management practices would be needed at the two sites to realise yield potential. This case study thus demonstrates the principles of our new research project, funded by the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) through its National Research Priority Program, in that the climate of a site of interest is analysed using a crop growth model to firstly indicate if the crop can grow there, what would be the likely yield, and what would be the likely effects of climate change on yield potential. Economics then dictate if the yield is high enough and stable enough to warrant development. SCAMP and other relevant models are then used to identify soil constraints that will need to be mitigated to maintain productivity.

The three dimensional hydrodynamic pollutant transport model IDOR3D was used to simulate the nearshore current structure and pollutant dispersion from various sources. These sources can be municipal or industrial discharges and if are not properly designed will eventually cause environmental problems in the coastal areas. The inflows from sewage treatment plants and creeks affect the current structure within a small distance from the source. Their influence was studied in a high resolution of 100 m model in map sections E1 to E4 (Fig. 1). For the circulation of the northern coasts of Crete were the major urban centers are located, a grid size of 2 km was used. Local meteorological stations provided the wind speed and direction. The bathymetric files and coastlines were obtained from hydrographic digital files and the Digital Bathymetric Model (DBM) produced the gridded data obtained via GIS. Additional information from the Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of Crete with the aid of GIS technology can provide information of point sources discharging at the exit of watersheds in the near shores of the island. Further watershed analysis (hydrological/hydraulic/ pollutant concentration analysis) for rain events provides the pollutographs of ephemeral creeks discharging to the coastal areas that are used as input to IDOR3D. By employing different receiving water conditions (isothermal and stratified) and pollutant source conditions, simulations were performed in the areas E3 to E4 of Fig. 1. The bay in map section E4 was used to simulate the fate of a pollutant discharged over a four-hour period from an ephemeral creek under sea isothermal conditions and a 5m/s NW wind. The environmental impact on the nearshore area and mitigation measures are discussed. The bay in the map region E3 was used to examine the behavior of a contaminant discharged continuously into the bay from a submerged outfall source at two different locations (a) at 10m deep, positioned 250m offshore and (b) at 27 m depth positioned 2 km offshore, with the purpose to analyze the movement of the contaminant with respect to the island and the relative impact to nearshore areas. Concentration time series for a continuous conservative pollutant released with a concentration of 1000ppm into Chania bay under sea isothermal conditions and a 5m/s NW wind for the case (b), are shown in Fig. 2. In the case (a) the contaminant will dispersed between the island and the mainland shallow passage which will potentially cause environmental problems in a highly touristic area. The dilution is less under stratified conditions due to the buoyant forces of the pollutant generated by temperature and density differences, which reduces the amount of mixing due to the contaminant moving quickly to the surface. Complete results from all the cases will be presented in the conference.

A module for Digital Elevation Model (DEM) extraction from Very High Resolution (VHR) satellite stereo-pair imagery is developed and used for a flood plain mapping applications at an ungauged basin. A procedure for parallel processing of cascading image tiles is used for handling the large datasets requirements of VHR satellite imagery. The Scale-Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) algorithm is used to detect potentially homogeneous features in the members of the stereo-pair. The resulting feature pairs are filtered using the RANdom SAmple Consensus (RANSAC) algorithm by using a variable distance threshold. Finally, homogeneous pairs are converted to point cloud ground coordinates for DEM generation. A 0.5 m × 0.5 m Geoeye-1 stereo-pair acquired over an area of 25 km2 in the island of Crete, Greece is used as input for the module. The resulting 1.5 m × 1.5 m DEM has superior detail over previously developed 2 m and 5 m DEMs that are used as reference, and yields a Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of about 1 m compared to ground truth measurements. 1D and 2D hydraulic models are used to simulate the rainfall-runoff characteristics and the flood wave kinematics, of the flash flood event of October 17th, 2006 that occurred in Almirida basin, by using the 1.5 m VHR-DEM as an input. Results show that the hydraulic simulation based on the generated VHR-DEM, calibrated and validated via field data, produces an accurate extent and water level of the flooded area, proving that Remote Sensing stereo reconstruction is a promising alternative to the traditional survey methods in flood mapping applications.

Objective: This paper describes a new pyrolysis instrument (LIPS: "Laser Induced Pyrolysis System") performing high resolution (centimetric or less) logs of organic carbon on ancient sediment cores . Stakes: the usual methods for determining the quantity of carbon in sediment samples (Rock-Eval, Leco, analysis of thin sections, etc.) are quite expensive, provide low resolution results (typically: one sample every 30cm to 2m) and are time and sample consuming. The processing of geophysical well logs provides low-resolution logs (about 30-50 cm). The characterization of organic carbon on cores needs high resolution, because its abundance may show huge variations at the millimetre or centimetre scale. One of the parameters driving the organic carbon quantity in ancient sediment is the climate. Principle: The LIPS performs automatic core analysis of organic carbon. The principle of the instrument consists in the pyrolysis of organic carbon using a beam of an infrared radiation emitted by power laser diodes focused on a small area of core (up to 20 MW/m2). Different power ranges can be used to adapt the instrument to the material analyzed. The organic vapors, oxidized compounds, micro- and nano-particles emitted during the very short impact (typically, 1-2 seconds) can be detected by various detectors (Photo ionization Detector, Flame Ionization Detector, Mass Spectrometer, Gas Analyzer, etc.) allowing high resolution logs of organic carbon. One hundred data points on a 1 meter core can be acquired in less than one hour. In order to obtain logs of organic carbon the method requires a calibration on a few points using, for instance, Rock-Eval or Organic Carbon Analyser on a limited number of samples. This new instrument consists in 4 main parts: 1/Bench for core examination and for acquiring the X,Y,Z coordinates of the laser impact on the core surface, 2/Core Box Storage Unit (CBSU), allowing to store up to 30 core boxes, 3/Core Box Sampler, used to carry the core boxes from CBSU to Acquisition Unit and vice-versa, 4/Acquisition Unit, including laser gun, detector(s), mechanism for moving the laser head and device for extracting organic vapors. Results: Initially developed for unconventional resources and tarmat in reservoirs, the LIPS is successfully applied for palaeoclimate recording.

Intelligent building envelopes can significantly reduce the environmental impact of our buildings during their whole life cycle. Intelligent means that user comfort is reached through subtle use of devices to manage indoor climate (temperature, air quality, humidity and light) in the most energy-efficient way while involving outdoor conditions as suitable. A promising methodology consists in keeping the building services as basic and user-friendly as possible without compromizing energy efficiency and minimal environmental impact. This is achieved through active control of the building skin functions, adapting them to the constantly changing outdoor conditions. This approach not only fits to new buildings, but can be implemented as well on existing building stock, for example in the context of a renovation/refurbishment project. Qatar will see intensive building activities taking place in the coming years. A great challenge and opportunity to put the intellectual approach into practice. Since end of 2012, the ZERO ENERGY AND EMISSION BUILDING LABORATORY of Hydro Building Systems GmbH which has been set up at Qatalum can be used for experimental researches on façade systems under natural weathering conditions. The target of the first series of measurement is to analyse the energetic efficiency of four different types of façades. Reference is a SSG façade with insulating double glazing with a g-value of 0.16. Optionally, an external blind can be operated. Further façade types are a SSG façade identical to the reference façade, fitted with a fixed external brise-soleil made up of aluminium blades, a high insulation stick type façade with triple glazing and Venitian blind in the pane interspace as well as a box-type window with turn/tilt sash inside and parallel outward sash outside with a Venetian blind fitted in-between. Calorimetric measurements regarding the required energy needs show that a fixed brise-soleil (blades) reduces the cooling energy requirements by approx. 22%. An external venetian blind offers potential savings of approx. 40%. Replacing a standard stick type façade with double insulating glass by a high insulation façade with coated triple glazing and integrated sun protection, the cooling energy consumption can be reduced by more than 57%. A double skin box-type window solution with sun protection in the interspace cuts the energy consumption for cooling the room by 40%.

Marine Environmental Legislation in Qatar: Current Mechanism and Future Challenges Max-Planck Foundation, Heidelberg,Germany Omar Mohammed-Faraj, LL.M. Research Fellow The state of Qatar witnessed rapid developments in the last decade, booming economy and solid steps towards the building of a prosper state. These changes in economy and the market demands for Qatari gas and oil put the country's marine environment under serious threats. It is so hard to assess the magnitude of the threats to the marine environment in Qatar and to Qatar's coastal waters; however potential threats can be identified. Over exploitation of fish stocks, (catch of fish in Qatar increased from 4271.3 tons in 1995 to 7139.6 tons in 2000 according to State's report in 2000) for an increase of approximately 67% since 1995. Many marine species like turtles are under serious danger. This constitutes a threat to the marine ecosystem in this country. Critical effects for onshore, offshore discharges including oil spills, ship ballast and pipeline releases damages severely the marine environment. This paper is to examine the marine environment legislation in power at the State of Qatar. Environment Law No.30 of 2002 and Law No.4 of 1983 together with many other decrees, regulations will be examined. The focus will be on pipelines releases and the liability according to the Qatari marine environmental legislation. The existing law did not provide a clearly identifiable responsible party, matters like the compensation for damages to the marine environment must clearly clarified. The paper will include a comparative study of the liability for any pipelines releases in other maritime jurisdictions with an overview to the legal status of marine cables and pipelines in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS) which Qatar is a member since December 2002. Qatar needs a unified marine environmental legislation to replace the existing marine environment protection regulations which can be modified or referred to in the new legislation. The methods used to conduct this study are comparative legal analysis, various updated surveys, and existing laws. The aim of this study is to put a focus on the legal mechanism for countering marine pollution in the State of Qatar and identify the needs for improvements in the existing marine environmental legislation. Extending the protection given by law to the marine protected areas (only 0.25% of marine areas in Qatar are protected according to a report by the State of Qatar in 2010) and encouraging legal research in the field of marine pollution is important tool to fill any gaps in the current mechanism. The role of the international conventions ratified by the State of Qatar will be substantial in modulating the current statutory mechanism. The study paper will develop recommendations regarding the identified points of discussion taking into consideration the Qatari context.

Emissions of long-lived greenhouse gases are believed to be a major driver of climate change. Carbon dioxide is the most important greenhouse gas[1] and one of the most prominent strategies to lower its emissions is carbon capture and sequestration (CCS)[2]. CO2 can be stored in geological repositories, in which sodium chloride (NaCl) is the most common dissolved salt. For the optimum design of any CCS process, accurate experimental data and computational models are necessary. This study focuses on generating and validating molecular-based models and methodologies to allow for reliable prediction of the thermodynamic and transport properties of CO2-brine mixtures over a broad range of temperatures and pressures relevant for geological storage. We employ Atomistic Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations, which is widely used to predict phase equilibria, transport, and other properties of gases, liquids etc. The current study aims at: (a)Determining the accuracy of current molecular models over a broad range of temperatures, pressures and salt concentration relevant to CCS processes with respect to phase behavior and transport properties of CO2 - H2O - NaCl mixture, (b)Developing efficient computational methods and improved potential models for these properties, (c) Assessing the accuracy of SAFT/PC-SAFT based models for the phase behavior of CO2-H2O-NaCl mixture and improving the models using also data generated through molecular simulations and (d)Developing appropriate engineering models for the correlation of viscosity and self-diffusion coefficient experimental and molecular simulation data for the CO2-H2O-NaCl mixture. More specifically, in this work, we study the mutual solubility and interfacial tension in the CO2-H2O-NaCl system over a broad range of temperatures, pressures and NaCl concentrations, using direct interfacial MD simulations. Also we calculate transport properties such as viscosity, self-diffusion coefficient, thermal conductivity. Additionally, we assess the predictive abilities of several combinations of existing H2O, CO2 and NaCl models. To describe water, CO2 and NaCl we use various intermolecular potential models[4,5,6,7,8] that provide property predictions for the CO2-H2O-NaCl mixture over a broad range of temperature, pressure and composition. In addition, the estimated accuracy of the model for each property and for specific conditions will be reported. Our group takes advantage of recent developments of efficiently parallelized codes such as LAMMPS[9] and GROMACS[10]. [1] Metz B, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Working Group III. Climate Change 2007: Mitigation of Climate Change: Contribution of Working Group III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the IInter-governmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press (2007). [2] International Energy Agency, A Policy Strategy for Carbon Capture and Storage (2012). [3] Jorgensen, W.L. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 103(2), 335 - 340 (1981). [4] Berendsen, H.J.C., Grigera, J.R. and Straatsma, T.P., J. Chem. Phys., 91(24), 6269 - 6271 (1987). [5] Harris, J.G. and Yung, K.H. J. Phys. Chem., 99(31), 12021 - 12024 (1995). [6] Potoff, J.J. and Siepmann, J.I. AlChE J., 47(7), 1676 - 1682 (2001). [7] Smith, D.E. and Dang, L.X. J. Chem. Phys., 100(5), 3757 - 3766 (1994). [8] Deublein, S., Reiser, S., Vrabec, J. and Hasse H. to appear (2012). [9] See: http://lammps.sandia.gov/. [10] See: http://www.gromacs.org/.

Hydrates are non-stoichiometric inclusion compounds that mainly consist of water molecules that form three dimensional cavities that are stabilized by entrapped guest molecules. Hydrates have been under investigation for many years due to their wide variety of applications in engineering and scientific problems. In particular, their characteristic to encage selectively large amounts of gas into the crystalline structure has attracted significant attention for possible practical applications including the separation of gas mixtures, desalination, storage and transportation of gases (e.g., methane, hydrogen). Vast amounts of natural gas hydrates that contain significant amount of methane could possibly be used as a future energy source. Assessing thermodynamic properties of hydrate-containing systems, such as the hydrate equilibrium pressure and temperature conditions or the exact amount of gas stored in the hydrate structure has been addressed by either molecular level simulations (e.g., Monte Carlo) or continuum level modeling. In either case the Lorentz-Berthelot (LB) combining rules are by far the most common used for the parameters between different types of atoms. This is a result of their success in describing fluid mixtures of nonpolar molecules. However, the LB combining rules perform inadequately when describing the gas - H2O interactions without using a correction factor. An extensive discussion on the use of combining rules is provided in the studies of Delhommelle and Millie (2001), and Haslam et al. (2008). The effect of combining rules has not been addressed adequately in the hydrate-related literature. The vast majority of studies have considered the LB combining rules. In the current study we report two series of Grand Canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulations: (i) simulations along the three phase (H-Lw-V) equilibrium curve, and (ii) simulations at pressure and temperature conditions that are off-hydrate-equilibrium. For both cases the exact geometry of hydrate crystals is known from diffraction experiments and therefore, the formation of hydrates can be simulated as a process of gas adsorption in a solid porous material. In the first case, we examine the effect of deviations from the LB combining rules on the cavity occupancy of Argon hydrates. The specific system is selected as a result of the characteristic behavior of Argon to form hydrates of different structures depending on the prevailing pressure. In particular, sII hydrate is formed at lower pressures, while sI hydrate is formed at intermediate pressures, and finally sH hydrate is formed at higher pressures. In the second case, an extensive series of GCMC simulations for the case of all the known hydrate structures, sI, sII, and sH that hydrogen is known to form, is performed. During the simulations a number of water force-fields are examined regarding their effect on the storage capacity of hydrates. In particular, the following popular water force-fields are considered: SPC/E, TIP4P, TIP4P/Ice, and TIP5P. The Langmuir constants for each type of cavity and hydrate structure are reported as a function of temperature and pressure. Therefore, the storage-capacity of the different hydrate structures can be calculated. Acknowledgment Financial support by Qatar National Research Fund (project NPRP 6-1547-2-632) is gratefully acknowledged.

Identifying fugitive emissions from large scale LNG and gas processing and handling facilities is a difficult time and resource intensive process. Because of the limitations of hand held gas detection devices, and the sheer size and complexity of these facilities, smaller leaks may go undetected for extended periods of time and unintended releases may occur when plant personnel are not present or the area monitored. While fugitive emissions are typically not of immediate safety and human health concern taken individually, reducing the total emissions from a large plant or a regional industry footprint could very well have an appreciable positive impact on the environment. ExxonMobil Research Qatar (EMRQ) has developed a Remote Gas Detection (RGD) system that integrates computer vision algorithms and infrared (IR) optical technology that can autonomously scan for and identify small leaks such as those associated with fugitive emissions. Efficient identification of these emission sources will lead to better control and maintenance activities. The RGD system utilizes a custom build component based IR camera and integrated cooler assembly, and a computer vision algorithm that analyses the video output from the IR imagers to determine the presence of hydrocarbon plumes. Most hydrocarbon plumes have strong absorption peaks in the narrow mid-wave IR region. The algorithm takes advantage of the difference in contrast between a hydrocarbon plume and the background in each pixel of an IR image and the temporal changes due to plume behavior for the analysis. The algorithm compares sequentially collected IR images and uses a multi-stage confirmation process to confirm the detection and has built-in multiple filters that mitigate interferences like steam, and other moving objects such as humans and trees. Early field tests indicate that a 4 lb/hr propane leak could be autonomously detected from a distance of up to 800 feet. Also, initial testing comparing the RGD system to point and path detectors showed that a 2 lb/hr propane leak was successfully detected from 60 feet using the RGD system but did not elicit any response from a point detector located downwind 18 feet away. Multiple deployment opportunities at process facilities are currently underway. Results from field testing at these process facilities will help researchers investigate the effect of temperate and harsh weather conditions, the effect of varying temperatures and gain a better understanding of equipment wear and tear, maintenance requirements and possible life expectancies. These data sets will produce an accurate assessment of the performance of the RGD system under actual working conditions and will be used to qualify the technology for widespread adoption within the industry.

Worldwide, the current energy system increasingly shows economic, social and environmental drawbacks and it does not appear to be sustainable. Among the most pressing problems are climate change due to CO2 emissions, the depletion of fossil resources, the security of energy supply, and threats to economic development. These problems can be addressed by moving towards energy systems that increasingly rely on renewable and sustainable energy sources. At the same time, the rapid progress in renewable energy harvesting and information and telecommunication technologies offer unprecedented opportunities for energy generation, distribution and management, and to more strongly involve people in the process of energy generation and management, which is needed to further enhance the sustainable energy systems. Indeed, renewable and sustainable energy sources are likely to be produced and distributed in a decentralised manner, and require energy management systems that differ greatly from the current centralised system. Hence, the integration of renewable sources has major implications for the design and management of energy systems, relying on innovative ICT solutions and stronger user involvement that facilitate supply and demand matching. Effective energy management requires the active participation and support of end users, who should accept the energy management systems, and adapt their energy use to the available demand as to enhance the efficiency and stability of the energy system. Hence, the design of future smart grids should be based on sound behavioural models, which should be integrated in ICT centred solutions that facilitate supply and demand matching. More specifically, we need to understand how truly complex information on energy production, use and storage can be effectively communicated among relevant actors, and what type of information and incentives should be provided to realise effective supply and demand matching. In addition, we need to understand how to take into account cultural specifics in the design of energy management systems, to enhance effective energy management across the world. The active and aware involvement of the end-user can only be achieved if a scalable and reliable ICT infrastructure is in place, which naturally interfaces the energy flows with the decision autonomy of the people. Hence, the design of effective energy management systems should be take into account key behavioural as well as ICT requirements in an integrated way. Our proposal is thus to investigate (1) ICT based solutions for monitoring and controlling the power grid focusing on the distribution networks (medium-low voltage) and buildings (offices and residential complexes) specific to the Qatar context; (2) behavioural models on effective and acceptable incentives to match energy supply and demand; (3) cultural specificities in the design of energy management systems by comparing results from research in Qatar to similar research in other parts of the world, in particular Europe. Together, these will provide important insights in how to promote efficient and stable renewable energy systems that meet Qatar&#39;s sustainability goals.

Increasing development along the coastline and offshore Qatar results in continuous interaction between industrial activities and the biodiverse Qatar Marine Zone. Enhancing the understanding of this environment and the potential for impacts is essential to Qatar. The ExxonMobil Research Qatar (EMRQ) Environmental Management Research Program is working with local and international partners to develop the scientific knowledge needed to better understand environmental risks specific to this region, and is developing technologies to enhance environmental management capabilities. Scientists at EMRQ are using state-of-the-art research labs combined with field studies and eco-risk model development to understand, assess, predict and mitigate potential impacts to the local marine environment that may occur as a result of Qatar's industrial activities. In addition, we are developing state of the art technologies and data acquisition / management systems that will allow for effective identification of baseline environmental resources, monitoring ecosystems to identify change, and analyzing environmental data to support rapid and successful decision making. Taken together, the projects undertaken in this integrated program are supporting Qatar's ability to understand and manage its resources responsibly. Several projects are described in detail within the framework of how the information and tools developed are integrated into the environmental management process. Sensitive ecosystem monitoring, laboratory based ecosystem risk assessment tool development, hydrodynamic modeling, ecological baseline surveys, remote sensing and mapping are the main projects to be discussed. Monitoring Qatari corals and seagrass over the last few years with the use of new technology as well as in-situ temperature monitoring devices has provided insight into the factors affecting these sensitive ecosystems. The development of laboratory based environmental risk studies provides methods to utilize indigenous species to determine the potential effects of chemicals and other parameters in the environment. Three dimensional modeling of hydrodynamic processes in the Qatar marine zone allows visualization of fate and transport of pollutants and can be used to assess and predict impacts. Baseline surveys provide a great deal of data cataloguing biodiversity, and documenting physical and chemical processes in land, sea and the interface in-between. New cutting edge techniques like remote sensing from space born satellites or small autonomous vehicles deployed in the sea allow large or targeted areas to be studied and classified in a more rapid manner than traditional field studies. This data, if properly formatted and managed, allows for accurate mapping and temporal analysis by acquiring imagery at timed intervals. The system used to integrate environmental data and modeling analysis tools is a geographical information system (GIS). In today's world, a single development project can result in tens or hundreds of thousands of electronic files and terabytes of data characterizing the environment. A structured file geo-database and GIS system provides a mechanism to manage and analyze enormous amounts of information and to provide reports and visual tools for managers within government and industry to make informed decisions for environmental management or risk assessment purposes.

An increasing number of firms are integrating carbon emission concerns into their operational decision-making. Some of these actions are motivated by individual initiatives towards corporate environmentalism. While some other are driven by environmental regulation pressures. Policies such as carbon caps under the Kyoto Protocol and carbon tax have been introduced in many countries as mechanisms to induce firms to adopt the low carbon society. In this setting, we present a model for analyzing the impact of carbon emission considerations on the coordination between two/or more different business entities. In the absence of carbon emission considerations, channel coordination has been widely studied in the supply chain management literature. It has been shown that both entities are often better off under the coordinated channel. Several mechanisms and contracts have been then studied to settle down such coordination under different scenarios. The purpose of this research is to investigate these traditional (cost driven) results under carbon emissions considerations. In other terms our objective is to illustrate how the incentives for the coordination are affected by the presence of carbon emission firms&#39; concerns. In our initial analysis we consider traditional buyer-vendor coordination by associating carbon emission parameters with ordering and holding decision variables. We examine how the values of these parameters as well as the considered regulatory emission control policies affect cost and emissions. The corresponding carbon emissions are incorporated into the model through the consideration of various regulatory policies that include : (1) strict emission caps: both of the supplier and the buyer are subject to mandatory caps on the amount of carbon they emit, (2) carbon tax policy: the supplier and the buyer are taxed on the amount of emissions they emit and (3) cap and trade system: the supplier and the buyer are subject to carbon caps but are rewarded /penalized for emitting less/more than their caps. Under carbon emission considerations, the centralized solution remains profit-optimal but not necessarily emission-optimal. This means that the joint profit is often increased when the channel is coordinated. However, the amount of total carbon emissions may be higher than what could be emitted by the retailer and the supplier when they work individually. We identify conditions on cost and emission parameters under which the joint policy is both profit and emission optimal. We also show that the outcome of the coordination is very sensitive to the type of the regulatory policy, for instance some policies are providing greater incentives than others for coordination.

Considerable interest has been directed in recent years toward the use of self-healing materials in concrete. The concept of microcapsule healing is based on a healing agent being encapsulated and embedded in the concrete. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of preparation parameters, namely, temperature, agitation rate, and pH on the shell thickness and size (diameter) of the microcapsules; as well as to evaluate the self-healing mechanism in concrete through experimental testing performed in laboratory. Two healing agents were evaluated in this study, i.e., dicyclopentadiene (DCPD) and sodium silicate. The experimental test matrix used in this study is shown in table 1. The anatomy of the microcapsules is shown in figure 1. Based on the results of the experimental program, it was determined that, as the pH was increased, the shell thickness increased for sodium silicate, while the shell thickness reached a minimum at a pH value of 3.4 for DCPD. Sodium silicate shell thickness was almost twice the shell thickness for DCPD. The most uniform and coherent microcapsules were produced at a temperature of 55°C. For the DCPD microcapsules and up to 49°C, the solution remained an emulsion and no encapsulation took place. The increase in agitation rate resulted in a decrease in the average diameter of the microcapsules for DCPD as shown in figure 2. On the other hand, the diameter of the microcapsules remained constant for sodium silicate microencapsulation as the agitation rate was increased. Testing of concrete specimens modified with the two healing agents (DCPD and sodium silicate microcapsules) was conducted. For sodium silicate, improvement in the modulus of elasticity of the concrete before and after healing was observed at a pH value of 3.1 and sodium silicate content of 5.0%. At other pH values, the effect of the sodium silicate microcapsules on the concrete performance was negligible. For DCPD and sodium silicate microcapsules, the healing agent was effective in increasing the modulus of elasticity of concrete after cracking as shown in figure 3.

The increasing price of conventional fossil fuel and the need to reduce green-house gas emissions have prompted the adoption of clean electrical energy generation sources. The abundance of renewable energy, particularly solar and wind, over the world combined with increasing efficiency of the Photovoltaic (PV) cells has led to reducing cost per kWh of generated green electricity and created potential for establishing high power renewable energy systems at medium voltage scale. The design, fabrication, installation and testing of a large PV power generation systems still, however, pose great challenge in term of obtaining highly-efficient, highly-reliable, transformer-less with buck/boost voltage capabilities, and reduced cost and maintenance. This work is aimed to present the status of renewable energy installation worldwide and to discuss grid connected issues. The increasing penetration of PV energy has motivated the establishment of grid connection requirements. The requirements for power injection should be clearly defined: The grid requires sinusoidal AC with stable voltage and frequency, and the harmonics content should be kept within limits as addressed in various standards, codes, and guidelines. Hence, PV plants connected to the public grid give rise to two highly important requirements: the power quality of the grid should not be reduced when solar power is fed into the grid; and personal safety must be ensured in the event of mains interference. Large PV systems are usually tied at high-voltage level. Such systems consist of generation, transmission, distribution phases, and consumers at the end [1]. This proposed work will discuss the status of renewable energy worldwide installation at high level and will [resent the standards and regulations for the connection of PV renewable energy sources to electric grid. Different technical and non-technical issues related to the installation and the operation of such systems will be carefully discussed, analyzed and related problems investigated. There is a pressing need to review and to evaluate the design and operational constraints of large-scale renewable energy systems, therefore this work aims to discuss and open-up new avenues in this direction. References [1] H. Abu-Rub, M. Malinowski, K. Al-Haddad, Power Electronics for Renewable Energy Systems, Transportation and Industrial Applications. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2014 (in press).