Horizons and future of water desalination in Libya

A premature study has been conducted to overlook the viability and feasibility of the future of desalination in Libya, by estimating the water situation in several locations in the country. A simplified review of the spectrum of well-known desalination techniques and a presentation of these analysis of the water situation would be highlighted to guideline the planners on how, why and when to embark on desalination to resolve the water shortage problem that would be faced at any moment in the future. Finally the methods to resolve shortage problem alongside their economical evaluation would be considered briefly.     

Views on Libyan national plan (LNP) to resolve water shortage problem (WSP). Part Ib: Great Man-Made River (GMMR) project — capital cost with interest rates

Libyan national plan (LNP) to resolve the water shortage problem will be illustrated through a quartet of a series of papers. The first series of papers (I) will deal with Great Man-Made River (GMMR) supplied from rich ground water reservoirs located in the southern desert regions. This paper (Ib) will conduct the cost analysis study by considering the influence of interest rates on capital costs, as compared to the first paper (Ia) which neglected the effect of interest rates and treated capital costs as sunk value. This will improve the ability to analyze the viability and feasibility of this mean in comparison with other means to resolve the water shortage problem.     

Etching efficacy and bonding performance of resin to lithium disilicate ceramic using self-etching primer with different reaction times

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of self-etching primer on glass-ceramic at different reaction durations. Fifty specimens of lithium disilicate ceramic were divided into five groups based on the surface treatment (n?=?10); Group A (control): no treatment, Group B: treated with 5%-hydrofluoric acid (HF) followed by a primer, Group C: treated with one-bottle system self-etching primer; (Monobond Etch & Prime (MEP)) for 20?s plus 40?s reaction time, Group D: MEP for 20?s plus 80?s reaction time, Group E: MEP for 20?s plus 120?s reaction time. The outcomes of shear bond strength (SBS), failure mode and surface topography were assessed. Statistical analyses were performed using ANOVA, Chi-squared test and Tukey’s test at a significance level of α?=?0.05. The control group (A) demonstrated the lowest SBS value (0.11MPa, SD:0.022) which was statistically significant, compared to other groups (P?<?0.0001). However, the mean SBS values were not statistically significant among the other four experimental groups. Group B yielded the highest SBS value (13.79MPa, SD:3.57), although was not statistically significant when compared to group C (11.60MPa, SD:1.23), group D (11.94MPa, SD:1.24), and group E (11.67MPa, SD:0.64), P?>?0.05. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) showed increased surface roughness in HF/primer specimens compared to MEP. Stereomicroscopy analyses showed that the main mode of failure was adhesive failure in group A, while was mixed failure in the other experimental groups, with no statistical significance between the groups. The self-etching system can be considered as an alternative for the glass-ceramic surface treatment without compromising the bond strength. The time required for conditioning seems to be sufficient with 40?seconds reaction time.     

The innovative safe fixative for histology,histopathology, and immunohistochemistry techniques: “Pilot study using shellac alcoholic solution fixative”

The concerns over health and workplace hazards of formalin fixative, joined to its cross‐linking of molecular groups that results in suboptimal immunohistochemistry, led us to search for an innovative safe fixative. Shellac is a natural material which is used as a preservative in foods and pharmaceutical industries. This study was undertaken to evaluate the fixation adequacy and staining quality of histopathological specimens fixed in the “shellac alcoholic solution” (SAS), and also to determine the validity of immunohistochemical staining of SAS‐fixed material in comparison to those fixed in formalin. Fresh samples from 26 cases from various human tissues were collected at the frozen section room of King Abdulaziz University Hospital, and fixed in SAS fixative or in neutral buffered formaldehyde (NBF) for 12, 18, 24, and 48 h, and processed for paraffin sectioning. Deparaffinized sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and immunostained for different antigens. The tissues fixed in SAS for >18 h showed best staining quality of H&E comparable to NBF‐fixed tissues. Comparison of the immunohistochemical staining of different tissues yielded nearly equivalent readings with good positive nuclear staining quality in both fixatives. These findings support the fixation and preservation adequacy of SAS. Furthermore, it was concluded that the good staining quality obtained with SAS‐fixed tissues, which was more or less comparable with the quality obtained with the formalin fixed tissues, supports the validity of this new solution as a good innovative fixative. Microsc. Res. Tech. 77:385–393, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Sea water intrusion in Derna located in the Green Mountain region, Libya — a threatening recurrent phenomenon calling for desalination

The city of Derna, Libya, located on the Green Mountain Coastal region is facing a severe water shortage problem as its water resources are exposed to sea water intrusion. This threatening phenomenon is being recurrent with several cities in the coast. This paper considers the evaluation of this problem and suggests proper means to resolve it, such as desalination.