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"Feasibility studies Oman"
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Potential and Economic Analysis of Solar-to-Hydrogen Production in the Sultanate of Oman
Hydrogen production using renewable power is becoming an essential pillar for future sustainable energy sector development worldwide. The Sultanate of Oman is presently integrating renewable power generations with a large share of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. The possibility of using the solar potential of the Sultanate can increase energy security and contribute to the development of the sustainable energy sector not only for the country but also for the international community. This study presents the hydrogen production potential using solar resources available in the Sultanate. About 15 locations throughout the Sultanate are considered to assess the hydrogen production opportunity using a solar PV system. A rank of merit order of the locations for producing hydrogen is identified. It reveals that Thumrait and Marmul are the most suitable locations, whereas Sur is the least qualified. This study also assesses the economic feasibility of hydrogen production, which shows that the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) in the most suitable site, Thumrait, is 6.31 USD/kg. The LCOH in the least convenient location, Sur, is 7.32 USD/kg. Finally, a sensitivity analysis is performed to reveal the most significant influential factor affecting the future’s green hydrogen production cost. The findings indicate that green hydrogen production using solar power in the Sultanate is promising, and the LCOH is consistent with other studies worldwide.
Journal Article
Prediction of grid-connected photovoltaic performance using artificial neural networks and experimental dataset considering environmental variation
Photovoltaic (PV) investment requires a feasibility study of the PV system in terms of environmental parameters at the location, which is the implementation time and cost. In this study, a 1.4 PV system was installed in Sohar, Oman and the system recorded data, which was modelled using an artificial neural network (ANN). The contribution of this study is to use three proposed ANN models (MLP, SOFM, and SVM) to predict similar systems in twelve other locations throughout the country based on measured solar irradiance and ambient temperature in these locations. The experimental results of Sohar show feasible values of 6.82 A, 150–160 V, 800–1000 W, and 245.8 kWh, peak current, voltage, power, and energy, respectively. Also, the proposed models show an excellent prediction with less error and high accuracy. Furthermore, statistical and sensitivity analyses are presented with a comparison of results found by researchers in the literature for validation. The lowest RMSE was found for SOFM (0.2514) in the training phase compared with (0.2528) for MLP and (0.2167) for SVM. The same sequence but with a higher accuracy was found for SOFM (95.25%), while (92.55%) and (89.19%) for MLP and SVM, respectively. In conclusion, the sensitivity analysis shows that solar irradiance has more effect on the output compared with ambient temperature. Also, a prediction of PV output for Duqm was forecasted till 2050, where it is found insignificant deviation due to climate change compared with 2020.
Journal Article
Methylphenidate improves executive functions in patients with traumatic brain injuries: a feasibility trial via the idiographic approach
Background
Road traffic accidents are known to be the main cause of traumatic brain injury (TBI). TBI is also a leading cause of death and disability. This study, by means of the idiographic approach (single-case experimental designs using multiple-baseline designs), has examined whether methylphenidate (MPH - trade name Ritalin) had a differential effect on cognitive measures among patients with TBI with the sequel of acute and chronic post-concussion syndromes. The effect on gender was also explored.
Methods
In comparison with healthy controls, patients with TBI (acute and chronic) and accompanying mild cognitive impairment (MCI) were screened for their integrity of executive functioning. Twenty-four patients exhibiting executive dysfunction (ED) were then instituted with the pharmacological intervention methylphenidate (MPH). The methylphenidate was administered using an uncontrolled, open label design.
Results
The administration of methylphenidate impacted ED in the TBI group but had no effect on mood. Attenuation of ED was more apparent in the chronic phases of TBI. The effect on gender was not statistically significant with regard to the observed changes.
Conclusions
To our knowledge, this is the first feasibility trial from the Arabian Gulf to report the performance of a TBI population with mild cognitive impairment according to the IQCODE Arabic version. This investigation confirms anecdotal observations of methylphenidate having the potential to attenuate cognitive impairment; particularly those functions that are critically involved in the integrity of executive functioning. The present feasibility trial should be followed by nomothetic studies such as those that adhere to the protocol of the randomized controlled trial. This evidence-based research is the foundation for intervention and future resource allocation by policy- or public health decision-makers.
Journal Article
Electronic Medical Records in Greece and Oman: A Professional’s Evaluation of Structure and Value
An Electronic Medical Record (EMR) is a patient’s database record that can be transmitted securely. There are a diversity of EMR systems for different medical units to choose from. The structure and value of these systems is the focus of this qualitative study, from a medical professional’s standpoint, as well as its economic value and whether it should be shared between health organizations. The study took place in the natural setting of the medical units’ environments. A purposive sample of 40 professionals in Greece and Oman, was interviewed. The study suggests that: (1) The demographics of the EMR should be divided in categories, not all of them accessible and/or visible by all; (2) The EMR system should follow an open architecture so that more categories and subcategories can be added as needed and following a possible business plan (ERD is suggested); (3) The EMR should be implemented gradually bearing in mind both medical and financial concerns; (4) Sharing should be a patient’s decision as the owner of the record. Reaching a certain level of maturity of its implementation and utilization, it is useful to seek the professionals’ assessment on the structure and value of such a system.
Journal Article
Optimal groundwater management using state-space surrogate models: a case study for an arid coastal region
A surrogate modeling framework is developed in this study to circumvent the computational burden of high-fidelity numerical groundwater models for arid coastal aquifers. Two different surrogate models, namely, artificial neural network (ANN) and Gaussian process model (GPM) are trained to replace the computationally expensive numerical flow and transport model OpenGeoSys. A novel time-dependent training scheme is introduced which helps the surrogates in tracking the discrete-time state-space trajectories of the high-fidelity model, thereby making them suitable for variable-time simulations. The surrogates are also tested in the extrapolation range corresponding to some extreme boundary conditions such as a very high rate of extraction. Both the surrogates show comparable accuracy in efficiently approximating the numerical model response; however, ANN is found to be much faster than GPM for the size of the data used. The trained surrogates are then used in developing a long-term planning and management framework for analyzing feasible management scenarios in the coastal aquifer of Oman.
Journal Article
Feasibility of fog water collection: a case study from Oman
The aim of this study was to assess different fog collectors in certain jabal (i.e. mountainous) areas in the Dhofar Region of the Sultanate of Oman which experience fog resulting from the Indian monsoons. A further aim was to provide fog collectors in the close vicinity of houses in the mountains to directly meet the needs of the local residents. Experiments were conducted using three fog collectors with different mesh materials namely; air conditioner filter (AC; 6 m × 2.8 m), green shade mesh (12 m × 3 m), and aluminum shade mesh (12 m × 3 m). The collectors were constructed close to the point of use. This reduced the costs as the installation of pipelines would not be needed to deliver the water. The results showed that all fog collectors proved to be very effective in fog water collection. Among all of them, the AC filter proved to be the most effective. The total fog water collected during the period of 77 days by AC filter, green shade mesh, and aluminum shade mesh was 995, 880, and 753 L/m2, respectively. This paper concludes with a set of recommendations for further in depth assessment of the qualitative and quantitative aspects of this water collection technology.
Journal Article