Introduction
Guest Editor Message
I am thrilled by the honor of being invited to act as the Guest-Editor for this second volume of the BAU Journal of Science and Technology. The journal provides an international and interdisciplinary platform for the dissemination of novel research in the field of Science and Technology, including Civil, Structural and Geotechnical Engineering. As in the previous issues, this volume presents a number exciting contributions encompassing different fields of Science and Engineering Technology. It is this multi-disciplinary nature of the journal that makes it unique amongst Scientific journals.
This current volume contains 12 research papers. It starts with an interesting paper contributed by Reda et al, which describes the work done on the amazing Moringa oleifera (MO) tree. This tree has been recognized for the nutritional and medicinal values, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antidiabetic activities of the alcoholic and/or water extracts to its various parts. The aim in this study is to investigate the anti-cancerous potential of Moringa water extract (MOE} on the colon carcinoma HT29 cells. Among other very interesting findings, the researchers established that the MOE also induced cell death with related colon cancer cell lines. This is followed by Tarek Houri et al. paper which addresses “A Global Alarming Problem” to do with waterpipe popularity which has increased significantly in recent decades and has become the major cause of death worldwide. Their work is a combination of literature review and investigation of the factors which enhances the toxicity of waterpipe such as the type of the hose and charcoal used during smoking practice. It highlights the misconceptions regarding the protective effect of water bubbling which has been considered to be a filtering factor for removing several toxicants. The outcome of their work reveals the type of microorganisms which colonize the different parts of waterpipe device and how they can be transmitted between smokers, focusing on their health hazards and their effects on waterpipe smokers. The third paper by Abdallah, Al Boukhari and Najjar, presents an interesting study on the “Photoluminescence Spectroscopic Studies of Mn2O3/Co3O4-Glucose/Lactose Complexes”. They used a chemical co-precipitation method for preparing the nanoparticles that were then characterized using other sophisticated analytical techniques like X-Ray Diffraction, Transmission Electron Microscope, Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy, Energy Dispersive X-ray, UV-vis spectroscopy, and Vibrating Sample Magnetometery. Among others, they established that the addition of Mn2O3 nanoparticles to glucose and lactose demonstrated higher shifts in the photoluminescence intensities with larger binding constants (1625 and 1840 M-1) and more negative Gibbs energy (-17.608 and -18.753 kJ.mol-1). These characteristics promote the investigation of Mn2O3 nanoparticles in glucose and lactose biosensors. Paper No. Four is the outcome of a synergistic collaboration between the researchers in the Departments of Mathematics and Computer Science, in Beirut Arab University, Beirut, Lebanon. The group looked at “An Equivalent System to the 2D Green-Naghdi Equations”. This system helps in studying the existence of solution and in its numerical simulations, which also gives some physical properties as the irrationality phenomena.
The ongoing corona virus pandemic and the effect of the lockdowns experienced in many parts of the world, has drawn attention to the need to investigate the motivations and barriers to teaching with Social Studies Applications (SNAs), in higher education. The fifth paper, researchers from Albaha University, Saudi Arabia present the result of a quantitative research involving a sample of academic members at the Institution (n=105), to assess the impact of internet-based technology in teaching and learning. Although this study involves a small sample, their preliminary result suggests that the main motivating factor for SNA usage is the opportunities they afford for seamless and rapid communication with students, while the principal barrier to SNA usage was the possibility of dissemination of unreliable information via SNAs. In the next paper, Mohammad Faisal and his co-authors is concerned with providing assistance in enhancing the effectiveness of the car suspension system. The paper describes the outcome of their work on the control of Magneto Rheological (MR) Damper Using Adaptive-Network-based Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) and Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) Controller for Optimum Vehicle Ride Comfort. A full car model with eight Degrees of Freedom (DOF) was developed using MATLAB/Simulink. Results show that the MR damper gives significant improvements of the vehicle ride performance over the passive suspension system, and the PID increases the effectiveness of the system to skip the disturbance with minimal damage.
The seventh paper addresses the problem of Virtual Machines (VMs) placement of multi-tier applications to maximize computer resources utilization, minimize energy consumption, and reduce network traffic inside modern large-scale cloud data centers (DCs). To validate the efficacy of the proposed model, extensive simulations are conducted using CloudSimSDN simulator. Their experimental results validate the usefulness of the proposed model and its effectiveness in reducing DC energy consumption and optimize network traffic inside DC.
The next paper shines the spotlight on the drilling process in Lebanon. The author of this article, Rami Harkous, gives a modest and theoretical vision over the present environmental standard and waste management design, realized at a universal scale. Studies show that performance fluid management and total fluid management are highly recommended in drilling waste The author argues that this may assist companies and individual approaches toward future drilling operations in Lebanon when concerns exist for the environment management, consideration for the reduction, reuse, recycle, recover, and finally disposal of waste.
The second part of this issue deals with Materials of Civil Engineering research and consists of four papers. The first of these presents the outcome of an exemplary research collaboration between Professors and researchers in, Lebanon, Libya, and Poland to produce an interesting and novel paper on Concrete Mix Design Using Simple Equations. The paper illustrates a new approach for concrete mix design named as: “Double Coating Method”, which is currently used in some research centres in Poland and in the laboratories of the Civil Engineering Departments in the Universities of Tripoli and Benghazi in Libya. The next paper stresses the important need for sustainable use of virgin materials and resource efficiency in construction. The authors describe the novel use of Cathode Ray Tubes(CRT) waste glass as substitutes for aggregate in concrete mixtures. Their results show that both the fresh and hardened properties of concrete were positively influenced by the presence of waste CRT glass in the mix. The third paper deals with an investigation of corrosion of reinforcing steel, which is one of the main cause of deterioration in reinforced concrete structures. This paper, written by very experienced researcher in Lebanon, examines the influence of accelerated corrosion on the bond between concrete and the epoxy-coated and uncoated steel bars. The bar coating consisted of epoxy rich in zinc. The results show that coating the steel bars while lowering the water cement ratio with the addition of silica fume, reduces the effects of corrosion in reinforced concrete specimens. The last paper by Mabrouk Hassan Arhoma, looked at the use of activated fly ash to stabilize lead contaminated soils and solutions. The paper describes how researchers can use chemical techniques to extract lead from contaminated soils and the result presented revealed how X-ray diffraction can be used to detect the formation of lead sulphate and lead carbonate in lead contaminated soil samples.
Readers will discover that this volume is full of a good mix of highly informative research findings spread across the Science and Engineering disciplines and with a good measure of international flavor. I wish every reader an enjoyable read.
Professor Sunday O Nwaubani
Guest Editor,
The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
Articles
ESSENTIAL CONTROL TO ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS FOR OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY: SPOTLIGHT ON DRILLING PROCESSES IN LEBANON
Rami Harkouss
CONCRETE MIX DESIGN USING SIMPLE EQUATIONS
Hakim Abdelgader, Ramadan Suleiman, Abdalla Adam, and Jamal Khatib
EFFECT OF USING CATHODE-RAY TUBES (CRT) WASTE GLASS ON CONCRETE PROPERTIES
Jad Bawab, Jamal Khatib, Ali Jahami, Said Kenai, and Adel Elkordi
CORROSION OF COATED AND UNCOATED STEEL REINFORCEMENT IN CONCRETE
Jana Abou Shakra, Rouba Joumblat, Jamal Khatib, and Adel Elkordi
ACTIVATION OF FLY ASH TO STABILISE LEAD CONTAMINATED SOILS AND SOLUTIONS
Mabrouk Hassan Arhoma
PHOTOLUMINESCENCE SPECTROSCOPIC STUDIES OF MN2O3/CO3O4-GLUCOSE/LACTOSE COMPLEXES
Alaa Abdallah, Jamalat Al Boukhari, and Rana Najjar
MORINGA OLEIFERA LEAVES AQUEOUS EXTRACT INDUCE APOPTOSIS IN HT29 CELL LINE
Farah Reda, Jamila Borjac, and Julnar Usta
WATERPIPE: A GLOBAL ALARMING PROBLEM
Tarek Houri, Bilal Osta, Sara Mobayed, Rayan Farha, and Mazher Issa
ANTIBACTERIAL EFFECT AND PHYTOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF THE SHOOT SYSTEM OF RUBUS CANESCENS DC. GROWING IN LEBANON
Omar Assafiri, Hiba Abdallah, and Mohammed El-Dakdouki
CONTROL OF MR DAMPER USING ANFIS AND PID CONTROLLER FOR OPTIMUM VEHICLE RIDE COMFORT
Mohammad Faisal Yakhni, Mohamad Ali, and Mohamed El-Gohary
Articles
ESSENTIAL CONTROL TO ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS FOR OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY: SPOTLIGHT ON DRILLING PROCESSES IN LEBANON
Rami Harkouss
CONCRETE MIX DESIGN USING SIMPLE EQUATIONS
Hakim Abdelgader, Ramadan Suleiman, Abdalla Adam, and Jamal Khatib
EFFECT OF USING CATHODE-RAY TUBES (CRT) WASTE GLASS ON CONCRETE PROPERTIES
Jad Bawab, Jamal Khatib, Ali Jahami, Said Kenai, and Adel Elkordi
CORROSION OF COATED AND UNCOATED STEEL REINFORCEMENT IN CONCRETE
Jana Abou Shakra, Rouba Joumblat, Jamal Khatib, and Adel Elkordi
ACTIVATION OF FLY ASH TO STABILISE LEAD CONTAMINATED SOILS AND SOLUTIONS
Mabrouk Hassan Arhoma
PHOTOLUMINESCENCE SPECTROSCOPIC STUDIES OF MN2O3/CO3O4-GLUCOSE/LACTOSE COMPLEXES
Alaa Abdallah, Jamalat Al Boukhari, and Rana Najjar
MORINGA OLEIFERA LEAVES AQUEOUS EXTRACT INDUCE APOPTOSIS IN HT29 CELL LINE
Farah Reda, Jamila Borjac, and Julnar Usta
WATERPIPE: A GLOBAL ALARMING PROBLEM
Tarek Houri, Bilal Osta, Sara Mobayed, Rayan Farha, and Mazher Issa
ANTIBACTERIAL EFFECT AND PHYTOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF THE SHOOT SYSTEM OF RUBUS CANESCENS DC. GROWING IN LEBANON
Omar Assafiri, Hiba Abdallah, and Mohammed El-Dakdouki
CONTROL OF MR DAMPER USING ANFIS AND PID CONTROLLER FOR OPTIMUM VEHICLE RIDE COMFORT
Mohammad Faisal Yakhni, Mohamad Ali, and Mohamed El-Gohary