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Abstract: Optimizing the design and operation of urban water distribution networks (WDNs) is a complex, nonlinear problem. The optimization of WDNs can be performed for the pumping schedule, the location and elevation of reservoirs, the physical characteristics of pipes, and the placement of pressure-reducing valves, among other objectives. This study applies the anarchic society optimization (ASO) algorithm to find the optimal location and elevation of auxiliary tanks in urban water networks. The ASO is validated with mathematical benchmark functions, and is implemented to determine the location and elevation of auxiliary tanks in two urban water networks. The fuzzy reliability index for urban water network ranges between 74 and 79%, which is close to the global optima. The ASO exhibited better performance optimizing the reliability of WDNs than the genetic algorithm.

The assessment of scour depth downstream of weirs holds paramount importance in ensuring the structural stability of these hydraulic structures. This study presents groundbreaking experimental investigations highlighting the innovative use of baffles to enhance energy dissipation and mitigate scour in the downstream beds of rectangular piano key weirs (RPKWs) and trapezoidal piano key weirs (TPKWs). By leveraging three state-of-the-art supervised machine learning algorithms—multi-layer perceptron (MLP), extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), and support vector regression (SVR)—to estimate scour hole parameters, this research showcases significant advancements in predictive modeling for scour analysis. Experimental results reveal that the incorporation of baffles leads to a remarkable 18–22% increase in energy dissipation and an 11–14% reduction in scour depth for both RPKWs and TPKWs. Specifically, introducing baffles in RPKWs resulted in a noteworthy 26.7% reduction in scour hole area and a 30.3% decrease in scour volume compared to RPKWs without baffles. Moreover, novel empirical equations were developed to estimate scour parameters, achieving impressive performance metrics with an average R2 = 0.951, RMSE = 0.145, and MRPE = 4.429%. The MLP models demonstrate superior performance in predicting maximum scour depth across all scenarios with an average R2 = 0.988, RMSE = 0.035, and MRPE = 1.036%. However, the predictive capabilities varied when estimating weir toe scour depth under diverse circumstances, with the XGBoost model proving more accurate in scenarios involving baffled TPKWs with R2 = 0.965, RMSE = 0.048, and MRPE = 2.798% than the MLP and SVR models. This research underscores the significant role of baffles in minimizing scouring effects in TPKWs compared to RPKWs, showcasing the potential for improved design and efficiency in water-management systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil fluidisation around buried pipes is one of the water leakage effects that has a direct influence on the ultimate failure of pipelines. In this research, using a laboratory model, the fluidisation caused by water leakage from three cracks with three lengths (14, 17, and 20 mm) and a 3 mm diameter hole for five pressures (1.5–5.5 bar) in non-uniform soils has been evaluated. The experiments were carried out both for pipes buried in soil, as well as exposed pipes. In the buried pipe tests, leakage flow rate, fluidisation, and mobile bed zone dimensions were investigated. The results showed that the increase in leakage flow rate due to an increase in pressure and crack length in exposed pipes is higher than in buried pipes. The exponent of the leakage–pressure relationship was obtained between 0.40 and 0.47 for the hole and between 0.8 and 1.9 in the crack. Observing different development patterns for fluidisation and mobile bed zones in cracks and holes, new relationships are presented for the height, width, and cross-sectional area of the leakage zones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rodents cause large financial losses all over the world; in addition, these animals can also act as a reservoir and intermediate host or vector of diseases. Rodents have an important role in the distribution of diseases in an area. Sometimes, the distribution of a particular disease in an area depends on the distribution of rodents in that area. This study focuses on the distribution of rodent-related diseases in Iran. Rodent-borne and rodent-related diseases and diseases with suspected relationship with rodents have been reviewed in this study. Iran, due to the circumstances in which different species of rodents are able to live, has a high prevalence of certain diseases associated with rodents in urban and rural areas. Awareness about the distribution of rodent-related diseases can be a great help to rodent's control and prevention against the spread of the diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we consider the demand response problem in smart grid consisting of a retailer and multiple residential consumers, where the retailer determines consumers’ payments based on their power consumption profile. Our aim is to propose a fully distributed algorithm that is able to optimize the aggregate cost, utility, and retailer's profit simultaneously. To this end, we first formulate the consumer-side trend as a constrained convex optimization problem and propose a fully distributed adaptive diffusion algorithm to solve it. In addition, we design a one-leader $N$-follower Stackelberg game to model interactions among the retailer and consumers. The proposed framework is able to continuously track the drifts resulting from the changes in the real-time pricing or the consumer preferences. Moreover, it is scalable and does not require network-wide information or rely on central controller. We provide comprehensive simulation results to show the effectiveness of the proposed framework. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: Leishmaniases are important diseases in many parts of the world, which are transmitted by bites of sand flies. Objectives: This study aimed at investigating some ecological aspects of sand flies in Hamadan. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, sand flies were collected weekly by sticky traps. Results: For this study, 3305 sand flies were collected and identified during 2013. Sand flies active season began fromMaytill October in Hamadan. The greatest activity occurring between 08:00 pm till 12:00 pm. Conclusions: In order to avoid the possible transmission of diseases and reduction of harassments of sand flies, especially in the period of greatest activity, personal protection is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]