Speaker Abstracts

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Finding New Sources of Water for Growth

Wastewater Management and Reuse: Motivations, Challenges and Opportunities in Developing Countries May A. Massoud, American University of Beirut, Lebanon Water scarcity is a global problem that is anticipated to aggravate as result of population increases, economic growth, technological development, and increased per capita consumption. Changes in precipitation, runoff, and evapotransipration rate as a consequence of climate change are imposed on top of the aforementioned pressures. Consequently, water management challenges will increase, driving the intense utilization of non-conventional sources of water. Among these sources is wastewater reuse that can provide an alternative water supply for several activities that do not require potable water quality and alongside reduce the environmental impacts of discharging untreated wastewater into surface water bodies. There are several economic, agricultural, and environmental benefits of wastewater reuse; however, the resource must be judiciously managed to protect the environment and public health. Moreover, it is crucial to incorporate water reuse into sustainable and Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) strategies as well as count it among adaptation measures for climate change and tools to address food security.

Several challenges including, but not limited to, technological, economic, regulatory, social, as well as risk factors and quality issues should be addressed before an ultimate decision to reclaim and reuse wastewater is adopted. Often, the high cost of wastewater treatment and management is a major impediment towards implementing such projects. Consequently, the problems related to wastewater treatment and reuse cannot be solved simply by constructing treatment plants. These plants must also be operational and effective. The uncritical adoption of international criteria for the design of wastewater treatment plants and ignorance of the local conditions could result in wasted capital. The persistence of funding difficulties warrants an evaluation of the appropriateness of centralized systems for wastewater management. Moreover, even the most advanced technology should be supported by the appropriate institutions and enforced legislation to ensure maximum efficiency. Furthermore, the reuse of wastewater, whether direct or indirect, raises public concern as a result of the overall risk perception.

While there are many impediments and challenges towards wastewater reuse, these can be overcome by comprehensive planning, risk assessment, and policy implementation. Hence, the establishment of wastewater infrastructure should include a systematic evaluation of all options, beginning with consideration of on-site systems, simple technologies, and finally, the centralized treatment option. The choice of an adequate technology should be based on an integrated assessment of local technical, environmental, and social aspects. Replication of successful projects is beneficial, but the system should be adjusted to the local conditions. In this regard, membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology coupled with water reuse applications is progressively increasing particularly for decentralized treatment systems. A comprehensive and long term strategy that requires extensive planning and

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implementation phases is vital for sustainable wastewater management and reuse. Differentiation between developed and developing countries, rural and urban, as well as centralized or decentralized is required. Moreover, monitoring and evaluation to guarantee quality is essential to protect public health.

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Rethinking Wastewater: Water Reuse in the United States David L. Sedlak, University of California at Berkeley, United States Population growth, climate change, and recognition of the need to reduce the amount of water extracted from natural systems are necessitating the development of new water sources in the United States and other water-stressed countries. As part of this process, cities are rethinking the traditional practice of treating wastewater and discharging it to rivers and coastal environments. The reuse of municipal wastewater in the United States has the potential to meet approximately 25% of the nation’s municipal water needs (NRC, 2011).

Early water reuse efforts focused on treatment of wastewater to a point where it could be used for industrial purposes (e.g., cooling water) as well as for agricultural and landscape irrigation. Non-potable water reuse has been practiced safely for decades (Sedlak, 2014) in places like California’s Salinas Valley where water reuse supports some of the most valuable farmland in the United States. This approach has been embraced in Israel, where approximately 85% of wastewater effluent is reused in agriculture. Unfortunately, most of the municipal wastewater in the United States is produced in locations that are not close to farms. Due to the high cost of pumping water to agricultural regions, large-scale expansion of agricultural water reuse is likely to be limited. Landscape irrigation projects, with separate pipe systems for distribution of water, have been created in places like St. Petersburg, Florida, but the cost of building and maintaining a separate water distribution system as well as concerns about unintentional cross-connections between reclaimed water and potable water pipes have slowed the growth of this approach.

As an alternative to non-potable water reuse, some cities have begun to introduce treated municipal wastewater directly into the drinking water supply. Potable water reuse systems typically employ reverse osmosis followed by advanced oxidation (e.g., ultraviolet light and

hydrogen peroxide). For example, the Groundwater Replenishment system in Orange County, California, injects treated water into a drinking water aquifer and percolates it into the ground by applying it to spreading basins. In cities lacking access to the coast, the cost of disposing of brine from the reverse osmosis process has led to the development of other types of treatment trains. For example, the Prairie Waters Project in Aurora, Colorado, uses riverbank filtration followed by sequential soil-aquifer treatment, activated carbon and ozone as part of its potable reuse program (Drewes et al., 2014).

In locations where the local geology precludes injection or percolation of water into drinking water aquifers, rivers and reservoirs have been integrated into potable water reuse projects. In some cases, natural systems have replaced reverse osmosis and advanced

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oxidation. For example, south of Dallas, Texas, wastewater effluent is passed through a surface flow wetland before it enters a drinking water reservoir. To enhance the performance of surface flow wetlands, we have developed a new type of natural treatment system (see figure) that takes advantage of the ability of sunlight to oxidize organic contaminants and inactivate waterborne pathogens (Jasper et al., 2014a). The microbes that live in the sediments of the system are also capable of removing nitrate from the wastewater effluent (Jasper et al. 2014b).

Although percolation through soil or passage through a wetland serves an important role in improving water quality, some cities have been unable to integrate natural treatment into their potable water reuse systems. In this situation, it is possible to treat wastewater and introduce it directly to a drinking water treatment plant or a water distribution system. This practice, referred to as direct potable water reuse, is being used in two cities in West Texas, where a persistent drought has reduced the availability of other water sources. In California, where direct potable water reuse is undergoing an evaluation before investments are made in treatment systems, concerns have been raised about the potential impacts of process failures or the presence of compounds that are not readily removed by reverse osmosis and advanced oxidation processes. Our research suggests that potent carcinogens, like N-nitrosodimethylamine, and compounds that impart strong tastes and odors in finished drinking water can be removed during treatment (Agus et al. 2011), but system operators must remain vigilant about industries that discharge their wastes to the municipal sewage collection system.

Irrespective of the form of water reuse practiced by a city, successful implementation of projects will require a new mindset. To protect public health and to assure that the public accepts the technology, utilities must transform their operations by engaging with community members, taking a proactive approach to identifying potential problems and becoming more transparent in their operations. Only through this type of engagement can water reuse establish broad legitimacy within the community.

References: 1. Agus E., Lim M.H., Zhang L. and Sedlak D.L. (2011) Odorous compounds in municipal wastewater

effluent and potable water reuse systems. Environ. Sci. Technol 45(21): 9347-9355. 2. Drewes J.E., Li D., Regnery J., Alidina M., Wing A. and Hoppe-Jones, C. (2014) Tuning the performance

of a natural treatment process using metagenomics for improved trace organic chemical attenuation. Water Science & Technology, 69: 628-633.

3. Jasper, J.T., Z.L. Jones, J.O. Sharp, and D.L. Sedlak (2014a). Biotransformation of Trace Organic Contaminants in Open-Water Unit Process Treatment Wetlands. Environ. Sci. Technol., 48: 5136-5144.

4. Jasper, J.T., Z.L. Jones, J.O. Sharp, and D.L. Sedlak (2014b). Nitrate removal in shallow, open-water treatment wetlands." Environ. Sci. Technol. In press.

5. National Research Council (2011) Water Reuse: Expanding the Nation's Water Supply Through Reuse of Municipal Wastewater. National Academies Press, Washington, DC.

6. Sedlak, D.L. (2014). Water 4.0: The Past, Present and Future of the World's Most Vital Resource. Yale Univeristy Press, New Haven, CT.

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Water Reuse in the State of Kuwait: Successes and Hopes Mohamed I. Ahmed, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, Water Resources Center, Kuwait Natural fresh water resources of the State of Kuwait are limited to small amounts of brackish groundwater and dismal amounts of brackish surface runoff that is sometimes stored in small dams and lasts only few months. Therefore, historically, Kuwait has been predominantly dependent on seawater desalination for its water supply needs.

Now, Kuwait is taking on the challenge of achieving long-term sustainability of adequate water supply to meet various socio-economic development demands. Water reuse provides an unlimited water source as water can be used and reused many times. Reliance on treated wastewater has proved effective in irrigation in Kuwait and the opportunity is available to out-scale the experience and include more wastewater generators which have received scanty attention so far. The major objective in doing so is to avail an inexpensive source of water and inadvertently reduce the risks associated with wastewater disposal and reduce air emissions from thermal power generation plants associated with desalination plants.

Wastewater reuse is emerging as an important element of Kuwait’s water management system not only because fresh water is scarce and seawater desalination is expensive, but additionally because of pressing international issues such as climate change and commitments to IWRM principles and concepts as well as environmental protection imperatives.

While Kuwait reuses a significant portion of its treated ordinary domestic wastewater, mainly in irrigation of fodder crops and landscapes through a centralized system of treatment and distribution, other opportunities to reuse greywater, industrial wastewater, and oil produced water are promising and to a large extent have been claimed particularly oil produced water, however, hopes are yet to be realized in this regard.

This presentation reviews water reuse experience in the state of Kuwait present successes and hopes and discuss reuse infrastructure, processes efficacy, wastewater treatability, and related challenges to achieve sustainable water reuse.

Out-scaling reuse successes in the gulf countries such as treated wastewater reuse in agricultural production and particularly fodder production and treated wastewater reuse in ecological rehabilitation can maximize water socio-economic value. Long-term investment in raising awareness on small scale water reuse options and demonstrating technological adaptation of innovative small scale onsite treatment systems for on-site reuse at household, community and industry level may advance water reuse as an inexpensive water resource in the gulf countries.

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Mitigating Risks to Sustainability in Desalination Technologies via Innovative Materials, Economic Analyses and Environmental Assessment Hassan A. Arafat, Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, United Arab Emirates Water security is becoming, more than ever, a pressing issue for many countries around the world, particularly in Arab countries. With an all-time record population growth in the MENA region, accompanied by a depletion of groundwater resources, securing safe drinking water for the population in this region is no trivial task. It is no surprise, then, that many of the MENA countries are becoming increasingly (or totally) dependent on desalinated water to meet their water needs. However, desalination is neither a low energy process, nor is it cheap. Additionally, desalination, like most industrial processes, has its own negative environmental footprint. Not only can desalination plants upset marine life, consume non-renewable energy resources, and contribute to global warming, but their impacts can also lead to added costs, such as risk mitigation and lost-opportunity costs.

The sustainability of desalination processes can be improved. To achieve that, progress on several fronts should happen, and is indeed happening. First, the energy efficiency of desalination processes and their reliance on renewable energy sources should be maximized. Second, the levelized cost of water production through desalination should decrease, by adopting new innovative designs for example. Third, the environmental impacts of desalination should be minimized. Tools such as life cycle assessment (LCA) are vital in quantifying these impacts and probing their success. Fourth, the robustness and maturity of emerging promising concepts in desalination, such as the use of novel membrane materials, should be advanced.

The Membrane and Sustainable Desalination Research (MSDR) group at Masdar Institute is conducting research in several of the aforementioned areas. For example, we develop new polymeric membrane materials for membrane distillation, an emerging desalination process that can utilize waste heat, as well as for wastewater treatment using membrane bioreactors. Interesting polymers such as polyvinylidene fluoride and polylactic acid are used in these membranes. We also conduct techno-economic analyses on various schemes for coupling desalination processes (both membrane- and thermal-based) with renewable energy, such as geothermal, wind, or solar energy, all of which are abundantly available in the Arab countries. Finally, we work on developing procedures and protocols which employ environmental accounting tools, such as LCA, in assessing benefits to the environment gained via implementing new designs in desalination plants, such as the membrane-based pre-treatment systems.

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Old Energy, New Methods to Access Resources: The Hydraulic Fracturing Story

Water Management for Enhanced Sustainability and Economics of Shale Gas Development Kelvin B. Gregory, Carnegie Mellon University, United States Hydraulic fracturing of deep, onshore natural gas resources has transformed energy markets. The technical challenges of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing in deep shale are largely behind the industry. However, in some regions water management has emerged as a critical challenge for industry because of limited freshwater resources or a lack of options for disposal of its high-strength wastewater. These challenges, in conjunction with a mis- and dis-informed pool of stakeholders, sharply polarized opinions on whether nations should move forward with development of this natural resource.

Sustainable extraction of energy resources from shale requires management of wastewater that ensures protection of other natural resources. Where the infrastructure exists, deep-well injection will be the primary means of disposal. However, in many areas where shale gas production is likely, this disposal option is not available or not economically feasible. Moreover, the water stress associated with fresh water withdrawals for hydraulic fracturing fluids is regionally, locally, and seasonally variable. With water management challenges that are spatially and temporally variable and dynamic, there is no single solution for sustainable shale gas development. However, as hydraulic fracturing migrates into new regions with unique resource development challenges, novel management solutions are emerging that minimize environmental impacts and even improve economics of resource extraction.

The seminar will provide a broad overview of hydraulic fracturing for development of oil and gas resources from shale. Discussed will be extraction technology, water management challenges, and emerging solutions that have assuaged some concerns over the use of hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas development. Some research results will be presented that help develop an understanding of the relevant environmental microbiology and biogeochemistry that arise as challenges and lead to enhanced economics and a reduced environmental footprint of hydraulic fracturing for fossil energy recovery.

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Fracturing Challenges: The Journey to Innovative Solutions Mohammed Bataweel, Saudi Aramco, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Hydraulic fracturing is a well-established productivity enhancement technique that is used extensively in the oil and gas industry. The advancement in this process and the ability to create multiple fractures in horizontal wells has made it more efficient. These technical advancements have radically changed the energy future by enabling the industry to unlock resources that were not accessible in the past.

Hydraulic fractures are created by pumping large quantities of liquids in to the wellbore at high pressure till the exerted tensile stress exceeds the failure point of the rock. In this stage, fracture is initiated and, with continuous injection, the fracture propagates deep to the reservoir. After that, the fracture will be packed with proppant to keep it open.

Fracturing fluid plays a crucial role in the whole process. It is used to communicate the required pressure to the formation rock to initiate and propagate the fracture and to transport the proppant. For fracturing fluid to execute its job, it should have good proppant transport properties, low friction during pumping, high viscosity inside the fracture, low leak-off, and break down effectively after treatment with minimum residue for efficient cleanup during production. Water forms more than 98% of the fracturing fluids and around one million gallons of water is needed in some fracturing jobs. In North America, there are reports of massive amounts of water being used during fracturing operations that can reach up to tens of billions of gallons every year. In arid areas like our region, with scarce fresh water resources, this can pose a serious challenge in developing tight and unconventional resources which requires an extensive fracturing program to complete the wells with economical rates.

The second challenge related to fracturing in the region is the shortage of required logistical capability to execute this huge number of fracturing operations to develop challenging resources. For this reason, several strategic R&D programs were initiated to tackle these challenges and make the fracturing process more efficient and adaptable to region needs and limitations. The R&D program in Saudi Aramco investigated fracturing related phenomenon related to the chemistry of fracturing fluids, fracture mechanics, and geo-mechanics. This resulted in short, medium, and long term projects, either in-house or collaboration, to resolve current and future challenges.

To reduce requirement for fresh water and overcome the water scarcity challenge, research was undertaken to develop chemical technologies that can use seawater to prepare fracturing fluids for high temperature application. This involved developing polymer and surfactant based viscosifying agents with effective scale inhibition capabilities. One of the chemical based technologies proven in the lab was the chemically induced fractures using exothermic reactions. When incorporated in the fracturing fluid, the reaction will generate high localized pressure and temperature that can generate a network of fractures. Other advantages were observed in this technology that will further assist the fracturing performance. Different formulations with several potential field applications were the direct results of this research.

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To cut down on the completion process, cost, and to further simplify the fracturing operation, research was conducted to understand fracture initiation and propagation. Large scale laboratory and modeling studies were conducted to understand the geomechanics around the wellbore and during fracturing. The result of this work was the development of two new fracturing initiation tools and improved processes that have a potential for huge cost saving in fracturing openhole horizontal wells. Currently these technologies are under field trails.

In the long term, several R&D initiatives are being pursued to eliminate the usage of water and enhance well productivity via supercritical CO2 fracturing, plasma, and laser fracturing.

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Fracture Geometry Characterizations through Physical Modeling Waleed Al-Bazzaz, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, Kuwait Hydraulic (induced) fractures are referred to as Fracking or Fracking technology. Fracking technology has been successful in maximizing, optimizing and sustaining oil & gas production for conventional oil producing systems. Recently, it has been famous for unlocking tight or difficult oil and gas from unconventional reservoirs. This technology has many common challenges that this study will not address such as water quality used and environmental and economic issues. Additionally, this study will not address how hydraulic fracturing is done. What will be studied here, however, is the challenge of geometry characterizing a complex phenomenon that resides deep underground, from a laboratory standpoint. The novel and frontier approach used here is studying natural fractures geometry, which are difficult to impossible to characterize, and apply that knowledge to designing induced hydraulic fractures in the field.

Fractures have been known to exist in reservoirs for the last half century, yet the practice of characterizing fractured rock reservoir systems has been extremely slow. Why is this so? The greatest contributor for this point of view is that natural fracture reservoirs are extremely complex. The complexity is attributed to the vast number of both dependent and independent geometrical variables that dictate the final reservoir response.

Fracture characterization is an essential step in understanding overall reservoir performance and, to accomplish this, it is imperative to integrate all facets of information to achieve optimization of the permeability response. A basic physics understanding is absent from the natural fracture morphology that commonly occur in oil and gas reservoirs. This knowledge will help understand flow and recovery patterns in induced hydraulic fractured reservoirs. For example, fracture-population and fracture-spacing, fracture area (length & width), fracture opening (fracture-porosity), and fracture-orientation. The model will simulate several scenarios of hypothetical fracture geometries in pursuit of overall reservoir permeability. Anyone who has dealt with induced hydraulic fractured reservoirs will realize that these variables are just a few the numerous variables that, when combined properly, would give a better prediction for the reservoir overall performance.

Systematic fractured reservoir physical-models are proposed for this study. It is known that almost all induced hydraulic fractured reservoirs respond in a unique way according to the class of their fracture. Therefore, the principal objective of the study is to construct a physical model of an artificial permeable reservoir that will host many sets of controlled fracture geometry and morphology. These fractures will be designed and tested. Furthermore, these fractures will be studied and modeled in order to seek a fundamental understanding of their impact on total reservoir performance.

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Technology Integration in Hydraulic Fracturing: Being Effective while Remaining Efficient Taner Batmaz, Schlumberger Oman & Co. LLC, Oman

Development of unconventional reservoirs, tight gas and shale, has evolved significantly in the last ten years. Hydraulic fracturing, horizontal and vertical wells are the main drivers of this development. The exploitation of unconventional reservoirs requires massive fracture stimulations that contact large reservoir surface area and effectively connect this surface area back to the wellbore. Contacting a large reservoir surface area significantly increases hydrocarbon production rates and recovery. Hydraulic fracturing is an enabler for the stimulation of these very low permeability reservoirs. Multi-stage fracturing treatments comprising large volumes of fluids and proppants into horizontal wells is the preferred stimulation strategy to increase reservoir contact and it has been the most economical way of increasing production. However, a significant fraction of the pumped materials do not make an impact on production leaving the effectiveness of these treatments relatively low. Properly engineered well completion, well landing, staging, and perforatitnazon strategy, can improve significantly stimulation effectiveness. The need also exists for innovative fracturing technologies able to enhance well performance while reducing resource requirements.

Outside of North America, significant infrastructure investment would be required to enable high-volume, low-cost development of unconventional resources counting on statistical success. The lack of existing infrastructure will also result in significantly higher exploration and appraisal well costs in these environments. It is therefore critical to appraise unconventional resources using as few wells as possible. This will require selecting the most appropriate measurements, technologies, and models to learn as much as possible from these initial appraisal wells to accelerate the learning curve. Due to the heterogeneous nature of unconventional reservoirs, it is often necessary to gather a significant amount of data to characterize vertical and horizontal variations of reservoir, natural fractures, and rock properties to optimize stimulation designs and completion practices. Without sufficient information, completion effectiveness can vary significantly. The studies spanning across many unconventional plays across US that use statistical approach showed that 40% of the perforation clusters do not contribute to production from these wells. These study results emphasize the potential opportunities to improve perforation and fracture staging strategies and more effectively stimulate all perforation clusters. One important component of horizontal well performance is identifying the zones of the best reservoir quality and also the best completion quality. Completion quality is based on qualities of reservoir that typically define the near-wellbore rock mechanical properties. Reservoir quality and far field hydraulic fracture geometry and conductivity have long been believed to be the only primary factors that affect well performance in unconventional reservoirs. However, as evidenced by the production log data, fracture initiation and near-wellbore fracture geometry and conductivity can play a critical role in horizontal well performance and overall success. Therefore, it is important to include completion quality when designing stages and perforation clusters for horizontal wells. This presentation will cover importance of application of technologies and integrated design workflows to effectively develop the unconventional reservoirs while keeping in mind the differences between North America and Middle East infrastructure and geomechanics challenges.

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Global Food Security: Adaptations for the Future

Adaptive Management of Water Resources in Grasslands: Challenges in a Changing World Jesse Nippert, Kansas State University, United States Grassland ecosystems comprise nearly 1/3 of the Earth’s terrestrial biosphere. Most grasslands are threatened by degradation, species loss, reduction in ecosystem goods and services, and/or a transition to alternate ecosystem types, making this ecosystem one of the most endangered worldwide. Management decisions can be complex, as grasslands can span large climatic gradients, evolutionary histories, and vary in terms of the human services provided (e.g., semi-natural state versus applied value for agricultural and livestock production). Because of this complexity across grassland types, developing global strategies for adaptive management to climate change are typically ineffective. In this talk, I will focus on three aspects related to water resource management in grasslands: i. current and projected water budgets for grassland systems, ii. the impacts of water stress and drought on grassland productivity and stability, and iii. potential strategies to maintain viable grasslands and their goods and services.

A defining characteristic of the grassland ecosystem is a tight correspondence with climate variability. Changes in climate within and across years reinforce ecosystem stability and influence hydrologic and biogeochemical processes. Grasslands provide functional roles in water capture and distribution (i.e., irrigation), as many of the world’s major watersheds occur in grasslands. Rainfall that occurs during the growing season tends to have low erosion potential, and quick recycling via transpiration back to the atmosphere. Rainfall during the non-growing season has the potential to recharge deep soil moisture as herbaceous species in grasslands are inactive for many months per year. Predicted future climate change varies among grassland types, but alteration in rainfall pattern (timing, distribution, and amount) is a widespread prediction. These changes are likely to result in less available rainfall during the active growing season, increasing the frequency of drought and decreasing the total water available for plants.

Many mechanisms exist for grassland plant species to cope with frequent drought. Typically, plants are classified as ‘drought-tolerant’ or ‘drought-avoidant’ according to the physiological strategies employed. Many grass species can maintain photosynthesis during periods with low water availability by tolerating low tension pressures within the xylem, while many forbs and woody species tend to use water from deeper soil layers, or maximize growth during periods with higher water availability. Niche-partitioning of soil water by mixed-species communities facilitates more complete utilization of water resources. Collectively, much research remains to identify mechanisms of drought tolerance and drought avoidance in grassland species.

Based on the likelihood of more frequent and more intense droughts, what are our best options for sustainable grassland management? Adaptive management must adjust the timing and intensity of prescribed management (e.g., burn frequency, grazing intensity) based on climate legacies. Refining management protocols may be used to minimize the negative impacts of drought, as well as other threats to grassland conservation including the

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spread of invasive species and woody encroachment. For agronomic species, greater focus can be placed on identifying drought-resistant genotypes and genotypes with high water-use efficiency (yield per water-used). Mixed-species plantings may accommodate higher yields per unit water, as varying species exploit water from separate layers of the soil profile and thereby reducing competition for water. A key novel direction for agricultural research is the development of perennial agronomic species. A shift from annual to perennial species will ultimately improve water conservation, minimize soil disturbance (and evaporation), and increase efficiency of water input per grain yield. Ultimately, our ability to manage the ecohydrology of grasslands will require novel climate change experiments, developing mechanistic models to forecast species-responses to drought, and greater collaboration between ecological and agronomic scientists working in grasslands.

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Food Security in the Arab Countries: Current Status and Future Scenarios Rezq Basheer-Salimia, Palestine Technical University, Palestine Unfortunately, the number of those suffering from chronic hunger and poverty in the developing world is increasing, in part due to climate change. In addition, global population is expected to increase greatly by the end of this century, yet the functioning of natural and managed ecosystems is expected to deteriorate with climate change. More specifically, recent assessments concluded that almost 42% of the Arab population is food insecure, and 21% are vulnerable to food insecurity.

In addition to the ongoing and dramatic increases in the Arab population size, climate change is causing additional challenges for agricultural production. In fact, there has been a sharp decrease in rainfall in the Arab countries in general, and in the Middle East in particular. Rainfall is not evenly distributed throughout the winter season in the Middle East, but rather the vast majority comes as short and intense pulses, which further exacerbates the problem of water availability and recovery for crop production. In addition, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts that for the southern and eastern Mediterranean, warming over the 21st century will be larger than global annual mean warming, and will range between 2.2 and 5.1 ºC. Furthermore, annual precipitation is expected to decrease 10% by 2020 and 20% by 2050 in the eastern Mediterranean –– with an increased risk of summer drought.

Increasing food production could be achieved either by expanding cultivable land (very limited) and/or by increasing agricultural productivity (i.e. yield per hectare). Understanding plant response to drought stress and identifying varieties best suited for future scenarios is critical for conducting any future crop breeding program to meet the profound impending challenges of food production. Here, we report on an approach for using stable carbon isotope analysis on olive trees and other important crops that allows for an integrated assessment of plant water use strategies over long time periods (years) in response to climate change. These measurements allowed us to identify olive tree varieties that are most efficient in their water use (i.e., have the highest water use efficiency, defined as = carbon gain per unit of water loss), a critical criterion for identification of the best varieties for future olive production.

As we move into the future, another approach toward withstanding these environmental pressures, aside from the huge concerns for genetically modified crops, is producing new varieties in which hybridization and mutation induction are promising approaches for new crop varieties.

This talk will focus on issues of food security and our options for overcoming these challenges both in the present and as we move into the future with the ensuing climate change.

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Climate Change: Threats to Water Resources and Food Security Ali Al-Shrouf, Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority, United Arab Emirates The global population was just over 2.5 billion in 1950. Now, in 2014, it is around 7.3 billion. Although population growth is slowing, the world is projected to have around 9.6 billion inhabitants by 2050. Most of the population increase will be in developing countries where food is often scarce, and land and water are under pressure. To feed the global population in 2050, the world will have to produce more food without significantly expanding the area of cultivated land and, because of competition between a greater number of water users, with less freshwater. On top of land and water constraints, food producers face climatic and other changes which will affect food production.

Agriculture, food security and climate change pose key challenges for the world increasing risks associated with disasters such as droughts and floods. A profound change of the global food and agriculture system is needed to nourish today’s 925 million hungry and the additional 2 billion people expected by 2050. Research must play a leading role in bringing solutions and should focus on innovation, technological improvements, and better agrifood policies that will promote sustainability and be truly effective now and for future generations

Climate change will affect agriculture through higher temperatures and more variable rainfall. Water resource availability will be altered by changing rainfall patterns and increased rates of evaporation. In the future, food security strategies will be more complex. Higher temperatures will increase water demand and where rainfall declines, many will seek more irrigation to ensure food security and maintain livelihoods. At the same time, water supplies available for irrigation will become more variable and will decline in many parts of the world.

Water allocations to agriculture may fall in many parts of the world owing to the combined impacts of climate change, environmental needs, and competition from higher value economic sectors. There will be strong pressure to produce more with less water and to spread the benefits of all water use more widely and wisely. This task will be even more challenging because higher temperatures will reduce potential land and water productivity.

Water management for agricultural production is a critical component that needs to adapt in the face of both climate and socio-economic pressures in the coming decades. One way is to grow more ‘crop per drop’. Where agriculture depends on irrigation, this means making irrigation more efficient. Another step to improve efficiency would be to ensure that water is supplied when it is most needed during the cultivation season and to grow crops that need less water. Climate change adaptation also includes the adoption of heat and drought resistant varieties and species of crops, modification of irrigation techniques, adoption of water-efficient technologies to ‘harvest’ water, improved water management to prevent water logging, erosion and nutrient leaching, and modification of crop calendars.

Now and in the future, agriculture and food security depend on managing water. Research is highly needed to produce crops that are drought tolerant and to reduce losses in the supply chain with minimal waste in transport, storage, processing, selling, and in homes. Wasted food is wasted water And in order to survive the consequences of water scarcity and

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achieve the water security, approaches have to be undertaken by professionals, including strictly managing the demand for those precious resources, effective water saving programs and strategies in all water uses sectors and agriculture in particular, increasing water productivity and the re-use and recycling of non-conventional water sources.

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Seed Maturity and Drying Methods at Harvest are Critical to Seed Desiccation Tolerance and Quality: Impact on Food Security Nezar Samarah, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Jordan The increase in temperature and the decrease in precipitation resulting from climate change would adversely affect the quantity and quality of crops produced worldwide. In Jordan, rainfed crops such as wheat, barley, fababean, lentil, chickpea, and common vetch are grown in areas with annual precipitation ranging from 250-500mm. With climate change, Jordan is experiencing more frequent droughts and severe extended late drought stress, which results in the reduction of seed production of field crops by more than 50%. Drought stress is not only reducing seed quantity, but also results in the production of high amounts of immature seeds with low quality as a result of prematurely terminating plant life cycle. The supply of high quality seeds to farmers is a key factor in maintaining crop production and food security. Therefore, seed maturity at harvest is a very important factor in determining germination (seed desiccation tolerance) and seed quality and the stage of pod maturity at the harvest date may influence seed yield, dormancy, and germination. Delay of seed harvest increases seed losses due to shattering, however, early harvest reduces seed germination and increases seed dormancy. Identifying the stage of maturity at which seeds can be harvested without lowering their germination is a beneficial practice for farmers to maximize seed yield and quality. In addition, understanding the changes in seed germination during development is important to seed physiologists in order to understand when and how seeds are transferred from the developmental to the germination phase and in determining the stage at which seeds are able to germinate after desiccation.

During the last ten years, several experiments have been conducted to study seed germination capability and desiccation tolerance of field crops such as common vetch, wheat, and soybean. For common vetch, the germination of the fresh seeds reached its maximum when seeds were harvested long before seed physiological maturity with a value not exceeding 35%. The level of dormancy in the fresh seeds reached 100% at the Y stage (the physiological maturity). Air-drying at ambient temperature (seed desiccation) slightly improved the germination of seeds harvested at the late maturing stages. Air-dried seeds harvested at the immature stage were desiccation intolerant and had low germination. Seed producers can harvest common vetch at the greenish-yellow pod stage and maintain high germination. Imbibing seeds at 5oC for five days was the most effective method for seed technologists to overcome the dormancy in common vetch seeds harvested at later stages of development.

Common vetch seeds attained maximum vigor when seeds reached the maximum dry weight. Therefore, growers of common vetch seed may harvest at the greenish-yellow pod stage without reducing the percentage or speed of germination, provided germination occurs under optimal conditions. To achieve maximum seed vigor and improve the seed’s potential to germinate under moisture stressed conditions; seed harvest should be delayed until the yellow pod stage. Our results also suggest that the recommended accelerated aging treatment to evaluate seed vigor in common vetch is seed incubation under 100% RH at 39oC for 96 h.

The germination of the immature seeds of common vetch was improved by drying the seeds in their pods. Podded dried seeds attached or detached to plants had higher germination

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rates than depodded air-dried seeds. The improvement in the germination of the podded dried seeds was due to a slower rate of moisture loss or additional gain in dry weight of podded dried seeds. To verify the responsible factor in improving the desiccation tolerance and germination capability of common vetch, an index (Seed Moisture Loss Rate Index [SMLR]) was developed to quantify the rate of moisture loss in relation with seed germination. Immature seeds acquired their desiccation tolerance when dried at SMLR index less than 19.

Similar results have been reported on other important crops such as soybeans and wheat. Drying soybean seeds inside intact pods preserved the germination and vigor of the immature seeds harvested at immature stages relative to depodded seeds. Immature wheat seeds dried in their spikes had higher germination and vigor than those detached and dried under ambient, slow, or fast treatments when harvested at the milk-stage in two-year experiments.

The reported results are very important to advance seed physiologists and technologist’s knowledge regarding how seeds acquire seed desiccation tolerance and germination capability. They are also important to understand how the rate of seed moisture loss is very critical in terms of determining seed germination capability. Understanding how drying rate and maturity affect seed quality can increase our knowledge about how environmental conditions such as drought stress affect the quality of produced seeds. Improving the germination of the immature seeds can also benefit breeders in shortening plant life cycles and enhance their breeding programs. The information concerning how the rate of moisture loss enhances seed desiccation tolerance may help us understand the controversy that exists in literature about the stage of maturity at which crops reach their maximum germination rate. These differences observed within same species crops in attaining maximum germination may be due to the drying rate of the harvested seeds.

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Keynote

Water-Energy-Food Nexus in the Arab Region: Risks and Opportunities Hani Sewilam, The American University in Cairo, Egypt The Arab region is one of the driest and most water scarce areas of the world. Although the region has 10% of the world population, its renewable water resources are only 2.2 percent of the global total. The region has 16 countries which have less than the 500m3/capita/year. Water is also vital for the national economic and social development which is based mainly on agriculture in all countries except the major oil producing ones. Irrigated agriculture consumes nearly 90% of the total available resources with a very low level of productivity. The challenge is to grow more in the future with less water available per capita.

Energy inputs, particularly electricity, are essential to create employment and for industrial activity, transportation, commerce, and agriculture. Energy is needed to treat or desalinate water then water is needed for agriculture and food production. The region has no future for agriculture development without water desalination which is one of the most energy consuming industries. It is becoming clear that understanding the interrelationship of water, energy, and food is the key for sustainable development in the agriculture-based region.

This presentation will focus on the challenges of water, energy, and food security in the Arab region. The interrelationship and dependency of water, energy and food will be illustrated. The concept of the Water-Energy-Food Nexus (WEF) will be described with examples for potential cooperation between various countries in the region with more focus on sustainable development and a better future. The following specific issues will be covered:

1. Rapid population growth and the unsustainable consumption increase the demands for water and energy and threaten the future of the Arab countries.

2. Considering the Water-Energy-Food Nexus is crucial for the future development of the Arab region. No water, energy, or food security is possible without understanding and considering the nexus in the planning and decision making process.

3. The way to close the cycle of water, energy, and food to maximize the productivity and minimize the negative environmental impacts.

4. Real-world examples of the WEF Nexus and its direct impact on the sustainable development in the Arab region.

5. Potential win-win collaborations between different countries in the region using the modern concepts and technologies such as virtual water, renewable energy, and biodynamic agriculture to provide good opportunities to reduce poverty and stimulate sustainable development in the region.

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Environmental Regulators of Cancer

Epigenetics, a Link Between Environmental Exposure and Cancer? Lifang Hou, Northwestern University, United States Recent advances in the field of cancer research have established that all major human cancers, in addition to a large number of genetic alterations, exhibit prominent epigenetic abnormalities. Accumulating evidence suggests that environmental exposures to chemicals play a causative role in human cancer. Experimental and epidemiologic studies suggest that such pollutants may induce critical carcinogenesis-related biological changes, including oxidative stress, immune deficiency, and chronic inflammation, which have recently been shown to alter gene expression via DNA methylation alteration, a major epigenetic mechanism.

In our two population-based studies, we used both a gene-specific approach and genome-wide methylomic methods to find evidence of methylomic alterations in tumor suppressor genes and other genes, as well as in global methylation, that were induced by air pollutants and/or that predict cancer incidence and mortality. Our results provide evidence that epigenetic alterations are not only inducible by environmental exposures, but also may be key events in the initiation and progression of carcinogenesis. Such epigenetic alterations may thus be uniquely useful as biomarkers in early cancer detection, as indicators of carcinogenic exposure, and as part of the assessment of the carcinogenic potential of environmental chemicals and physical agents.

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Effective Therapeutic Targeting of Leukemia Initiating Cells in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Rihab Nasr, American University of Beirut, Lebanon Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) is a clonal, hematopoietic stem cell, myeloproliferative disorder. The etiology of CML is a balanced chromosomal translocation that results in the formation of the Philadelphia chromosome and the bcr-abl fusion gene encoding a constitutively active BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase. The tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) have become the standard treatment for CML. The efficacy of imatinib, the first-generation TKI and standard of care in CML therapy, dramatically increases CML prevalence worldwide. However, although imatinib is tremendously effective at achieving long-term control of CML in most patients, two key problems remain: First, resistance might occur de novo, or during treatment, and ultimately lead to disease progression. Unfortunately, the “famous mutation” T315I, accounting for 20% of all clinical resistance, remains resistant to all first- and second-generation TKI. Second, imatinib is not curative since it cannot eradicate leukemia initiating cells (LIC) which likely account for the relapse following discontinuation of therapy. LIC are a rare population of malignant cells with stem cell properties such as self-renewal, pluripotency, and quiescence that can recapitulate tumor pathophysiology in mice. A major challenge in the treatment of leukemia is the refractoriness of LIC to conventional chemotherapy or some targeted therapies. In CML, quiescent LIC escape all available first- and second-generation TKI.

Interferon alpha (IFN) induces hematologic and cytogenetic remissions in some CML patients and, interestingly, potentially synergizes with TKI. Improved molecular response was reported with the combination of pegylated IFN and imatinib raising the possibility that IFN might sensitize CML stem cells to imatinib. Arsenic, often referred to as the king of the poisons, has been widely used in the management of patients with hematological malignancies such as Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL) and Adult T-Cell Leukemia. Arsenic and Retinoic acid, a well-tolerated with limited toxicity combination, is currently the standard of care in the treatment of APL.

We have recently investigated the effects of the combination of arsenic trioxide and IFN as a targeted therapy for CML. We therefore studied the effects of arsenic and IFN on CML cell lines derived from blast-crisis CML patients, primary CML cells, and the retroviral transduction murine CML model considered as the best approach that successfully recapitulates CML. We demonstrated that arsenic and IFN inhibited the proliferation and synergistically activated apoptosis of CML cell lines, in a dose and time-dependent manner. Ex vivo, arsenic/IFN triggered a synergistic decrease in clonogenic activity of primary bone marrow cells derived from CML patients. Moreover, in a murine transplantation model of CML, combined IFN and arsenic treatment, but not single agents, prolonged the survival of primary CML mice, similarly to imatinib. Remarkably, arsenic/IFN’s effect on CML LIC activity was significantly superior to that of imatinib. Arsenic/IFN but not imatinib, sharply diminished transplantation of CML cells in secondary recipients, pointing to the exhaustion of CML LIC. Interestingly, the synergistic effect of arsenic/IFN combination in CML cell lines was independent of its effects on BCR-ABL level and activity. These promising results showed the advantage that the combination of arsenic and IFN holds against TKI, which were unable to eradicate CML LIC. These findings suggest that arsenic/IFN may clear CML LIC independently from oncoprotein catabolism and through a potential targeting of LIC self-

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renewal pathways and this opens the perspectives of investigating this combination in therapeutic strategy of CML aiming at achieving CML cure with treatment discontinuation rather than long-term disease control.

Given the promising preclinical efficacy of arsenic and IFN that was proved to target LIC in imatinib-sensitive murine CML, without affecting BCR-ABL oncoprotein, we aim to confirm the specific CML LIC targeting by the drug combination using specific LIC markers and cell sorting experiments. We also propose to investigate the mechanism of action of this combination, specifically its effects on the hedgehog pathway, a stem cell self-renewal pathway, and further to study its potential in vitro and in vivo antileukemic effect in imatinib-resistant CML and specifically in the TKI-resistant CML mouse model that harbors the T315I mutation.

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Can Environmental Exposures that Damage Mitochondria Contribute to Cancer? Joel Meyer, Duke University, United States Cancer treatment is expensive and sometimes ineffective in allowing significant extension of the healthy lifespan. This has motivated studies to understand the causes of cancer, with significant effort focused on genetic investigations. However, studies with twins and other lines of evidence indicate that typically fewer than 30% of cancer cases can be explained by genetics alone. It is likely that much of the remainder is explained either by environmental exposures, or environmental exposures in the context of specific genetic backgrounds (“gene-environment interactions”). Well-studied mechanisms by which environmental exposures result in cancer include causing DNA damage, eliciting inflammatory responses, and disrupting endocrine function.

Mitochondria play a number of roles in our cells, most famously producing energy in the form of ATP and mediating the process of apoptosis, or programmed cell death. Mitochondria also have their own genome, which is much smaller than the nuclear genome but present in very high numbers (104-105) in most cells. Mitochondrial biology is altered significantly in cancer. For example, tumor cells exhibit a high level of mitochondrial DNA mutations, and mitochondrial use of fuel to generate energy is much different in most cancer cells. The relevance to cancer of those changes is not fully understood, and investigating the role of mitochondrial function and dysfunction in cancer is an active area of research.

My laboratory focuses on studying the effects of environmental stressors on health. We hypothesize that mitochondria are uniquely vulnerable to exposure to environmental stressors, in particular important pollutants, as has been observed previously for certain drugs (Meyer et al., 2013). This is partly because the fundamental characteristics of mitochondria facilitate the accumulation of specific pollutants based on their chemical properties. Once there, chemicals can cause toxicity in a variety of ways including inhibiting the energy-producing electron transport chain and damaging lipids or mitochondrial DNA. Interestingly, while there are a large number of copies of mitochondrial DNA in each cell, several DNA repair pathways that function in the nucleus are absent from mitochondria. In particular, nucleotide excision repair (NER) is not present in mitochondria. This is important because this DNA repair pathway is exceptionally versatile, capable of detecting and removing damage caused by a very wide range of common and important environmental stressors including ultraviolet radiation, some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (produced by the burning of organic materials, including fossil fuels), mycotoxins such as aflatoxin B1, and others.

In the final portion of the presentation, I will discuss what the field has learned about how mitochondria are affected by environmental toxicants and consider the possibility that environmental stressors that target mitochondrial components might contribute to cancer?

References: 1. Meyer JN, Leung MCK, Rooney JP, Sendoel A, Hengartner MO, Kisby GE, Bess AS. 2013. Mitochondria

as a target of environmental toxicants. Toxicological Sciences 134: 1-17.

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The Biological Clock in Health and Diseases Mohamed Boudjelal, Ministry of National Guard - Health Affairs, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The biological clock modulates most, if not all, of the cellular pathways involved in health and diseases, in such a way that the apoptosis and DNA repair are activated at night while differentiation and cell division mostly happen during the day. Inflammation is also highly regulated by the night and day cycle (e.g. the activation of certain kinases happens only at night while others during the day). Moreover, many cytochrome P450 involved in drug metabolism are highly regulated by the clock and avoiding their peak of activity during administration of drugs could lead to higher efficiency in the treatment, especially in cancer therapy and inflammation.

Taking into consideration the important role of the biological clock in health and diseases and the big shift in human life style in people such that they stay awake late in the evening and sleep during the day, it is conceivable that this new cycle has dramatic consequences on human health. In this regard, there is a strong link between late night shift workers such as nurses and breast cancer and obesity. These findings are an alert call for social workers, policy makers, health professionals and researchers to understand this phenomenon more and draw a road map on how to regulate the evening working and socializing hours.

Moreover, health workers can take advantage of our understanding of the chronobiology of the biological pathways to design a better regime for treatment in such a way that drugs are administrated only during the peak time of disease pathways activation. Such treatment regimes are being tested in multiple clinics around the world and will demonstrate remarkable results both in efficiency and in reducing drug side effects. My talk will present you our latest understanding of how the biological regulates inflammation and cancer and offers new hope for better treatment regimens for patients with cancer and other diseases.

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Linkages

Epigenetics, A Link Between Environmental Exposure and Cancer? Leonardo Trasande, New York University, United States Children are uniquely vulnerable to environmental exposures due to greater dietary intake, ventilation and metabolism rates per unit body mass, reduced ability to detoxify and/or excrete toxic compounds, and developing organ systems which are more susceptible to injury. Injury during critical windows of development can produce lifelong cognitive, pulmonary, and other organ system deficits.

Evidence is accumulating that exposures to environmental chemicals in early life contribute to chronic childhood conditions, which have increased in epidemic proportions in developed countries. Outdoor air pollution has been strongly documented to contribute to asthma exacerbations in children. Multiple longitudinal cohort studies have documented that lead, methylmercury, and certain pesticides adversely impact cognition. A National Academy of Sciences report has documented that 28% of neurodevelopmental disabilities can be attributed to environmental factors and benzene, 1,3-butadiene, and pesticides have been etiologically associated with childhood cancers.

Diseases of environmental origin in children are costly to society, with most recent estimates for the US and European Union ranging from $70-77 billion annually for those conditions with the greatest certainty of causation. Lead exposure in low- and middle-income countries costs nearly $1 trillion annually (1% of GDP). Prevention has been well documented to provide economic benefits, through improved cognitive potential and greater economic productivity, reversing a potential “brain drain.”

As industrialization spreads across Arab countries, the probable and worrisome consequence is that epidemics experienced in developed countries will reprise themselves and undermine urgently needed economic development. Clinical interventions could identify environmentally attributable conditions and intervene through treatment and reduction of environmental hazards. Educational programs would help families intercede and limit the most toxic exposures would go far towards preventing the epidemic. The regulatory infrastructure also needs additional support, as even with strong legislation enforcement will be lacking.

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Hydraulic Fracturing of Shales: Water Contamination Risks, Wastewater Management Strategies, and Emerging Research Challenges Brian Ellis, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United States Recent advances in directional drilling have made extraction of natural gas from shale formations economically viable via high-volume hydraulic fracturing, a process by which a mixture of water, sand, and chemicals is injected into geologic formations at high pressure in order to create migration pathways for the release of entrapped natural gas. Several water quality impacts may occur including: (1) release of naturally occurring radioactive material and toxic metals from newly exposed minerals into the fracturing fluids, (2) generation of high volumes of contaminated flowback and produced brine, which must be treated or properly disposed of at the surface, (3) potential migration of the fluids and gases from the shale into potable water reservoirs. In an effort to facilitate an unbiased discussion regarding the state of the science on this topic, this presentation will examine a range of sustainability challenges facing shale gas extraction via hydraulic fracturing. Topics will include the impact of freshwater withdrawals in water-stressed environments, gas migration mechanisms, novel geochemical fingerprinting techniques for evaluating subsurface fluid migration, and wastewater management practices. As many of these challenges vary as a function of geographic location and subsurface geology, a global perspective will be emphasized.

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Targeting Cancer with Dietary Bioactive Agents Mostafa Waly, Nejib Guizani, Shafiur Rahman, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman

Increased consumption of refined carbohydrates, sugars, and saturated fats is accompanied by low intake of fruits and vegetables; this dietary pattern is involved in the etiology of different types of cancers and the global cause of morbidity and mortality in the Western countries and the Gulf Region. Colorectal (Colon and rectum) cancer (CRC) is among the primary preventive cancers if adequate intake of antioxidants is provided either by diet, and nutritional supplements. Our research group at Sultan Qaboos University has successfully identified phytonutrients- rich, dietary, bioactive agents [Pomegaranate (Punica granatum) Peel Extract, Mushroom (Agaricus bisporous) Extract, and Nabag (Zizyphus spina-christi) Extract], which provide antioxidant protective effect against oxidative stress-induced CRC using in-vivo experimental study models. Our results have shown a net subjective improvement in the CRC pathogenesis as evident by a marked decrease in tumor growth, increase in intra cellular glutathione level, and antioxidant enzymes-improved activities. It was concluded that the high intake of plant-based foods might be adopted as a dietary-based intervention approach for the primary prevention of oxidative-stress mediated cancers, including CRC. The mechanism was thought to be by abrogating oxidative stress in carcinogenic cells. Further human clinical trials are planned to be conducted to assess the therapeutic effect of dietary bioactive agents against oxidative stress-mediated cancers.

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Metabolomics an Emerging Technology Addressing Plant and Human Health Research Projects in the Post Genomic Era Mohamed A. Farag, Cairo University, Egypt The ability to sequence whole plant and human genomes has taught us that our knowledge with respect to gene function is rather limited. Functional genomics analyses include investigations at the level of gene expression (transcriptomics), protein translation (proteomics), and more recently, the metabolite network (metabolomics). Metabolomics is an emerging field of “omics” research that focuses on high-throughput characterization of small molecule metabolites in biological matrices. Here, we define metabolomics as ‘‘a systematic analysis of metabolite structures, concentrations, pathways and fluxes, and molecular interactions within and among organisms as a function of the environment.’’ As such, metabolomics is ideally positioned to be used in many areas of food science and human health research. The analysis of the metabolome is particularly challenging due to the diverse chemical nature of metabolites in a cell.

This talk provides an overview of metabolomics and discusses its complementary role within system biology. It highlights how metabolome analyses are being conducted using different spectroscopic techniques NMR and MS, and how the highly complex data generated are analyzed. Specific examples will then be presented to illustrate how metabolomics can lead to valuable information in systems biology pertaining plant and human projects.

One application of metabolomics is in the field of plant/food science and includes: (1) examining biotic and abiotic stresses effects on plant metabolism and how it can help understand how plants perceive and respond to these stresses in a changing environment, as well as (2) production of new crop varieties or transgenic plants that may withstand these environmental pressures. Large scale metabolites analyses of genetically modified crops (GMO) achieved through metabolomics approaches should indeed help make better decisions regarding transgenic crop improvement by fully characterizing the metabolites composition of conventional and transgenic improved crop species.

In a different perspective, speaker will show, from his previous work, how can metabolomics be used to elucidate the chemoprevention role of dietary supplements and or understanding lung cancer etiology or progression. Cancer detection and management continues to be a major public health challenge and there is a dire need for discovery of new biomarkers and in the context of the environmental exposure.