Sharif Digital Repository

In this work, the electrophoretic deposition method was utilized to immobilize TiO2 particles on stainless steel substrates. In addition, for the first time, statistics-based experimental design using response surface methodology was employed to investigate the effect of four key coating parameters (i.e. applied voltage, calcination temperature, photocatalyst weight percentage, and deposition time) on the photocatalytic degradation. Analysis of variance revealed that the proposed model was adequate. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope were used to evaluate the effects of the parameters on degradation efficiency. The optimum applied voltage, calcination temperature, catalyst... 

Poly(vinyl alcohol)-polyethylene glycol, PVA-PEG, blended membrane were prepared using supercritical fluid assisted phase-inversion method, in which scCO2 was used as the anti-solvent. Poly(vinyl alcohol) was utilized as the main polymer, polyethylene glycol as the additive, and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as the solvent of these polymers. Taguchi method was used to investigate the effect of some operating parameters on the morphology of the membranes. The L16 orthogonal array was selected under the following conditions: pressure (100, 135, 165 and 200 bar), temperature (40, 45, 50 and 55°C) and PEG weight percent (0, 0.33, 0.66, and 1%). Total polymer concentration of solutions in all... 

The present work focuses on the development of an interpretable quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) model for predicting the anti-HIV activities of 67 thiazolylthiourea derivatives. This set of molecules has been proposed as potent HIV-1 reverse transcriptase inhibitors (RT-INs). The molecules were encoded to a diverse set of molecular descriptors, spanning different physical and chemical properties. Monte Carlo (MC) sampling and multivariate adaptive regression spline (MARS) techniques were used to select the most important descriptors and to predict the activity of the molecules. The most important descriptor was found to be the aspherisity index. The analysis of variance... 

In this work, age hardening behavior of an ultrafine-grained (UFG) Al6063-0.8 vol.% Al2O3 nanocomposite produced via reactive mechanical alloying followed by hot extrusion method by means of T6 heat treatment was studied. The temperature and time of solutionizing and aging were optimized by the Taguchi method. The optimal heat treatment condition was found to be solutionizing at 510 °C for 1.5 h and aging at 170 °C for 8 h. The signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio and analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that the solutionizing temperature was the most significant factor. A novel cyclic solution treatment was developed for age hardening of Al6063-Al2O3 nanocomposite. The results showed a considerable... 

The maximal covering location problem (MCLP) is a challenging problem with numerous applications in practice. Previous publications in the area of MCLP proposed models and presented solution methodologies to solve this problem with up to 900 nodes. Due to the fact that in real-life applications, the number of nodes could be much higher, this paper presents a customized Genetic Algorithm (GA) to solve MCLP instances, with up to 2500 nodes. Results show that the proposed approach is capable of solving problems with a fair amount of exactness. In order to fine-tune the algorithm, Tukey's Least Significant Difference (LSD) tests are employed on a set of test problems  

This article presents experimental results on the electrophoretic deposition (EPD) of bioresorbable chitosan/45S5 Bioglass® composite coatings for orthopaedic implants based on the Taguchi design of experiments (DOE) approach. The influence of EPD parameters including Bioglass® concentration, electric voltage and deposition time on deposition yield was studied by an orthogonal Taguchi array of L18 type. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and regression analysis based on the partial least-square method were used to identify the significant factors affecting the deposition yield and its stability during constant-voltage EPD. The coatings were characterised by high resolution scanning... 

Hydrothermal synthesis of CuO nanoparticles under near-critical and supercritical conditions was investigated from two different standpoints in the current study. The first standpoint was optimization of "yield", "purity", and "size of the nanoparticles" that were optimized at T = 500 °C, time = 2 h, [Cu(NO3)2] = 0.1 mol dm-3, and pH 3. This was achieved by undertaking an orthogonal experiment design methodology and performing different instrumental analyses, such as X-ray diffractometry, inductively coupled plasma spectrometry, and transmission electron microscopy, along with treatment of the data by analysis of variance (ANOVA). The second goal of the study was elucidation of the... 

The potential of an indigenous bacterial strain isolated from an Iranian oil field for the production of biosurfactant was investigated in this study. After isolation, the bacterium was characterized to be Paenibacillus alvei by biochemical tests and 16S ribotyping. The biosurfactant, which was produced by this bacterium, was able to lower the surface tension of media to 35. mN/m. Accordingly, thin layer chromatography (TLC) and FT-IR has been carried out to determine compositional analysis of the produced biosurfactant. After all the tests related to characterization of the biosurfactant produced by the isolated bacterium, it was characterized as lipopeptide derivative. The combination of... 

Background: Comparison of the kinematic variability and dynamic stability of the trunk between healthy and low back pain patient groups can contribute to gaining valuable information about the movement patterns and neuromotor strategies involved in various movement tasks. Methods: Fourteen chronic low back pain patients with mild symptoms and twelve healthy male volunteers performed repeated trunk flexion-extension movements in the sagittal plane at three different speeds: 20 cycles/min, self-selected, and 40 cycles/min. Mean standard deviations, coefficient of variation and variance ratio as variability measures; maximum finite-time Lyapunov exponents and maximum Floquet multipliers as... 

Extraction of the essential oil from a medicinal plant called Dracocephalum kotschyi Boiss was performed by green technology of supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) extraction. A Taguchi orthogonal array design with an OA16 (45) matrix was used to evaluate the effects of five extraction variables: pressure of 150-310bar, temperature of 40-60°C, average particle size of 250-1000μm, CO2 flow rate of 2-10ml/s and dynamic extraction time of 30-100min. The optimal conditions to obtain the maximum extraction yield were at 240bar, 60°C, 500μm, 10ml/s and 100min. The extraction yield under the above conditions was 2.72% (w/w) which is more than two times the maximum extraction yield that has been... 

Dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-selective ion monitoring (GC-MS-SIM) was applied to the determination of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) in water samples. The effect of main parameters affecting the extraction efficiency was studied simultaneously. From selected parameters, volume of extraction solvent, volume of dispersive solvent, and salt concentration were optimized by means of experimental design. The statistical parameters of the derived model were R 2=0.9987 and F=17.83. The optimal conditions were 42.0μL for extraction solvent, 0.30mL for disperser solvent and 5% (w/v) for sodium chloride. The calibration linear range... 

This paper presents a study of the Taguchi design method to optimise the rate of electrophoretic deposition (EPD) of Bioglass® particles from aqueous suspensions. The effect of Bioglass® concentration, pH and electric field was investigated. An orthogonal array of L16 type with mixed levels of the control factors was utilized. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and regression analysis based on the partial least-square method were used to identify the significant factors affecting the deposition rate and its stability during constant-voltage EPD. It was found that the pH of the suspension significantly influences the deposition rate whereas the applied electric field has the smallest... 

Background: Evidence is needed regarding the air pollutant components and their sources responsible for associations between particle mass concentrations and human cardiovascular outcomes. We previously found associations between circulating biomarkers of inflammation and mass concentrations of quasi-ultrafine particles ≤ 0.25 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM0.25) in a panel cohort study of 60 elderly subjects with coronary artery disease living in the Los Angeles Basin.Objectives: We reassessed biomarker associations with PM0.25 using new particle composition data.Methods: Weekly biomarkers of inflammation were plasma interleukin-6 (IL-6) and soluble tumor necrosis factor-α receptor II... 

STUDY DESIGN.: An experimental design to investigate activation patterns of trunk muscles during multidirectional exertions. OBJECTIVES.: To evaluate trunk muscle activation patterns in varying directions and moment magnitudes during an isometric task, and to investigate the effects of angle and level of isometric exertion on the electromyography (EMG) variability of trunk muscles in upright posture. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA.: Few studies have investigated trunk muscle activation patterns in multidirectional exertions with different moment magnitudes. METHODS.: A total of 12 asymptomatic male subjects were participated in the study. The EMG activity of 10 selected trunk muscles was... 

Recurrence quantification analysis (RQA), a nonlinear method of postural analysis, was used to explore the effects of dual-tasking on postural performance in people with nonspecific low back pain (LBP) compared with healthy participants. Postural performance was quantified by RQA % recurrence, % determinism, entropy and trend. People with nonspecific LBP (n = 22) and unimpaired individuals (n = 22) randomly performed quiet standing tasks with three levels of difficulty (rigid-surface eyes open, rigid-surface eyes closed and foam-surface eyes closed). These tasks were performed in isolation or concurrently with an easy or difficult cognitive task. Increasing postural difficulty was associated... 

In the present study, three influential parameters including concentration, temperature and specific surface area of graphene nanosheets were investigated, which are the effective parameters on the viscosity and thermal conductivity of aqueous graphene nanosheets (GNP) nanofluids. A mathematical model developed by respond surface methodology (RSM) based on a central composite design (CCD). Also, the significance of the models was tested using the analysis of variance (ANOVA). The optimum results of aqueous GNP nanofluid showed that the concentration has a direct effect on the relative viscosity and thermal conductivity. Furthermore, predicted responses proposed by the Design Expert software... 

In this study, the effects of pulse current parameters on corrosion resistance and mechanical properties of anodized coatings were evaluated. Hardness measurements, polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy tests were employed to investigate the mechanical properties and corrosion behavior of these coatings. Also, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) was used to analyze the surface morphology and microstructure of the coatings. It was found that the properties of anodized coatings were dependent on various parameters, among which, time, temperature and pulse current parameters (current density limit, frequency and duty cycle) were optimized. Analysis of Variance... 

In this experimental study the effect of physical and thermal properties of various FRP bars on their performance under elevated temperatures are investigated. The parameters included the bars' diameter, type of fiber, type of resin, fiber to matrix ratio, and thermal properties were studied. Moreover, ANOVA (ANalysis Of VAriance) was performed in order to investigate the contribution of each variable on the obtained results. The results showed that in addition to the temperature, the bars' diameter, type of fiber, type of resin, and thermal properties (Tg and Td) of the FRP bars have contributions to the results, while the fiber to matrix ratio was found to be an ineffective factor. It was... 

Thermosensitive Chitosan hydrogels which can be injected into defects with minimally invasive approach were prepared. Also starch micro/nano particles were synthesized via water-in-oil (W/O) miniemulsion technique. The starch particles were incorporated into the chitosan hydrogel to prepare injectable thermosensitive hydrogel composites. Tube inverting method, compression tests, swelling studies, XRD, SEM, OM, DLS, UV–vis spectroscopy were used for investigations. Results revealed that increasing crosslinker and surfactant contents and stirring rate leads to particle size reduction. Particle size was modeled using design of experiments (DOE) via the response surface method (RSM). Due to... 

Microalgae as a candidate for production of biodiesel, possesses a hard cell wall that prevents intracellular lipids leaving out from the cells. Direct or in situ supercritical transesterification has the potential for destruction of microalgae hard cell wall and conversion of extracted lipids to biodiesel that consequently reduces the total energy consumption. Response surface methodology combined with central composite design was applied to investigate process parameters including: Temperature, Time, Methanol-to-dry algae, Hexane-to-dry algae, and Moisture content. Thirty-two experiments were designed and performed in a batch reactor, and biodiesel efficiency between 0.44% and 99.32% was...